There really aren’t many ways a team can go from 3-9 one season to having a pre-season All-American selection the next — unless of course that selection is the team’s punter.

That’s right, the ‘Z’ garnered the prestigious Playboy All-American tag, and for good reason: Zoltan Mesko, if he can continue booming the football, definitely has a shot at the Ray Guy Award, given to the nation’s best punter at the end of the year.

And everyone remembers that fake punt against Notre Dame, one of Michigan’s few highlights from that game.

Sure, Mesko has the punting duties on 100-percent lockdown, but the rest of the special teams positions are completely up in the air.

Let’s talk about the return game — clearly one of the worst areas on the team last season. The Wolverines muffed or fumbled a bevy of kicks last year, and no one seemed immune to the dropped-kick willies. A ton of different players went back there, and a ton of different players made the same critical mistake.

The problem is that nothing can swing momentum like a muff. Let’s say your defense stifles the opposing offense, holding them to a punt, only to watch as they actually gain 40-plus yards on fourth down after scooping up the blown punt return. Ouch.

In my humble opinion ¬— and this is just speculation — the Wolverines were forced to focus on other areas in 2008, because they needed so much work. And thus, Michigan was significantly unpolished in this area.

In Rich Rodriguez’s second year at the helm, the learning curve, especially for the offense, is way less daunting, since the scheme is already in place. That should give more time for players to focus on the return game.

I think Martavious Odoms, who had the lone bright spot in the return game last year when he returned a punt against Purdue, has a good shot at the starting nod. He fast, small and shifty — a good combination for a return man. If he can find the seams, he’ll have a very productive season.

But, clearly, Rodriguez isn’t afraid to employ a committee strategy in the return game, so he’ll most definitely send several different people back there.

Other likely names are Boubacar Cissoko, Greg Mathews, Terrence Robinson, Donovan Warren — who knows who else? Pretty much anyone who can safely hold onto the ball.

But it’s not a tough bet to say that the return game will be vastly improved this season.

The biggest area of concern is most definitely placekicking. There’s going to be a new name booting the ball this year, and, from a team’s perspective, that’s always a little scary. It’s a very pressure-heavy job — how many times has the kicker been “the hero” or “the goat”? — and, even if he can make every possible kick in practice, you don’t know how a first-year starter is going to respond to a game scenario.

It’s likely that a few guys could get the chance in the early goings, especially if someone whiffs a few kicks in the first couple of games.

Fifth-year senior Jason Olesnavage has waited for his turn, but he has never seen game action. Redshirt junior Bryan Wright could get a chance — but, aside from filling in on kickoffs, he’s never played either.

That makes the race wide-open for highly touted recruit Brendan Gibbons.

It’s really hard to say who’s going to say who’s going to get the nod. I think this may be a case where everyone will just have to wait and see.