The killshot.

He knows what he wants, no pussyfooting around it. He wouldn’t be on defense if he didn’t like to tackle guys, but even a strong-side linebacker never gets the opportunity to make a hit like this. Maybe a blind-side sack, the kind when the quarterback has his arm cocked to pass and the impact is so hard it risks whiplash. But even then he can’t build up the speed he does now.

Kevin Bentley loves special teams for the same reasons he loves being a linebacker.

“It’s just you and the ballcarrier and that’s just like defense for me,” Bentley said. “Basically, if you beat your guy, you’ve got a killshot.”

And if Bentley were to hit a guy running at full speed, “killshot” might be more than a metaphor.

“One-on-one and the guy has nowhere to go,” Bentley said. “I’m going to win that battle 100 percent of the time.”

Coach Randy Walker said earlier this week that of everything the Wildcats did right at Duke last weekend, he especially was pleased with the performance of special teams, an unlikely observation in a game that saw the Cats go for 638 yards and hold Duke scoreless for 50 minutes.

Instead, special teams were Walker’s darlings. Normally a rag-tag mix of freshmen and benchwarmers, Walker noted that he was satisfied with the starters who came out strong for kickoffs and punt coverage.

“It’s great to see a kid like Kevin Bentley, who plays a whole bunch of snaps on defense, get excited about being on the punt-cover team,” Walker said. “It’s great to see some of the front line guys like Billy Silva on kickoff run down and cover plays. Napoleon Harris is begging to get on some of those teams.”

And those guys see a lot of snaps. After spending 30 minutes on the field, they’ll admit that taking off downfield at full speed takes effort, even it results in a killshot.

“It’s hard running 60 yards down the field, trying to make a play, and then getting right back and playing defense,” Silva said. “The kickoff is the first defensive snap of the game.”

That first snap can be a crucial one. A touchdown or a big gain from a kickoff or punt return can set the momentum for the drive.

Harris knows the risks – and still wants to be dealt into the game.

“For the average player, it probably would be too much, but I think special players do special things,” Harris said. “I figure that if I’m out there and I block a punt on the 15-yard line, that could definitely change the outcome of the football game.”

Silva knows the other side of the coin.

“If they score on one special teams play, that changes the game completely,” he said.

But Walker said he likes having his stars play special teams because of the interaction it creates with underclassmen.

“It’s great seeing young players making big plays in the game on special teams,” Walker said. “It comes from the mentoring, the modeling they get from the older players on the team.”

And the old boys know they’re being looked up to.

“I think you lead by example,” Harris said. “The younger players will go out there, see a guy like myself and they’ll respond with the same.”

Bentley said the coaching staff reinforces the message, but young guys watching himself, Silva and Harris likely get the message the first time.

“Maybe it helps their growth process,” Bentley said. “That’s something coach is big on here, the bigger guys and older guys helping out the younger guys, and so this just gives us more opportunities to do that.”

But even the older guys know they can’t show the young guys that much on special teams. A few seconds helping field a punt – and then everyone goes back to their positions on the field or on the sidelines.

Still, Bentley said those few seconds define an attitude.

“Special teams is a want-to situation,” Bentley said. “You’ve got to want to do it. I don’t know how much talent it takes, or how much effort it takes, it’s just a want-to. I get pumped up about that.”

So does everyone else watching him.