Blue White Illustrated

2 0 1 8 S E A S O N P R E V I E W PLACE KICKER NO NAME HT WT YEAR – Rafael Checa 6-2 202 Fr./Fr. 93 Blake Gillikin 6-2 193 Jr./Jr. – Vlad Hilling 6-0 190 Fr./Fr. 97 Carson Landis 6-2 195 So./Fr. 92 Jake Pinegar 6-2 195 Fr./Fr. PUNTER 93 Blake Gillikin 6-2 193 Jr./Jr. 97 Carson Landis 6-2 195 So./Fr. HOLDER 93 Blake Gillikin 6-2 193 Jr./Jr. LONG SNAPPER 96 Kyle Vasey 6-2 226 Sr./Sr. 94 Joe Calcagno 6-0 245 So./Fr. PUNT RETURNS 3 DeAndre Thompkins 5-11 188 Sr./Sr. 8 Mark Allen 5-6 190 Sr./Sr. 1 K.J. Hamler 5-9 176 So./Fr. 29 John Reid 5-10 185 Sr./Jr. KICKOFF RETURNS 8 Mark Allen 5-6 190 Sr./Sr. 32 Journey Brown 5-11 210 So./Fr. 10 Brandon Polk 5-9 180 Sr./Jr. 24 Miles Sanders 5-11 207 Jr./Jr. 1 K.J. Hamler 5-9 176 So./Fr. 12 Mac Hippenhammer 5-11 185 So./Fr. OR OR OR OR OR OR OR OR OR OR OR pus. So Gillikin did some kicking in prac- tice, working alongside redshirt freshman walk-on Carson Landis. He said he tried to kick every day, partly to get a feel for how much physical stress his leg could handle. Kicking calls on a different set of muscles than punting, because it requires a swinging motion rather than the straight up-and-down motion that a punter uses. But combining the two dis- ciplines increases the risk of leg fatigue, Gillikin said, because there's a temptation to put in extra work if you aren't satisfied with your performance in one or the other. Gillikin admitted that he did experi- ence some fatigue in the spring, but as practice went on he was able to fine- tune his routine. "It got to the point where I figured out how much kicking and punting I could do and still feel good about both," he said. "So the spring was about finding balance and trying to fig- ure out what was going to work best for me and the team." As far as Franklin is concerned, what would work best would be for either Lan- dis or one of the incoming freshman kick- ers to seize the job in August. He doesn't want to overextend one of the Big Ten's best punters, and Gillikin already has a second job, as he's been serving as a holder on placements. Kicking wouldn't necessarily add a third job, since he couldn't hold and place-kick, at least on field goals. But it would test his en- durance in a way that his current respon- sibilities do not. And yet, it's not hard to understand why Gillikin approached special teams coor- dinator Phil Galiano about trying to kick, nor is it hard to envision a scenario in which he turns out to be the right man for the job. Gillikin had actually started out his football career as a kicker, his head filled with visions of game-winning kicks at Westminster. The main reason he tried punting was because the school had been blessed with a succession of excellent specialists that included future Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker. Punt- ing was his way of getting on the field. When the last of the standout kickers graduated, Gillikin took over the position as a senior and responded by hitting 16 of 26 attempts, including kicks of 56, 53 and 52 yards, the longest makes in school his- tory. He said he feels capable of doing the same in college. "My first priority is to be the best punter I can be and the best punter in the country," he said, "but I'll also be working on all that other stuff on the side to keep my leg in shape and leave myself that option if it comes to that in the fall." ■ necessity, not a luxury. Do the Lions have one? We don't know yet, but with a trip to Pitt looming in week two and Ohio State coming up about a month earlier than usual, first-year special teams coordinator Phil Galiano doesn't have the luxury of time. This is a ques- tion Penn State needs to answer quickly. Elsewhere, the Lions should be ;ne. Better than ;ne, actually. Gillikin was a second-team All-Big Ten punter last season, and his career average of 43.0 yards per attempt is just shy of Jeremy Boone's Penn State record. The Lions also have a dangerous punt returner in Thompkins, who ranked ;=h in the country with a 13.3-yard average last season. And they were among the league leaders in punt and kick coverage last season. On kicko< returns, they appear to have a few players with breakaway potential, even if they don't have an- other Barkley. PHIL'S TAKE There are several major question marks on special teams com- ing out of spring practice, but Gillikin's ability to punt the football and Thompkins' ability to return punts aren't among them. In my opinion, Gillikin is one of the top two returning punters in the Big Ten. Last year, he av- eraged 43.2 yards per punt, had 14 punts of 50 or more yards and placed 26 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Thompkins was the top punt re- turner in the Big Ten in 2017, and Penn State has two other high-quality re- turners in Reid and Allen. In addition, while we haven't seen him in this ca- pacity yet, there's been talk that Ham- ler is the most explosive punt returner on the team. The big question marks here involve kickoff returns and field goal duties. Landis had the place-kick- ing job all to himself in spring practice but reportedly struggled. That could make Gillikin the leading contender for the spot, but it could just as easily make Pinegar the first member of Penn State's much-lauded 2018 recruiting class to see the field. He has the leg to hit from 60 yards. Sanders, Hamler, Hippenhammer, Allen and Brown are all competing to replace Barkley on re- turning kickoffs. ■

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