Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1138762
POINT MAN Pinegar finished his freshman season as the Big Ten's leading scorer. He had 101 points and became the first freshman in school history to sur- pass 100 points in a season. Photo by Steve Manuel 2 0 1 9 S E A S O N P R E V I E W PLAYING IT COOL Sophomore kicker Jake Pinegar knows how to handle his high-pressure job I n a perfect world, Penn State wouldn't have needed a PAT from Jake Pinegar in the final minute just to send its season opener to overtime. If all had gone according to plan, the Nittany Lions would have kept building on a 14-point third- quarter lead and wouldn't have had to ask for a crucial point from a true freshman kicker who was making his first appear- ance in Beaver Stadium. But Appalachian State had fought back with four fourth-quarter touchdowns and led by seven points before Penn State put together a rally of its own with a late TD catch by K.J. Hamler. And that's how Pinegar, the winner of a wide-open compe- tition for PSU's starting spot a few weeks earlier, hap- pened to find himself on the field with 42 seconds left, awaiting the snap on an extra point attempt that in all likelihood would either send the game to overtime or send App State to its perfect world – a world in which it managed to pull off the biggest upset of the 2018 season's opening weekend. There were undoubtedly a few nervous people in the crowd of more than 105,000 as Pinegar pre- pared for his kick. But Pinegar himself was not one of them. By that point in the game, he had gotten all the jitters out of his system. "All the nerves and stuff were before the game even started – the night before, the time leading up to the game. That was when I felt the most nerv- ous," he said. "The first play when I was out there, I took it all in, let the nerves out. After a while, I was just going out there and doing what I always do. As the game goes on, you just kind of fall into a rhythm and get used to it. On those kicks – the PAT at the end, the field goal [in the second quarter] – I didn't feel any different than I usually do when I go out there and kick in practice. It was pretty normal." Pinegar hit the kick, and the Lions ended up winning in over- time. Hamler, who was also playing his first regular-season game in Beaver Stadium, was hailed as a hero after launching PSU's comeback with a 52-yard kickoff return. But Pinegar, too, had a huge role in the Lions' escape, finishing his first college game with nine points on six PATs and a 32- yard field goal. Penn State's closer-than-expected opener was one of the more memorable moments from a season that in many ways lived up to Pinegar's hopes. The Ankeny, Iowa, native hit 16 of 24 field goal attempts and 53 of 55 PATs and fin- ished as the Big Ten's leading scorer with 101 total points. He became only the 13th player in Penn State history to surpass 100 points and was the first freshman to do so. One of the reasons for his success was his ability to tune out dis- tractions the way he did against Appalachian State. The key, he said, is to remind yourself that "the stuff going on around you is not important. You've just got to focus in on what you've got to do, and the rest should take care of itself." Pinegar didn't attempt a |