2 0 1 9 S E A S O N P R E V I E W
PLACE KICKER (FG)
NO NAME HT WT YEAR
92 Jake Pinegar 6-2 201 So./So.
– Jordan Stout 6-2 197 Jr./So.
99 Justin Tobin 6-2 202 Sr./Jr.
95
Vlad Hilling 5-10 226 So./Fr.
PLACE
KICKER (KO)
NO
NAME HT WT YEAR
90 Rafael Checa 6-2 201 So./So.
–
Jordan Stout 6-2 197 Jr./So.
92 Jake Pinegar 6-2 201 So./So.
PUNTER
93 Blake Gillikin 6-2 195 Sr./Sr.
49 Cade Pollard 5-11 217 So./Fr.
HOLDER
93 Blake Gillikin 6-2 195 Sr./Sr.
15 Michael Shuster 6-2 210 Sr./Jr.
LONG SNAPPER
91
Chris Stoll 6-2 257 Jr./So.
94 Joe Calcagno 6-0 260 Jr./So.
PUNT RETURNS
1 K.J. Hamler 5-9 168 Jr./So.
2 Keaton Ellis 5-11 180 Fr./Fr.
29 John Reid 5-10 189 Sr./Sr.
KICKOFF RETURNS
1 K.J. Hamler 5-9 168 Jr./So.
4 Journey Brown 5-11 206 Jr./So.
2 Keaton Ellis 5-11 180 Fr./Fr.
Lions to score twice on punt returns was
Larry Johnson.
NUMBERS
GAME
A three-year starter,
Gillikin heads into his senior season with
a 43.3-yard career
punting average,
the best in school
history.
OUTLOOK As with
the wide receivers,
the Nittany Lions
have made a coach-
ing change here fol-
lowing an erratic
performance in
2018. Penn State's
new special teams
coordinator is Joe
Lorig, formerly of
Memphis. Lorig will
be looking to im-
prove a kicking
game that su=ered
breakdowns in all
phases last year.
The Lions gave up a
100-yard touch-
down on their er
that 27-24 loss to the Wildcats, Lorig
was brought in to replace Phil Galiano,
who had le> to join the New Orleans
Saints' sta=.
Lorig said that one of the reasons he
was excited about the Penn State job was
that he was convinced James Franklin
valued special teams enough to provide
him with the resources he would need to
build e=ective kicking units. Franklin
does indeed have a history of allowing
his best players to take part in the kick-
ing game if he feels they can be di=er-
ence-makers. That policy paid o=
spectacularly in 2017 when Saquon
Barkley emerged as one of the country's
best kicko=-return specialists. Last year
was a reminder of just how costly an in-
consistent kicking game can be, so it's
safe to assume that Lorig will get the
buy-in he's looking
for, whether that
means asking starters
to contribute on the
kicking teams or re-
structuring the way
the Lions use their
meeting and practice
time.
But while changes
are undoubtedly in
store, there's also
enough carryover to
make you think that
the kicking game has
the potential for a
quick turnaround.
Gillikin is a proven
punter, Pinegar hit 16
of 24 er averaging 26.15 yards per
attempt. It's not as if the Lions are re-
building from the ground up. –M.H.
P H I L ' S T A K E
There are still several major question marks here, but Blake Gillikin's ability to
punt the ball and K.J. Hamler's ability to return punts and kicko=s are not among
them. Gillikin may have had an o=-year in 2018, placing only 20 punts inside the
opponent's 20-yard line. But in my opinion, he's one of the top two punters in the
Big Ten. Hamler was Penn State's leading kicko= returner, averaging 26.15 yards
per attempt. It appeared this spring that Keaton Ellis would end up being Hamler's
backup returning punts, and it looks like Ellis, Journey Brown and Marquis Wilson
could back up Hamler on kicko= returns. It's possible that Ellis will take over the
No. 1 punt-return job if the coaching sta= is concerned that Hamler is doing too
much. The two big question marks are
