Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1179560
T H E 2 0 1 9 S E A S O N career, he's not focusing on breaking any of the records he hasn't yet topped. In- stead, the cerebral punter has taken on the role of team leader. "I think as a specialist it's probably the most important thing, mental tough- ness," Gillikin said. "To be able to have the mentality to go out there and maybe not have your best kick the last kick, and have to kind of repeat that over and over again, it's a hard trap to fall into and not get overconfident, and you don't work as hard, and I think that kind of happened to me last year. We do a lot of mental training. We try to feed off each other [to build confidence] in the group, and we try to relate that to the team as well." Gillikin mentioned late last year that he felt as though his junior season could have gone better. He battled injuries and claimed he got a bit overcon6dent, which he thinks a8ected his play. It's hard to call a season in which Gillikin averaged 44 yards per punt – good for second-best in the Big Ten and 22nd-best in the nation – a letdown, but the Ray Guy Award candi- date has high standards. Just check his 4.0 GPA last year as a ki- nesiology major in the Schreyer Honors College. Or the fact that his goal is to complete medical school. But this season, Gillikin is 100 percent healthy and in the right mindset to be a di8erence-maker both on and o8 the 6eld. As one of the older players on the team, Gillikin showed that dual role when the Nittany Lions traveled to Iowa. "Going to Iowa for a second time was huge," Gillikin said. "Just being able to experience that atmosphere before. We have a young team based on our roster, but we've got some experience in all of our rooms. Just being able to experience that, a couple of us, a second time was huge. Being aware of what that was going to be like… being able to step up as a leader and feed o8 the other guys has been huge." So while Penn State would rather only see Gillikin on the 6eld while he's holding for Jake Pinegar's extra point attempts, Franklin has an elite punter when he needs one and a leader in a close-knit locker room. "Our chemistry has been the best it's been in a long time," Gillikin said. "As a team right now, we're ultra-con6dent and we're showing that on the 6eld." ■ KICKING BACK Gillikin wasn't fully healthy as a junior but still averaged 44.0 yards per attempt. Through Penn State's first seven games this season, he was aver- aging 41.7 yards. Photo by Steve Manuel