Blue White Illustrated

A HAPPY ENDING, AND A NEW BEGINNING Perfect in the 2012 finale. Does Sam Ficken continue the upward trend in '13? M AT T   H E R B As much as anybody, Sam Ficken was responsible for the upbeat mood that infused the Penn State football program heading into its off-season. The skinny place-kicker from Indiana made a 37-yard field goal in overtime last November that helped Penn State stun Wisconsin, 24-21. It was the Nittany Lions' last game of the season, and it was a great one, leaving the team with a sense of accomplishment and a belief that it will be able to persevere through whatever its opponents and the NCAA dish out in the future. And if the victory lifted the spirits of the program and its supporters, it did the same for Ficken himself. "It was one of the best points of my career," he said recently. "Running onto the field [after the game] – I'll remember that forever. Sending those seniors off like that against a team that went to the Rose Bowl – that's special. "But at the same time, I can't be complacent with my kicking ability. I was 3 for 3 in that game, and ending on a high note really gives me motivation to continue that throughout my career." Ficken finished his sophomore season as Penn State's leading scorer with 81 points. He made 39 of 41 PATs and 14 of 21 field goals, respectable numbers that seem even more praiseworthy when you consider that Ficken converted only two of his first eight attempts. After his 1-for-5 outing at Virginia in week two, Penn State seemed desperately in need of a reliable kicker. It held open tryouts in September, and there was much speculation among fans and media about potential replacements, from run-ons to moonlighting soccer players. But it turned out that the team already had a reliable kicker on its roster. And as Ficken looks ahead to his junior season, those early struggles couldn't seem less relevant. He has been on a roll since making a 27yarder in the third quarter of a loss to Ohio State last October – the first of 10 A P R I L | MATT@BLUEWHITEONLINE.COM SAM FICKEN "Sending the seniors off like that against a team that went to the Rose Bowl – that's special." John Beale consecutive makes to finish the season – and is looking to maintain that momentum as he gets ready for the fall. "My mind-set is that you're supposed to make every kick in the game," Ficken said. "That's my job, and it really was my mind-set at the end of last year. I went to a banquet after the Nebraska game [in November], and I said my goal was to not miss another kick the rest of the year. That's what happened, and it's easy to build off of that confidence going into next year." Ficken was the Lions' only real option at place-kicker last season. Anthony Fera, the team's starting kicker and punter in 2011, transferred to Texas in August, and run-on backup Matt Marcincin left the program for personal reasons in September. This year things are a bit different. The Lions are getting set to welcome Chris Gulla, a run-on from New Jersey who has been described as a "big time prospect" by Chris Sailer Kicking. Gulla could end up challenging for both the place-kicking and punting jobs, and Ficken is eager to see what he's got. "I love competition," he said. "Coach [Bill O'Brien] always says the job's open 1 7 , 2 0 1 3 9 every week. Whoever wins it, wins it. I'm looking forward to that." Ficken said he's practiced well this spring. He's continued to build leg strength while focusing on the refinements he began making last season. One of the biggest changes has been the way he approaches the ball. At the beginning of last year, he was taking two and half steps. He's since eliminated the "chop step" and now takes only two strides before striking the ball. "That's helped me take out that room for error," he said. "My plant foot was a little off sometimes. Now I'm hitting the ball more consistently with a better flight path. It's really helped." Ficken's improved accuracy could influence Penn State's play-calling, particularly its willingness to take chances on fourth down. The Lions attempted a Big Ten-high 34 fourthdown conversions last season, and while it was easy to attribute their brinksmanship to O'Brien's experience as an assistant to Bill Belichick, a noted nonbeliever in conventional play-calling wisdom, his no-guts-noglory approach may also have stemmed from concerns about Ficken's leg. After the kicker's poor start, the Lions seemed unwilling to test his range. He attempted only four field goals of 40 yards or more and missed all of them. His longest field goal of the season was 38 yards. Ficken admitted that his confidence wavered a bit early last season, but he got it back eventually, in part by thinking back to his high school career at Valparaiso (Ind.) High, where he made 13 field goals as a senior, including a school-record 52-yarder. "Every time the ball goes through the uprights, your confidence is going to go up," Ficken said. "People say it's 99 percent mental and 1 percent physical. I would disagree with that a little bit, but it definitely helps when you're not worried that you're doing things wrong. I've been having a great spring, so it's been working pretty well." B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

• Cover