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>> formers in the kicking game will be back in 2021. Wade had a beautiful 100-yard kickoff return vs. Illinois, but he shared the return duties with Washington and Ford, who averaged 20.0 and 18.6 yards per attempt, respectively. They're both expected back, and the Nittany Lions may have options here if they decide to audi- tion some other players in the spring. Overall, Penn State's special teams units had an up-and-down season in 2020. The Lions' best performer was Dotson, who averaged a spectacular 24.6 yards on eight punt returns. The junior wideout was often electrifying, with returns of 21 yards against Iowa, 81 yards against Michigan State and 50 yards vs. Illinois. His big return against the Spartans pro- duced a fourth-quarter touchdown that enabled the Lions to pull away and coast to a 39-24 victory. The busiest player on PSU's special teams unit was Stout, who handled punts, kickoffs and field goal attempts of 50 yards or longer and will be expected to do so again in 2021. In his first season as the starting punter, Stout averaged 41.6 yards per attempt. He only attempted five field goals, hitting two. And of his 50 kickoff at- tempts, 42 were not returned. His touchback rate was easily the league's best, as no other Big Ten team had more than 30. Penn State's primary place kicker was Pinegar, and he finished his third starting season with nine makes in 13 attempts, becoming only the 14th player in school history to surpass 200 career points. His success rate – 69.2 percent – was down from the 2019 season when he hit 11 of 12 attempts (91.7 percent). He'll no doubt be looking to get that back up this coming year. When you factor in Stout's per- formance from long range, Penn State's overall success rate of 61.1 percent ranked 11th in the Big Ten. What the Nittany Lions would surely like most of all would be to improve their red zone offense to the point where they aren't relying nearly so frequently on Pine- gar to salvage drives. Their 18 field goal attempts were the Big Ten's second-highest total, trailing only Iowa with 19. Yes, the Lions played more games than all but two Big Ten teams, and that helps account for the volume of attempts. But they also had a penchant for stalling in- side the opponent's 20-yard line, and that's a trend that can't continue if they're going to rebound in 2021. QUOTABLE Franklin: "We're huge be- lievers in the impact of special teams. Everybody says that, but a lot of programs give special teams lip service. We went out and hired Joe Lorig, who is, I think, the best special teams coordinator in the country. I've just been so impressed with him, not just about his schemes and what we do, but just the cultural aspect of get- ting everybody to buy into the impact of special teams." ■ IN THE SWING Pinegar at- tempts a field goal against Illi- nois. He missed from 35 yards and finished the season with nine makes in 13 at- tempts. Photo courtesy of Penn State Athletics

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