Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1472993
7 6 A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M S tacy Collins has decisions to make. The sentiment is true for every position coach at Penn State every year, but after taking over for Joe Lorig as special teams coordinator in January, Collins has a list that's longer than most. With the graduation of Jordan Stout, the Nittany Lions lost their placekicker, punter and kickoff specialist. They've also seen their punt returner depart, as well as their starting gunners on the punt coverage team. Ahead of Penn State's preseason camp in August, that reality has left Collins feeling a sense of urgency and excite- ment for the task at hand. "There are a lot of guys who have left these key positions, so we had a lot of guys working in spring," Collins said. "We will continue that through pre- season camp, but we'll start narrowing it down pretty quickly when we get an idea. We're going to sort through it. It's been interesting." Interesting might be an understate- ment for Collins. At the heart of his offseason challenge is the void left by Stout. A fixture in the Nittany Lions' kicking game since his transfer from Virginia Tech ahead of the 2019 season, Stout saw his role steadily expand during his three-year tenure at Penn State. First stepping in to handle kickoffs and long field goals, Stout showed right away that he had one of the strongest legs in college football. He then picked up punting duties from Blake Gillikin in 2020 and eventually stepped in to KicKstarter KicKstarter Project Project Coordinator Stacy Collins has some key vacancies to fill in his first season on the Nittany Lions' coaching staff NAT E BAU E R | NAT E . B AU E R @ O N 3 . C O M A 24-year coaching veteran, Collins took charge of Penn State's kicking game in January after Joe Lorig left to become special teams coordinator at Oregon. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER SPECIAL TEAMS