Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1482664
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 2 3 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Penn State hired Stacy Collins to be its special teams coordinator earlier this year after Joe Lorig left for Oregon. The longtime college football as- sistant coach faced a daunting task in Year 1: replacing do-it-all specialist Jordan Stout. The Nittany Lions went from having one player who could handle kick- offs, punts and placement kicks to suddenly needing fresh faces at all three positions. Plus, Jahan Dotson had to be replaced in the punt return game, and new kickoff return options also presented themselves. So far, it would be safe to say that Collins has found one diamond in the rough, but the results in other facets of the kicking game have been mixed. Punting Super senior Barney Amor has been a revelation for the Lions this fall. A Colgate transfer, he came to Penn State before the 2021 season hoping to learn behind Stout before replacing him. Amor did precisely that and has passed every test with flying colors. He routinely sets punts down inside the opponent's 20-yard line and, combined with his coverage team, rarely allows a return. Even at Michigan, where the wind was a significant fac- tor, he performed well enough to help flip the field. This is the one special teams unit guaranteed to produce surefire results every time it takes the field. Grade: A Kickoffs The Lions started the season by rotating redshirt freshmen Gabe Nwosu and Sander Sahaydak on kickoffs. Lately, they've mostly been relying on redshirt senior Jake Pinegar while using Nwosu occasionally. Consistency has been the biggest problem. While it was almost guaran- teed that Stout would boom a touchback, there is no certainty right now regarding where kickoffs are going. Some are out of bounds. Others are out of the end zone. Most have been returnable. Penn State has not yet given up a big kick return, but it has been tempting fate. Grade: C- Field Goals With Stout gone, Pinegar beat out Sahaydak and regained the starting job he held from 2018-20. He's pretty much the same kicker now as he was two years ago. Some Pinegar kicks are pretty and have more than enough leg. Others are low and blockable. He was 6 of 8 on field goal tries through seven games, about on par with his career average. Pinegar is fine but hasn't yet been called on for a game-winning boot from any distance. Grade: B- Punt Return Third-year sophomore receiver Parker Washington has the speed and vision to make things happen in the punt return game, but nothing note- worthy has happened yet this season. He's averaging just 6.7 yards per opportunity with a season-long return of 30 yards. Grade: C- Kickoff Return Freshman running back Nicholas Singleton looks like someone who could break a big return at any moment, but he's also taken some risks on kick- offs that land just inside the end zone. More often than not, he doesn't get back to the 25-yard line where a touchback would otherwise take the Lions. He's also dropped or misjudged a couple of kickoffs. Grade: C- — Greg Pickel Grading The Special Teams Redshirt senior Jake Pinegar hit 6 of 8 field goal tries through Penn State's first seven games. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE