Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503568
A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 7 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / S P E C I A L T E A M S / / / / / / / PERSONNEL POSITION COACH Stacy Collins: A 24-year coaching veteran, Col- lins arrived at Penn State in January 2022 after a one-year stint with Boise State as its special teams coordinator. The Sutherlin, Ore., native had previ- ously been at Utah State, where he coached spe- cial teams, inside linebackers, running backs and safeties during his five seasons with the Aggies. Almost all of Collins' coaching career has been spent on the West Coast. He broke into coach- ing in 2003 at his alma mater, Western Oregon. Collins also spent time at Western Washington, Idaho State, Southern Oregon, Central Washing- ton and Portland State. He has been a head coach, too. Collins ran the football program at the South Dakota School of Mines from 2012-15, serving as both head coach and special teams coordinator at the Division II school before moving on to Utah State in 2016. RETURNING SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS ALEX BACCHETTA P | R-Fr. | 6-2 | 220 • Appeared in two games as a redshirt fresh- man, averaging 40.0 yards on 4 punts, with 3 of his attempts landing inside the opponent's 20-yard line. • The nation's No. 8 punter according to the On3 Industry Ranking, with a three-star rating com- ing out of The Westminster School in Atlanta. SANDER SAHAYDAK PK | R-So. | 6-0 | 181 • Appeared in seven games as a redshirt freshman last fall, averaging 62.3 yards on 15 kickoffs with 4 touchbacks, and making 1 of 2 field goal attempts. • Rated a five-star prospect by Kohl's Kicking before enrolling at Penn State ahead of the 2021 season. • Had a career-long field goal of 53 yards while at Liberty (Pa.) High. NEWCOMERS ALEX FELKINS PK | Sr. | 6-3 | 200 • Was a first-team All-Ivy League choice last fall after going 11 of 16 on field goal attempts with a long kick of 53 yards. • Finished his career at Columbia ranked first in school history in points scored by a placekicker (183), second in made field goals (36) and first in made extra points (75). RILEY THOMPSON P | Sr. | 6-1 | 212 • Playing for Florida Atlantic, ranked second in Conference USA and 12th nationally with a 45.4-yard punting average in 2022. • Fifteen of his 61 punts went 50 or more yards, with a long kick of 71 yards. • Named a Freshman All-American last year by The Athletic and College Football News. (The NCAA counts Thompson's time at Haileybury College in his native Australia against his eli- gibility, making him a senior this year, even though he was a newcomer in 2022.) PREFERRED WALK-ONS TYLER DUZANSKY LS | R-So. | 6-4 | 217 • Appeared in seven games as a long snapper last season, backing up super senior Chris Stoll at the position. • Was a three-year letterwinner at St. Francis College Prep in Wheaton, Ill. MITCHELL GROH P | R-So. | 6-1 | 187 • Has not yet appeared in a game at Penn State but earned Academic All-Big Ten honors as a redshirt freshman last fall. • Was a two-time MaxPreps Class 6A All-State punter at Dallastown (Pa.) Area High. GABRIEL NWOSU P/KO | R-So. | 6-6 | 274 • Appeared in eight games last fall, averaging 63.2 yards on 18 kickoffs with 7 touchbacks, and compiling a 34-yard average on 2 punts. • Was a four-year letterman at the Bullis School in Potomac, Md. Specialists (9 full-time) No. Player Cl. Ht. Wt. PLACEKICKER 91 Alex Felkins Sr. 6-3 200 93 Sander Sahaydak R-So. 6-0 181 PUNTER 95 Riley Thompson Sr. 6-1 212 96 Mitchell Groh R-So. 6-1 187 99 Gabriel Nwosu R-So. 6-6 274 97 Alex Bacchetta R-Fr. 6-2 220 LONG SNAPPER 48 Tyler Duzansky R-So. 6-4 217 47 Will Patton R-Fr. 6-4 229 35 Blaise Sokach-Minnick R-Fr. 6-3 214 KICKOFF RETURNER 10 Nicholas Singleton So. 6-0 224 13 Kaytron Allen So. 5-11 221 PUNT RETURNER 25 Daequan Hardy R-Sr. 5-9 181 Quick Facts Position coach: Stacy Collins (2nd season) Returning starter: KR Nicholas Singleton Departing starters: LS: Chris Stoll, P/H Barney Amor, PK Jake Pinegar, PR Parker Washington Projected new starters: LS Tyler Duzansky, P Riley Thompson, PK Alex Felkins, PR Daequan Hardy Top reserves: P Alex Bacchetta, P Mitchell Groh, P/KO Gabe Nwosu, PK Sander Sahaydak Newcomers: P Riley Thompson, PK Alex Felkins Moved in: None Moved out: None Nicholas Singleton returned a k i c ko f f 1 0 0 ya r d s f o r a touchdown in Penn State's 55-10 romp over Rutgers last November. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE