Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1509432
3 2 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M spots in the Hawkeyes' 31-0 loss to Penn State, averaging 52.3 yards on 7 attempts on a rainy night at Beaver Stadium and prompting Franklin to marvel, "Their punter is special." The network of Australian expatriates in American college football has helped Thompson adapt to his new environment. "It's awesome," he said. "I have a bunch of other friends, and we all connect. We talk all the time, and it just gives us a plat- form to kind of bounce ideas, troubles or anything that comes our way [off each other]. We can kind of discuss it together. It's really awesome having that home- base connection that you can kind of come back to your roots through." Education was the key factor behind Thompson's desire to play college foot- ball in the United States. He's majoring in labor and human resources at Penn State. "For me, education is so important," Thompson said. "Coming over here to get a good education from such an elite school was a massive draw for me." Athletically, Thompson wanted to find a spot where the kicking game was pri- oritized. That's one of the reasons why he chose the Nittany Lions after averag- ing 45.4 yards on 61 attempts at Florida Atlantic last fall. "The crowds and the fans [were a fac- tor]," he said. "We love the support that we get and playing in front of fans. I wanted to go somewhere that had a strong em- phasis on special teams. The people here, they're awesome. I really value everyone being invested and looking out for each other. That's really what I found here. I think it's one big unit, and we operate as a family. That really stood out and made it a no-brainer for me when I started talking with Penn State to come here." Continued Improvement Besides being the starting punter, Thompson is also the Nittany Lions' holder on placekicks. Kicker Alex Felkins, himself a newly arrived transfer from Co- lumbia, said he's developed a good rap- port with his fellow specialist. "Some schools like to have quarter- backs be their holder, but I think it's great to have the punter do it," Felkins said. "He's a great guy. We got along well right off the bat, and things have been going well so far." Thompson is looking to continue his improvement as the season unfolds. While he's not yet the punting weapon some of his Penn State predecessors were, he's off to a fine start, with goals of pro- gressing throughout the second half of the season. "It's been a big, big whirlwind, but I've loved every second of it," he said. "There's something new every day, and I love what I'm doing. So, for me, it's been awesome." The next step will be performing con- sistently. That goes not just for Thomp- son, but for all of the Penn State special- ists. "There have been flashes of really good things," Franklin said. "I think our units are playing well and are playing fast and are playing aggressive and hard. We just need to be a little bit more consistent at the specialist positions in terms of our field goal percentage. "Punting, I think you really have to talk about drive start with that because although we're not crushing the ball, it's difficult for people to get returns on us." ■ Thompson arrived at Penn State in January and took part in spring practice. He said he chose PSU for the educational opportunities and because the football program had put an emphasis on special teams. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE "I wanted to go somewhere that had a strong emphasis on special teams. The people here, they're awesome. I really value everyone being invested and looking out for each other." T H O M P S O N