Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1512721
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 4 3 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Our kicker, Alex Felkins, was 2 for 2 on field goals and 3 for 3 on extra points. We also had 2 touchbacks, and Tyler Duzansky did his job. All positives." Here's a breakdown of how Penn State's special teams performed during the regular season. Placekicker The season began ominously at this position when redshirt sophomore Sander Sahaydak missed from 38 and 34 yards in the opener against West Vir- ginia. The Lions turned to Felkins to at- tempt their final field goal of the night, and the Columbia transfer held onto the job for the duration of the regular season. He was one of only three Big Ten kickers to attempt more than 20 field goals, and he compiled an 81.8 per- cent success rate (18 of 22), including a season-long 50-yarder against Indiana. He was perfect from 39 yards and closer (10 of 10), and he also hit all 45 of his PAT tries. "His maturity and ability to bounce back after not winning the job [in pre- season camp] — those types of men- tal challenges, he's attacked head-on," special teams coordinator Stacy Collins said. "He's been able to get better and better, and when you do that, it brings confidence." In addition to Felkins' strong show- ing in his first and only season in the program, Penn State also got what it needed from Nwosu. A walk-on from The Bullis School in Maryland, Nwosu was used strictly on kickoffs and had 47 touchbacks on 72 attempts (65.3 per- cent). Only 15 of Penn State's kicks were returned, and opponents averaged 17.7 yards. "I think Gabe has quietly done an un- believable job," Collins said. "He has elite leg strength to kick the football. He continues to work on his consistency. He's had raw athletic ability ever since I got here, and he's gotten better and better." Punter Thompson turned out to be every bit as solid as Penn State had hoped after the staff plucked him out of the transfer portal following a Freshman All-America season at Florida Atlantic. His average of 45.2 yards per attempt was identical to the average he posted last year with the Owls. The Melbourne, Australia, native had 13 punts of 50 or more yards, includ- ing season-long 56-yarders in successive weeks against Michigan and Rutgers. Thompson did everything in his power to keep Penn State in contention at Ohio State, placing 4 of his 9 punts inside the 20-yard line and surpassing 50 yards on 2 attempts. Although Thompson has played only two seasons of college football, his eli- gibility clock began ticking while he was still in his homeland, and he is consid- ered a senior by the NCAA. He walked on Penn State's Senior Day, seemingly indicating that his time in State College is drawing to a close. Still, a return in 2024 hasn't been ruled out. When asked if there's a chance to extend Thompson's eligibility window, Collins said, "We're working through that." Returns Penn State seemed to have found a re- liable punt returner in Kaden Saunders. The redshirt freshman wideout handled the job for Penn State's first five games and showed that he could be trusted to field the ball cleanly. He wasn't a threat to break off a big runback, though, aver- aging 6.1 yards on 14 attempts. Looking to add more excitement to its return game, Penn State gave Hardy a shot in its matchup against Massachu- setts on Oct. 14. Two touchdowns later, the veteran cornerback had won the job. Hardy scored on runbacks of 56 and 68 yards against the Minutemen, becom- ing the first Big Ten player since Iowa's Kevonte Martin-Manley in 2013 to have 2 punt-return touchdowns in a game. "When he got the opportunity, he did an unbelievable job of making explosive plays in space," Collins said. "I'm ex- tremely happy with what he's done for this team." Hardy has held the job ever since, av- eraging 14.6 yards on 17 attempts. Sophomore running back Nicholas Singleton has handled the kickoff-return duties this year. He's averaged 25.2 yards and had a key runback against Mary- land. Just after the Terrapins scored to cut PSU's lead to 16 points in the fourth quarter, Singleton broke loose on a 51- yard return that set up a Nittany Lion touchdown to thwart Maryland's come- back bid. ■ Special Teams Highlights TOP PERFORMER: As the second-place finisher in PSU's preseason placekicking competition, senior Alex Felkins might have seemed like a stop-gap solution when he was called on midway through the season opener versus West Virginia. Instead, he turned out to be one of the Big Ten's more reliable specialists, hitting 18 of 22 field goal attempts. TOP NEWCOMER: Felkins again. He had wanted a big-time college experience after spending his first three seasons at Columbia, and he got exactly that. UNSUNG HERO: Sophomore Gabriel Nwosu was frequently able to neutralize opposing returners, earning touchbacks on 65.3 percent of his kickoffs. The Lions will probably never have a kickoff spe- cialist like Jordan Stout, who had 59 touchbacks on 65 attempts in 2021, but Nwosu's performance during the regular season was more than sufficient, especially considering the problems PSU had in this area the previous year. ONE TO WATCH: Freshman safety King Mack hasn't had a chance to return kicks or punts this year but has reportedly impressed in practice. "He's got very good speed, very good vision," coordinator Stacy Collins said. "He has a bright future." SEASON HIGHLIGHT: Penn State didn't need any dramatic fourth-quarter kicks this fall; the closest of its 10 wins was by nine points, while the closest of its two losses was by eight. So instead, let's go with Daequan Hardy's 2 punt-return touchdowns against Massachusetts. They didn't change the game's outcome — PSU was going to romp no matter what — but they did earn him a spot in the program's history books. Hardy became the first Nittany Lion player ever to score multiple punt- return touchdowns in the same game. — Matt Herb