Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1514597
1 8 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Penn State punter Riley Thompson soaked in the cheers at Beaver Stadium when his name was announced on Senior Day in late November. The Australia na- tive, who joined the Nittany Lions via the transfer portal last year after a season at Florida Atlantic, was hopeful that it would not be his last home game at PSU. But he was listed as a senior at the time, and he understood that the NCAA might not ap- prove his bid to extend his eligibility. Thompson's request for a waiver was based on a variety of factors related to the move from his homeland to the United States. His eligibility status had been murky from the start. He had played just one season of American college football and was named a Freshman All-Ameri- can by The Athletic and College Football News in 2022. Yet as far as the NCAA was concerned, he arrived at Penn State with only one season of eligibility remaining. Despite his worries, the waiver was approved in December. He learned the news when head coach James Frank- lin announced it at a team practice. Thompson's teammates mobbed him in celebration, and Penn State's staff was thrilled, too. He will be a junior in 2024, meaning that the Lions now have a punter for the upcoming season, and possibly 2025, too. Thompson flourished during his first season in State College. He routinely flipped field position while averaging 45.6 yards per punt. "We're extremely excited that Riley got those two years," former special teams coordinator Stacy Collins said. "He really progressed throughout the season. … I thought he did an unbeliev- able job the last eight to nine games. He needs to continue to grow and develop, but I think he's only going to get better." We caught up with Thompson recently to learn more about the waiver process and what its approval meant to him. BWI: What was your reaction when Coach Franklin announced that your waiver had been granted? THOMPSON: "I was wrapped [Aus- tralian slang meaning happy or excited]. I definitely wanted to play more. I love this team, and I love everything we've got going here. I think there's so much more left out there for us. I just want to help the team as much as I can." BWI: Why did you want more time at college and with Penn State? THOMPSON: "Playing in front of the fans, playing with my teammates, we have a really strong connection, and I feel like I was just starting to build that with every- one. To pack up and leave after we've just established this connection and built this team would have been really hard. "That's the main thing, just getting out there with the boys again and play- ing in front of everyone." BWI: What were your expectations throughout the process? THOMPSON: "It was a long time. It lasted a couple of months at least. We really had no idea what was going on. Obviously, I was thinking about it. I was mainly just taking it in, thinking this is going to be my last opportunity to play. When I went out there for Senior Day, I was just soaking it all in. I didn't expect it to go through. I was just kind of think- ing, I'm going to see what happens and deal with that at the end of the year. "Coach Franklin was the one who told me. We were out practicing, and he called me out and he told me. I was stoked. I don't know the exact way it all works with them. I didn't really handle a whole lot of it. It's really a compliance thing. They kind of go through it and talk to the NCAA. I obviously write my statements and things like that. "But Coach Franklin told me, which was a pretty awesome moment to have. [My teammates] were pretty happy. They knew that we weren't really sure what was going on. When they found out, they were stoked. It was just an awesome moment to hear right before training and then go out to practice with the boys. It was good." Sitting Down With Junior Punter Riley Thompson Thompson averaged 45.6 yards on 51 punts this past season, ranking fourth in the Big Ten. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL