Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1524108
A U G U S T 2 0 2 4 7 7 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 / / / / / / / Granted additional eligibility by the NCAA in January, Australian punter Riley Thompson is back for his junior year. His average of 45.8 yards per punt ranked third in the Big Ten in 2023. Elsewhere, junior running back Nicho- las Singleton is poised to return kick- offs for the third consecutive season, while redshirt junior Gabriel Nwosu is expected to continue serving as the team's primary kickoff specialist after hitting 50 touchbacks on 76 attempts last year. The only absences from the equation are placekicker Alex Felkins and punt returner Daequan Hardy, both of whom took over last season after starting out as backups behind two players who have returned in 2024: redshirt junior kicker Sander Sahaydak and redshirt sophomore punt returner Kaden Saun- ders. Lustig was reassured this past spring that PSU's major special teams roles will be in good hands. "We have some veterans. We have a veteran punter. We have a veteran at kickoff. We have a veteran kickoff re- turner. We have a veteran punt returner who didn't necessarily start the entire year in Kaden Saunders. But he had a great spring," Lustig said. "There are a lot of veterans. "But there are also a lot of guys that we need to replace at positions like right tackle on the kickoff return team and things like that. That's the thing that stands out. It is penciling in guys into these critical special teams roles that maybe don't get noticed on game day." Still, Lustig acknowledged, the open- ing on field goal and PAT duties looms large. "Placekicker is a big one," he said. "But we've got a really good competi- tion going on right now. I'm pleased with how those guys competed in the spring, and I feel like we're going to be able to have an elite kicker out of who- ever wins the starting job." Last year, Penn State needed an early reset to settle its placekicking com- petition. Initially crowned the starter, Sahaydak missed a pair of field goals in the Lions' season-opening win over West Virginia, ceding the job to Fel- kins in the process. An All-Ivy League transfer from Columbia, Felkins held onto the position, connecting on 19 of 24 field goals while knocking through every one of his 47 extra-point tries. The effort earned him second-team All-Big Ten recognition. Sahaydak is contending for the job again this offseason, but that will re- quire staving off more competition. Ryan Barker, a redshirt freshman walk- on, and Chase Meyer, a junior who transferred from Tulsa, will present that challenge. Pleased with the effort he's witnessed thus far, Lustig said his confidence comes from not only the competitors up for the job but also from the very nature of the position. "I think in some ways, choosing your kicker is probably the easiest posi- tion to decide on," he said. "You can go through spring ball, you can go through all their practices, and you chart all the kicks. 'OK, who's got the best percent- age?' However, the lights come on, and there's 107,000 [in the stadium], and it's a critical moment. Is that going to change?" Through the insistence of Frank- lin and the time carved out during the practices to emphasize special teams, Lustig said judgment can be exchanged for data. "Being able to kick under pressure is also a critical thing, which we've prac- ticed a lot," he said. "Coach Franklin does an unbelievable job of creating an atmosphere. At the end of practice, we'll have pressure field goals, where the team may have to do some push-ups or something if they miss a kick. Crowd noise will be pumped in to simulate game-pressure situations. "You won't know until they're actu- ally on the field, so that creates a little bit of anxiety. But in terms of the objec- tive numbers, they are where they need to be." ■ 2023 vs. 2024: Stock Up Or Down? The Nittany Lions have fewer questions to answer in the kicking game than they did a year ago, but the question they do face is probably the biggest one of all: Who's going to handle the placekicking job this fall? Tulsa transfer Chase Meyer is the only kicker on the roster with significant collegiate experi- ence. The junior from Los Angeles hit 17 of 20 attempts last year with the Golden Hurricane. Kicking is one of those disciplines in which it's possible to go from the American Athletic Con- ference to the Big Ten and still have the same expectation of success. So, if Meyer's 2023 per- formance is any indication, the Lions figure to be in good shape here. It's also possible that redshirt freshman Ryan Barker or redshirt junior Sander Sahaydak could claim the job. If either one turns out to be better than a kicker with an 85 percent success rate last year, that's also a pretty good outcome. Still, until we start seeing these guys in action, it's probably best to err on the side of caution and predict that the Lions' stock will hold steady. X-Factor We've asked this question about the offense and defense, so it only makes sense to ask it about the special teams, too: How will the Nit- tany Lions adapt to a new coordinator? Stacy Collins did a fine job in his two seasons in State College. Last year's team ranked in the top 25 of the FBS in net punting average (sixth, 42.9 yards), punt-return defense (24th, 4.60), kickoff- return average (21st, 23.25) and kickoff-return defense (22nd, 16.82). Several of Collins' key players have returned this fall, and the veteran assistant coach was in- strumental in signing Meyer out of the transfer portal. Collins left for Boise State in January, but Meyer stuck with his choice of PSU. Collins' successor, Justin Lustig, formerly of Vanderbilt and Syracuse, should benefit from all that legwork. Although the Nittany Lions do have a key vacancy at placekicker, this is hardly a situation in which they must start over from scratch. Freshman Outlook Could be massive. Could be minimal. A lot will depend on whether Barker, a first-team all-state kicker at Kennett (Pa.) High, wins the starting job in preseason camp. Lustig noted Barker was very reliable during spring practice. Said the coach, "What I see out of him is just this consistency — not only in his game, but in his mindset." Elsewhere, there will be freshmen on the punt- and kick-coverage teams, and it's possible that the staff will audition a newcomer or two in the return game.