Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1529598
1 8 D E C E M B E R 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 It's been a tumultuous year for Penn State's special teams in some respects. The Nittany Lions changed placekick- ers at midseason, promoting redshirt freshman Ryan Barker and watching him hit his first 8 attempts, including a game- winner in overtime at USC. The Lions also had to find a replacement for injured punt returner Kaden Saunders, eventually set- tling on sophomore defensive back Zion Tracy to fill that role. And even before making those changes, Penn State was adapting to the arrival of a new special teams coordinator in Justin Lustig, who came in January from Vanderbilt. But in junior punter Riley Thompson, there has been some carryover from the 2023 season. Through Penn State's first 10 games, Thompson was averaging 42.7 yards per punt, with 18 fair catches on 29 attempts. He's also been the holder on placekicks, helping Barker settle in after PSU tapped him in early October to take over the starting duties. Thompson, who hails from Melbourne, Australia, and be- gan his college football career at Florida Atlantic, recently spoke to reporters about his season and the performance of Penn State's special teams. QUESTION: How do you feel like you're hitting the ball this year? THOMPSON: "Not bad. It's been an up-and-down season for me. I'm kind of getting back to basics on ball contact, footwork and things like that. Obviously, not every ball is going to be per- fect, and I've just been working on finding the balance between the balls that aren't as good and the balls that are really good." QUESTION: How often do you feel like you're hitting the ball as well as you can hit it? THOMPSON: "It kind of de- pends. I don't really have a per- centage on it. Wind and [field conditions] obviously are a fac- tor. I try to minimize returns as much as I can, so hang time is something I've also been working on. The number of A-balls kind of varies week to week, depending on the opponent. It's kind of hard to put a percentage on it." QUESTION: What do you have to do differently? You're in different situations with rugby kicks and things like that, but have you pinpointed what you need to fix? THOMPSON: "My main thing was my footwork. We just found a lot of varia- tion in my footwork on different types of punts, and obviously that can vary, being a roll-out punter. "For me, it was [a matter of] breaking down the basics of what I do best, and then ultimately focusing on ball contact and my leg swing. Those were the two main things that I've taken away from the season so far, and they've been my main emphasis in practice." QUESTION: What are your thoughts on working with Ryan Barker so far, now that he's been in that starting placekicker role for a few games? THOMPSON: "It's been awesome. I love Ryan. He's worked so hard. Even when he wasn't the starter, he was pre- paring like he was a starter, which I know he's said, and it's 100 percent true. He was ready to go when his moment came, and it was really awesome to see it and watch him develop. He definitely stepped up when we needed him mul- tiple times, and I think he'll continue to do that for years to come." QUESTION: What have you seen from Zion Tracy on punt returns? THOMPSON: "He's been good. We've always trusted him. We've always seen him out there and thought the big play is coming. I keep saying to him, 'It's going to come, just wait for it.' And I think we're seeing that now, which is awesome. His con- fidence is super high. He's play- ing really, really well. I'm really excited to see what he's going to do the rest of the year, because I think he's really comfortable back there, and he's got a lot of confidence now, too." QUESTION: What about as a gunner? How much do you think Zion's experience helped him get where he's at on the defensive side of the field? THOMPSON: "Coach Lustig talks about it a lot — how you do anything is how you do every- thing. Zion prepared so hard for each of his roles on special teams. He took it really seriously. He put 100 percent effort in. He was there in every meeting, getting extra work in. "I think that's had a direct translation to his defense, and Coach Lustig has really empha- sized that. He's a great example for anyone out there who is play- ing special teams. If you give it 100 percent, it's going to translate to other parts of your game." Sitting Down With Junior Punter Riley Thompson In his second season as Penn State's starting punter, Thompson was averaging 42.7 yards per attempt through eight games. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS