Penn State Sports Magazine
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4 0 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M W ith the season opener against Nevada a few weeks away, Penn State is still sorting out many of its position battles. Each presents its own set of challenges when it comes to gathering enough data to make a deci- sion, but the punt-return competition, in particular, can be a challenging one to figure out. The Nittany Lions moved their Aug. 5 practice from the outdoor fields at the Lasch complex to Beaver Stadium. They haven't been working out on their home field as much as they did in previous years due to the ongoing construction work, and that has impacted the team's preparations. James Franklin and his staff can learn a lot from any practice, but the punt- return competition is hard to assess for two reasons. The first reason is that it's difficult to simulate game conditions in practice. The second is that some play- ers — such as former PSU punt returner Daequan Hardy — simply find a different gear once the bright lights are on. Beaver Stadium helps solve those problems. Even when it's empty, the atmosphere makes practice seem more game-like. "We do a drill where we're sending guys live down the field, and we're try- ing to put them in situations where they can make those decisions," special teams coordinator Justin Lustig explained. "As everybody knows, you really need that game experience." The good news for Penn State is that several candidates for the job have that experience. Junior cornerback Zion Tracy and transfer receivers Trebor Peña and Devonte Ross all have returned punts at some point in their careers. Redshirt freshman receiver Tyseer Denmark also had a pair of returns last year. As a junior at Troy last season, Ross was named an All-Sun Belt Conference specialist after averaging 17 yards on 9 attempts, including a 77-yarder for a touchdown against Iowa. Peña excelled as a punt returner for Syracuse, averaging 13.8 yards in 55 ca- reer attempts, including a 9.2-yard mark on 15 runbacks as a junior last year. Tracy posted a 5.8-yard average on 15 attempts at Penn State last season after replacing the injured Kaden Saunders. Saunders is expected to miss the 2025 season, but with four contenders vying for the job, Penn State has plenty of tal- ent on hand. "You've got four guys with game expe- rience," Lustig said. "Last year, we really had one guy going into camp, and then he got hurt. We're just in a way better situation." Now, Penn State must find its starter. To do that, Lustig uses live tackling drills to judge players' evasiveness. He de- scribed a recent practice session in which Tracy impressed. "We put the ball in his hand in that drill when it's a live situation in kind of tight quarters to see if he can make peo- ple miss," Lustig said. "And he looked great there. It was exciting to see him do something with the ball in his hands. "And then, Trebor Peña has shown up a lot. Those live situations are huge for the punt returner. We go back and make a cut-up of every time Peña and Tyseer and Zion have had the ball in their hands, and then we just watch them back-to- back-to-back to see who's making the most guys miss. You've got to make a guy miss in space to get a punt return going. If you can make the first guy miss, we've got some guys who can block, and there should be a lot of space. "We're excited about it. We feel like that unit should make huge improve- ments this year." Freshman receiver Koby Howard is drawing praise in the punt-return game. He isn't going to unseat one of the four aforementioned players this year, barring a series of injuries. But his progress has been a positive sign for the future. "He's another guy who's dynamic," Lustig said. "It's just crazy how it's flipped from one year to the other. We were obviously strategic about building that part of our special teams. But he sticks out." ■ Nittany Lions Have Options At Punt Returner G R E G P I C K E L | G R E G . P I C K E L @ O N 3 . C O M Zion Tracy is looking to reprise his role as Penn State's punt returner this fall. He averaged 5.8 yards on 15 attempts last season. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS