Penn State Sports Magazine
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O C T O B E R 2 0 2 5 3 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M FIU return man C'Quan Jnopierre had been standing near midfield awaiting Nwosu's kick. He quickly turned and gave chase, but even after backtracking deep inside his own territory, he wasn't able to field the ball on the fly. It re- turned to earth just inside the Panthers' 20-yard line, and Jnopierre fell on it at the 17, unable to even attempt a return with Penn State's gunners closing in. Officially, the punt had covered 67 yards from the line of scrimmage. When you add in the snap from the Nittany Lions' 16-yard line to Nwosu, who launched the ball from about the 5, the awestruck reaction from the crowd of 103,818 was entirely understand- able. Moments earlier, those fans had been feeling restless, unhappy with a three-and-out by the of- fense that had forced PSU to give the ball back to the visitors with an underwhelming 20-0 lead. Nwosu's punt changed the mood in the stands — and on the Penn State sideline, too. "I don't know if I've ever experienced a reaction in the stadium for a punt like that," head coach James Franklin said following Penn State's 34-0 victory. "It was pretty cool to hear the reaction." Seeking Consistency Nwosu's breathtaking punt was a surprise in more ways than one. Throughout the offseason, there had been no reason to sus- pect that senior Riley Thompson wouldn't be doing the punting for the Nittany Lions this fall. The Aussie specialist had been Penn State's starter ever since transferring from Florida Atlantic ahead of the 2023 sea- son and had handled 51 of the team's 52 punts last year, the lone ex- ception being a quick kick by tight end Tyler Warren. Nwosu, a former walk-on from Der- wood, Md., seemed likely to continue in the role that he had held the previous two seasons as the team's kickoff specialist. Though listed as a punter on the roster, he was best known for his booming kick- offs, with 50 touchbacks on 76 attempts in 2023 and 60 on 97 tries last fall. But prior to the Lions' season opener against Nevada on Aug. 30, the video boards in Beaver Stadium indicated that Nwosu was the team's starting punter. Had the coaching staff made a change? It was hard to say, because the Lions scored on their first nine possessions of the game and never punted in a 46–11 victory. Two days later, Franklin confirmed that Nwosu had indeed earned the first-team job over Thompson during preseason camp. The difference, Frank- lin explained, had as much to do with consistency as power. Nwosu had always displayed the latter quality, but the for- mer needed to be better if he was going to claim the job. When he showed that he had made strides, the coaches gave him the nod. "His 'A' ball is as good as any 'A' ball we've had here," Franklin said. "But it was about consistency. He's being more consistent right now. He did a really nice job through training camp, not only on kickoffs, but punts and also field goals. He's a legitimate guy in all three aspects. "We've been very pleased with him. We're expecting him to do what he did in camp all year, which is punt for obviously great distance, location and hang time." The Right Balance Against FIU, Nwosu delivered just what Franklin and special teams coor- dinator Justin Lustig were looking for. His first punt attempt came midway through the second quarter after Penn State's offense stalled at the FIU 42. Nwosu's 40-yarder, initially ruled down at the Panthers' 2 by redshirt junior cor- nerback Audavion Collins, nearly un- raveled when the ball was batted near the goal line — but replay confirmed the spot. By game's end, Nwosu had shown the full range of his abilities: He had pinned FIU deep, boomed the 67-yarder that electrified the crowd and added a third punt of 53 yards to the Panthers' 7. Nwosu said being able to perform dif- ferent kinds of kicks is a crucial part of the job. "You've got to be able to not only uti- lize your leg in terms of having good power, but it's also [a matter of ] con- trolling it," he said. "Being able to bal- ance between the two is what makes you effective as a punter." Nwosu punted twice in Penn State's nonconference finale against Villanova, averaging 41.5 yards and putting both kicks inside the 20-yard line. Through the first three games, he ranked fourth in the Big Ten with a 48.6-yard average. The only remaining question came from Franklin's own tease a few days before the FIU game. Having noted that Nwosu drilled a 62-yard field goal in preseason practice that would have been good from 66, the coach sug- gested he could be an option on long attempts. One such opportunity pre- sented itself just before halftime of the FIU game, but the staff opted instead to have redshirt sophomore kicker Ryan Barker attempt a 53-yarder. The kick was blocked. For now, Nwosu's range as a kicker re- mains an open question. Through three games, he hasn't attempted a field goal. When asked if that might change in the weeks ahead, he declined to speculate. "That's a Coach Franklin question," Nwosu said. "I'm comfortable with whatever Coach Franklin wants me to kick. Whatever Franklin wants, that's what I'm going to do." ■ "His 'A' ball is as good as any 'A' ball we've had here. But it was about consistency. He's being more consistent right now." J A M E S F R A N K L I N O N N W O S U ' S D E V E L O P M E N T A S A P U N T E R