Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547107
2 6 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M I n a season full of ups and downs on both offense and defense, Penn State's kicking game has been a reli- able asset. Redshirt junior Ryan Barker has continued to be one of the Big Ten's top placekickers, redshirt freshman Zay Robinson has energized the return game, and the coverage units have kept the big plays to a minimum. Here's a look at how the Nittany Lions' kicking units graded out at midseason. Kicker Barker had hit 10 of 12 field goal at- tempts through six games. He was un- characteristically off-target on a 33-yard attempt versus Temple and a 45-yarder at Northwestern, but those weren't game-deciding misses; Penn State still beat the Owls handily and lost to the Wildcats even more handily. Against USC, he had 3 field goals, including a season-long 48-yarder. The kickoff job belonged initially to redshirt senior Cristiano Rosa, but the James Madison transfer was injured against Wisconsin and has been replaced by freshman Lucas Tenbrock. While Tenbrock was signed as a punter, there's been little drop-off since the change took place. Tenbrock has averaged 62.1 yards and totaled 11 touchbacks on 20 attempts. Before getting hurt, Rosa was averaging 64.4 yards and had 10 touch- backs on 14 tries. It's unclear when Rosa will be able to return. Grade: B+ Punter Mississippi State transfer Nathan Ti- yce held off Tenbrock in preseason camp to claim the starting job. In his first six games, the sophomore from Gerringong, Australia, averaged 41.7 yards, with 10 of his 26 punts landing inside the oppo- nent's 20-yard line and 3 kicks covering 50 or more yards. Grade: B Returns Here's an area in which the transfer portal has made a big difference. Red- shirt freshman Zay Robinson has elec- trified the Nittany Lions' punt-return game, bringing back 16 punts for an av- erage of 10.9 yards, including a season- long 38-yarder against Buffalo. He's also averaged 19.8 yards on 6 kickoff returns. On kickoffs, the Lions' best moment came at the start of the second half ver- sus USC when redshirt sophomore safety Vaboue Toure alertly recovered a sur- prise onside kick attempt, setting up a go-ahead field goal. Grade: B+ Kick Coverage Only one of Tiyce's first 26 punts was returned. That's the good news. The bad news is that Northwestern's Drew Wag- ner brought it back 26 yards. There haven't been a lot of noteworthy moments in kick coverage, which is just how you like it. The Nittany Lions were allowing 16.6 yards per kickoff return. Heading into their visit to Michigan on Oct. 17, they hadn't allowed a special teams touchdown in 95 games, a streak dating back to 2019. Grade: B MIDSEASON GRADES SPECIAL TEAMS Kicking Game Proves Dependable In Season's First Half M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M Ryan Barker had hit 10 of 12 field goal tries heading into the Nittany Lions' visit to Michigan on Oct. 17. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS