Blue White Illustrated

HURTS SO GOOD Resilient Sam Ficken comes through in more ways than one LORI  SHONTZ | blue white contRibutoR Sam Ficken does not want to make tackles. Not his thing. He kicks off, and he fully expects the other special teams players to stay in their lanes and prevent any big gains. That said, when the situation calls for it, Ficken says, he's ready. And he proved that Saturday, making a touchdownsaving tackle in the third quarter – and showing a little swagger as he returned to the sideline. "I usually never want to get in the play, " Ficken said. "That's usually not good for the team." The special teams Saturday needed all the help they could get, though. They gave up a 100-yard kickoff return to in the second quarter – the longest kickoff return since 1994. At one point, they had 5-foot-9, 147-pound walk-on Gregg Garrity (yes, son of that Gregg Garrity) on the coverage team. And more changes may be afoot. "Our hit squad, as we call them—we have to be better, coach Bill O'Brien said. " "We've got to go back to work on that on Monday and get that fixed. Maybe we've got to replace some guys, get some guys who are a little hungrier." Ficken's tackle came at a pivotal time. Penn State had a 10-point lead, but Purdue had some momentum after its kickoff return touchdown, and the Nittany Lions had just settled for a field goal after driving to the Purdue 12 yard line. "He laid his body out on that," O'Brien said. "That was great to see." Additionally, Ficken was playing hurt after injuring his right leg – his kicking leg – during Tuesday's practice. He said it wasn't the same injury he'd struggled with last season, but he thought rest was the best thing for the leg this week. He hadn't kicked all week, although he said he could have if needed. And he didn't think about it when he went for the tackle. What he thought about was position. n o V e m b e R Bill Anderson FOR THE TEAM Ficken kicked a 29-yard field goal in the third quarter, but perhaps his best play was a TD-saving tackle on a kickoff. Ficken said that he watches the play unfold after he kicks, and after 15 or 20 yards, he can tell where the returner is headed – and whether he has a shot at the end zone. "The touchdown, he kind of split a gap that I really wasn't expecting at that point," Ficken said. "Then I kind of slipped and fell down, so I had no opportunity to make a tackle at that point. But on the other one, it is a little bit easier when they go outside for me to look at the angle he's running. I can use the sideline to my advantage and shoot in there. " Ficken said this was the sixth tackle of his kicking career, added to three in high school, two last season. If he were ranking them, Saturday's tackle would be near the top. "It's up there, for sure, he said. "That " would have been a big swing of momentum." 1 6 , 2 0 1 3 11 Jordan Lucas is head-and-shoulders above the rest of the DBs right now. I like how physically he plays in run support. I am very happy with his development. In my opinion, he's the biggest surprise of the year on defense. Adrian Amos had the two sacks but it seemed like Purdue targeted his side on the screens. Ctel12592 Let's all give Bill O'Brien credit. We FROM have the sanctions, THE significant reduction WEB in scholarship playonline Reaction ers, a freshman QB to Psu's who is still learning latest Game and a new coaching staff in their second year with a new defensive coordinator in his first. But they come out and play hard every week. We could be Rutgers. They quit a couple of games ago... weare5lions Have to give O'Brien credit. This was the best game plan seen this year. I know it is Purdue, but this is the first game that reminded me of his performance last year when it came to calling the offense. Kasandro I get more joy watching these kids win and enjoy success during these last two years, more than any other time watching PSU football. Winning feels so much better than it hurts to lose. It used to be the opposite for me. eilion We played the worst team in the Big Ten and the defense gave up two touchdowns. Purdue has been shut out twice this season and held to seven points twice. The D did what it should have. I'm not sure if they are playing better. Purdue's lines are awful. Good thing we got playing time for some of the younger kids. HartfordLlion b l u e w h i t e o n l i n e . c o m

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