Blue White Illustrated

>> KEY PERSONNEL PK: Sam Ficken*; P: Chris Gulla, Daniel Pasquariello; H: Ryan Keiser*; LS: Zach Ladonis; KR: Geno Lewis*, De'Andre Thompkins; Von Walker*; PR: Jesse Della Valle*, De'Andre Thompkins, Von Walker LOSS P: Alex Butterworth* RISING STAR It was hard to get a feel for who was looking good in the return game this spring, as kicks weren't live in the Blue-White Game. Also, some po- tential freshman contributors weren't set to arrive until this summer. But even though he'll have more competition when practice starts in August, Thomp- kins looks to be the most likely choice to find a spot on the return units. A Janu- ary enrollee from North Carolina, he is reportedly the team's fastest player and was rated one of the top kick-return prospects in Atlantic Coast Conference territory in the Class of 2014. BIGGEST LOSS Butterworth, who av- eraged 39.2 yards on 51 punt attempts last year, was the only key member of the special teams units to depart in the off-season. NUMBERS GAME Penn State was bad in all phases of the return game last sea- son. It finished 103rd nationally in net punting average (35.4 yards), 90th in punt returns (8.0), 112th in kickoff returns (19.1) and 89th in kickoff coverage (36.5). OUTLOOK Penn State's kicking game was the canary in the coal mine. When the team's scholarship numbers started to dwindle in 2012 due to the NCAA sanctions, the special teams units were the first to suffer, as was evident when All-Big Ten linebacker Gerald Hodges fielded the first kickoff of the Bill O'Brien era. Those numbers are slowly starting to creep back up, and it's a sure bet that many of this year's incoming freshmen will see their first action as members of the various kicking units. James Franklin has vowed to make the kicking game a high priority, and special teams coordi- nator Charles Huff has insisted that his players will "attack and attack and at- tack." Franklin and Huff don't appear to be merely paying lip service. During spring practice, the Nittany Lions con- ducted two special teams sessions daily: one after stretching and one at the con- clusion of drills. Ficken reportedly had an excellent spring, responding well to the staff's re- peated efforts to distract him using any means at their disposal, from air horns to water bottles. If he can boost his long-range accuracy this fall, it'll be a big step in the right direction; he was 11 of 19 from 30 yards and beyond during an injury-plagued junior year. Ficken also did some punting in the spring, but Gulla has long been assumed to be Butterworth's most likely replace- ment. Gulla was known primarily as a place-kicker at Toms River North High in New Jersey, but he also punted his last two seasons. His main challenger for the starting spot may turn out to be Pas- quariello, a freshman walk-on from Australia who reportedly has looked im- pressive during informal summer drills. As for the return teams, there's really nowhere to go but up. Penn State was one of only three Big Ten teams that didn't score a either a kick- or punt-re- turn touchdown last season, so Thomp- kins will have something to aim for, as- suming he's the coaches' choice to field kicks. – M.H. PLACE-KICKER NO NAME YR HT WT 97 Sam Ficken Sr. 6-2 186 37 Chris Gulla Fr. 6-0 193 PUNTER 37 Chris Gulla Fr. 6-0 193 92 Daniel Pasquariello Fr. 6-0 199 HOLDER 23 Ryan Keiser Sr. 6-1 208 31 Adam Geiger So. 5-9 191 LONG SNAPPER 41 Zach Ladonis So. 6-2 219 44 Tyler Yazujian So. 6-0 228 PUNT RETURNS 39 Jesse Della Valle Sr. 6-1 203 3 De'Andre Thompkins Fr. 5-11 173 KICK RETURNS 7 Geno Lewis So. 6-1 199 3 De'Andre Thompkins Fr. 5-11 173 * Starting experience in 2013 Visit us in our newly renovated HUB-Robeson Center, on-campus. Visit us in our newly renovated HUB-Robeson Center Visit us in our newly renovated HUB-R , on-campus. obeson Center obeson Center, on-campus. >>

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