Blue White Illustrated

When it comes to punt returns, Penn State head coach James Franklin is look- ing for more. Between Jesse Della Valle, Jordan Lucas and Gregg Garrity, the longest run of the season was an 8-yarder by Della Valle vs. UCF. Since then it's been fair catch aDer fair catch with a 5- or 7-yard outburst sprinkled here and there. It hasn't been what most would consider highlight ma- terial. It should be pointed out, though, that none of the three returners have fumbled the ball through four games. Protecting the ball is key, and Franklin is certainly not willing to sacrifice ball security for the chance to gain a few extra yards, but he is pushing for progress. "I would love for one of those guys, especially Jesse, to start gaining more yardage," Franklin said Tuesday. "He's been really successful in catching the ball and making great decisions, but we would like a little bit more playmak- ing." It's been a while since Penn State has enjoyed many big plays from the posi- tion. The Lions haven't scored a punt- return touchdown since 2008, when Derrick Williams brought one to the house vs. Wisconsin. And Della Valle, the primary punt returner the past three sea- sons, has a 39-yard career long, but he ran that back during the 2012 season opener. Otherwise, he's averaged only 7.8 yards per touch since. His average is down nearly three yards in 2014, as he's only attempted one re- turn in each of the four games. Otherwise he's had nine fair catches, if he fields it at all. As Della Valle has maintained through- out his career, making sure he gets the ball back to the offense is priority No. 1. Gaining extra yards comes next. "I have to decide if a fair catch is the best decision or if a return is the best de- cision," Della Valle said. "For me to catch every ball and try to return every ball is not a smart decision for the foot- ball team. So that's why I maybe have fair caught as many balls as I have, because I felt, per- sonally, that it would be best for the team that I would retain that field [position] and just fair catch the ball and get it to our offense, get it to Hack and those guys." You're not going to hear his head coach complain about that philosophy, but why not improve upon the field position, too, in addition to holding onto the foot- ball? Franklin has sought alternatives. Lucas had a couple attempts early in the season and Garrity, a sophomore, had one vs. Massachusetts. Freshman De'Andre Thompkins is also listed on the depth chart and he gets punt-return work at practice, too, but the current plan is to redshirt him. As always, Franklin wants competition for playing time at every position. Punt return is no different. However, it's been difficult to find somebody who can match what Della Valle brings on an everyday basis, despite his lack of yardage. "We have some other guys who we're working back there at practice every single day," Franklin said. "They may be catching it consistently, but their fundamentals and techniques aren't great." Fundamentals, technique – Della Valle has them, and the fiDh-year senior is op- timistic that he'll begin to make some things happen for the special teams unit sooner or later. Although he's handled punt- return duties for the past three seasons, the formation has changed with the new coaching staff. It's something, he said, that has taken some getting used to. Under Bill O'Brien, in most cases two athletes went back to field a kick. Franklin and special teams coordinator Charles Huff, how- ever, send only one. Della Valle stopped short of saying whether he preferred one concept over the other, but he explained that Huff's formation allows a 10th blocker near the line of scrimmage. That's good. As a drawback, though, when there's only one player to field the punt, that player has to cover more ground by himself. Also, he doesn't have his personal protector to scan the field while he's fielding the punt. "For me it's just a kind of an adjust- ment, detecting where the first pressure is going to come from, knowing I don't have the off-returner to pick up that first guy," Della Valle said. An adjustment, however, that he said he'll continue working on. T I M   O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 11 Safety first Punt returner Jesse Della Valle focuses on making the catch Tim Owen DEEP IMPACT A change in Penn State's punt-re- turn formation has caused Della Valle to adjust his approach to fielding kicks.

• Cover