A
h, yes, the classic punter-power for-
ward combo. It's like the guy who is
on the o=ensive line in the fall and
then bats leado= in the spring. Or wrestles
in the winter but plays AAU hoops in the
summer. The two just don't o>en pair to-
gether.
Sometimes, however, they do, as in the
case of Penn State signee Blake Gillikin,
who not only is an All-State punter from
Atlanta but also moonlights on the hard-
wood at the four spot and sometimes even
the er he got called up to the varsity
team in 10th grade, his focus was strictly
special teams.
"My coaches told me that I have to focus
on kicking and punting because that's
where they need it most," Gillikin said. "I
couldn't play J.V. and varsity because of
the risk of getting hurt, so I kept [punt-
ing]."
As a senior, the three-year letterwinner,
helped his team to its er [St. Louis Rams punter Johnny]
Hekker had that All-Pro year. How did he
do that 44.2-yard average [in 2013]? Well,
we're teaching our high school kids the
same thing."
Gillikin, who primarily trained in One
on One Kicking's Atlanta Division, worked
closely with director Dawson Zimmerman,
a four-year starter at Clemson who earned
All-America honors before a brief stint
with the Atlanta Falcons.
"He trained Blake, and we also trained
Drue Chrisman, who is going to Ohio
State," McCabe said. "If you want to com-
pare the two together, they're both phe-
nomenal. I mean, for their age, their con-
sistency – it impresses me. We deal with
a lot of NFL players that I train – Ryan
Allen [of the New England Patriots], John-
ny Hekker and many others – and you
can see that continuous spark of [Gillikin
and Chrisman] becoming that."
It helps, McCabe added, that the 182-
pound Gillikin "hits like a truck."
"The kid is tough," he said. "One of our
coaches was watching him play basketball
the other night and they were like, This
kid is a brute."
■
Versatile Gillikin to bolster PSU's special teams
|
CLICK HERE to see video
of Gillikin in action.
Penn State Athletics
THE GILLIKIN FILE
STATS Averaged 45.2 yards on 41 punts as a senior,
with 19 punts downed inside the opponent's 20-yard
line... Went 16 of 26 on field goal attempts and 54 of
54 on extra points in 2015... Had three field goals, in-
cluding a 53-yarder, and a pair of 60-yard punts in
state championship game
HONORS Named a three-star recruit by Rivals.com...
Won first-team All-State and All-Metro honors as
a senior... Invited to the O2ense-Defense All-
American Bowl and Florida-Georgia High
School All-Star Game
