Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/703041
2 0 1 6 P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L KEY PERSONNEL P: Blake Gillikin, Chris Gulla*, Daniel Pasquariello*; PK: Alex Barbir, Tyler Davis*, Joey Julius*; SN: Zach Ladonis, Kyle Vasey, Tyler Yazujian*; H: Chris Gulla*; KR: Koa Farmer*, Brandon Polk*, Nick Scott*; PR: Mark Allen, Gregg Garrity*, De- Andre Thompkins* LOSSES None RISING STAR He's just arriving on campus this summer, but Gillikin al- ready is shouldering fans' hopes for special teams improvement. Penn State averaged only 39.3 yards per punt last year – a slight improvement from its league-worst 36.6-yard average in 2014. If there's a punter on the Nittany Lions' roster who can routinely pin opposing teams deep in their own ter- ritory, he will quickly become a special teams star for PSU. And that might be Gillikin, who as a senior in high school averaged more than 45 yards per at- tempt. He'll also join the race with fel- low freshman Barbir and the returning upperclassman specialists to handle kickoffs, another unit in need of a boost. An honorable mention nod goes to whoever winds up returning kicks and punts. Whether it's Scott, Farmer, Thompkins, Garrity or even prized re- cruit Miles Sanders, look for larger re- turns this season. BIGGEST LOSS This isn't really ap- plicable, considering that anyone who kicked, punted, returned or even long-snapped the football last year is back for another go-round. Coordina- tor Charles Huff maintains his post as he works feverishly to get his special teams unit completely aligned now that it's gained some experience. NUMBERS GAME It's easy to focus on the bad, the short, the incon- sistent, the missed point-afters, but in spite of all the special teams woes of the past season, there's one statistic that glimmers among the rest – one that shouldn't be quickly over- looked. With Davis and Julius splitting time at place-kicker, Penn State con- verted a Big Ten-best 85.7 percent of its field goal attempts. Davis was es- pecially steady. Perfect, even. Al- though he only kicked in seven games, he converted 8 of 8 with a long of 42 yards. He also converted all 11 PATs. OUTLOOK When it comes to kick- offs and punting, Penn State is in need of repair. Too many attempts have gone out of bounds, too many have been shanked. With the arrival of Bar- bir and Gillikin, the two top kicking prospects in Georgia's Class of 2016, there's reason to believe that Penn State will make immediate progress in both of those departments. It's a dif- ferent story, however, at the place- kicking position. While Barbir is said to have the higher ceiling, Davis dis- played consistency when he was called on to replace Julius as the starter. If he keeps it up in preseason practice, it could prove difficult for a true fresh- man to oust him. Either way, this type of competition is what the coaches have been hoping to cultivate, and it should yield results. The return game is also due for another tune-up. It showed slight progress from year one to year two, but there still has not been a touchdown return during Franklin's two-year tenure at PSU. With the in- flux of speed added to the pre-existing stockpile, there's a good chance that drought will end this fall. – T.O. >> PLACE-KICKER NO NAME YR HT WT 95 Tyler Davis R-Jr. 5-11 180 99 Joey Julius R-So. 5-10 271 – Alex Barbir Fr. 5-9 195 PUNTER 92 D. Pasquariello Jr. 6-1 197 37 Chris Gulla R-Jr. 6-1 196 – Blake Gillikin Fr. 6-2 182 HOLDER 37 Chris Gulla R-Jr. 6-1 196 LONG SNAPPER 44 Tyler Yazujian Sr. 5-11 244 41 Zach Ladonis R-Jr. 6-2 236 PUNT RETURNS 19 Gregg Garrity Sr. 5-10 165 3 D. Thompkins R-So. 5-11 185 – Miles Sanders Fr. 5-11 195 KICKOFF RETURNS 7 Koa Farmer R-So. 6-1 225 24 Nick Scott R-So. 5-11 200 – Miles Sanders Fr. 5-11 200 * Starting experience in 2015 OR OR OR OR OR TYLER DAVIS Steve Manuel PHIL'S TAKE This could turn out to be one of the most competitive aspects of preseason camp. Joey Julius and Tyler Davis combined to convert 18 of 20 field goal attempts last season, but Julius missed four PATs, and both players struggled with their kickoffs. Even if he doesn't win the full-time place-kicking job, freshman Alex Barbir could end up handing kickoff du- ties. The punting competition will pit returnee Daniel Pasquariello against freshman Blake Gillikin. Pasquariello averaged 39.9 yards last year with a net average of 35.7; Gillikin averaged over 45 yards as a high school senior. Incoming freshman Miles Sanders could elevate the punt and kickoff return game.