Blue White Illustrated

way, the Lions are looking better in nearly every phase of the kicking game, and the area where they've come the farthest the fastest is their punting. They knew they were getting a good one in Gillikin. The son of two former college swimmers – father Walt attended North Carolina and mother Taryn is a Kansas grad – he displayed a driven personality on and off the field at the Westminster School in Smyrna, Ga. Gillikin was a member of the National Honor Society, an AP Scholar and a letter-winner in three sports: football, basketball and soc- cer. In his final high school game, he sent two punts soaring 60 yards in the air and also had three field goals, including a 53- yarder, as Westminster claimed its first state championship since 1978. PSU coach James Franklin, who had re- ceived a verbal commit- ment from Gillikin five months earlier, was in the crowd that evening. When he got to Penn State the following sum- mer, Gillikin quickly pulled even with returning punters Gulla and Pasquariello. "The way he was kick- ing the ball, it was clearly obvious to everybody that he had a chance," Franklin said. "We never know until the games get going and practice gets serious, but he showed it time after time after time in practice." Gillikin won the starting job in August and made his debut Sept. 3 against Kent State. As Franklin watched warm-ups, he could tell the freshman was amped for his collegiate debut. Maybe a little too amped. "We do a sky punt [drill], and he knocked it about 12 yards out of the end zone," Franklin said. "I said to him that his legs were a little live today. He was excited about the game, and I wanted to just make sure he understood that. I remember playing quarterback [in college], there were some days when my arm felt stronger than others, and you get caught up in the moment. I think the same thing happened to him." Gillikin's first collegiate punt was a 49- yarder that resulted in a fair catch at the 18-yard line. He went on to average 47 yards on six attempts, drawing a standing ovation from the crowd. Franklin found a few nits to pick afterward, suggesting that Gillikin's ball drop could have been more consistent and noting that "he can be better than what he showed today." But in the wake of Penn State's 33-13 victory over the Golden Flashes, the performance of its true freshman punter was one of the most encouraging signs. One other encouraging sign was Reid's showing as a punt returner. Heading into the season, the sophomore cornerback hadn't been mentioned as a candidate for the position, with senior Gregg Garrity expected to reprise the starting role that he had claimed toward the end of his jun- ior season. Garrity's best asset was his dependability. He wasn't going to turn the ball over and instantly flip the field position in the opponent's favor, as hap- pened to Penn State when a fumbled punt proved to be one of the decisive blows in a home loss to Michigan last November. But in addition to fielding the ball cleanly, the Lions were looking to break a long re- turn now and again, so the coaching staff gave Reid an audition in preseason prac- tice. "He always caught the ball, but his fun- damentals early on weren't great," Franklin said. "We wanted to clean those things up. John is the type of guy who, once you decide to make him the punt re- turner, he's going to stay out there after practice on his own with managers and [Jordan] Wombacher, one of our punters, and get in a bunch of work." That's exactly what happened. And in addition to all the overtime he put in on the practice field, Reid began poring over tapes of great punt returners, such as Tavon Austin of the Los Angeles Rams and Devin Hester of the Baltimore Ravens. He also checked out film of for- mer Penn State great Derrick Williams. That work yielded a 21-yard return in Penn State's opener, but it really paid off against Pitt. On his 59-yard burst, Reid slipped out of four diving tackle attempts before being brought down at the Pan- thers' 14-yard line. "I think whenever you have a big play on special teams, regardless of whether it's a punt or a punt return, it's a way to change momentum," Reid said. "The guys in front of me pretty much had everybody held up at the line of scrimmage for a long time. As soon as I caught it, they pretty much opened up a huge hole for me, and it's just my job to hit the opening." That's the sort of thunderclap that the country's most successful programs have gotten consistently from their special teams. At Ohio State, for example, the kicking units are overseen by head coach Urban Meyer, and his influence is plainly SPECIAL DELIVERY Reid's punt-return- ing prowess was on display in the first half of the season, much to the enjoy- ment of special teams coordinator Charles Huff. Pho- tos by Steve Manuel

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