Blue White Illustrated

evident. During their 2014 national championship season, the Buckeyes led the conference in net punting average, kickoff coverage and PAT accuracy. This year, through five games, they were ranked among the league leaders in punt- ing, kickoff returns, and field goal and PAT percentage. Penn State is still a long way from achieving that kind of across-the-board success, but players such as Gillikin and Reid have brought it closer to its goals. And yet, those two standouts haven't gotten the kind of national exposure that one of Penn State's other specialists has received. The Nittany Lions' breakout star so far this season has been Julius, and not because of his success at forcing touchbacks. No, his emergence as a fan favorite and Saturday night highlight reel fixture has been because of two tackles on kickoff returns. The first was on opening day against Kent State. Kavious Price had found a small alley on the right sideline, but it closed immediately when Julius stepped into his path. Price bounced off of the kicker as if he'd walked into a lamppost while looking at his cellphone, stagger- ing backward for three yards before being tackled by two of Julius's team- mates. The video of the play went viral, and for weeks, Price caught flak on social media. He told ESPN.com that it was one of the biggest hits he'd ever absorbed playing football. "Most definitely in my top two," he said. The second collision was, if anything, even more violent. Michigan return man Jourdan Lewis wasn't expecting Penn State's kicker to plug the hole he had found in the middle of the field. But Pep- pers had failed to block Julius, and when Lewis tried to scoot past him, Julius ex- tended his right arm and put Lewis on his back at the 27-yard line. "I thought he would stay back there as a safety valve," Lewis said. "But he definitely didn't care about that. He took his shot and made it." It wasn't by accident that Julius was in position to make those hits. Franklin doesn't want his kickers hanging back, serving as the last line of defense. He wants them in the middle of the fray, chasing down the return man or at least taking up space and forcing a stutter step that might allow someone else to make the stop. "I don't think a safety valve makes any sense," Franklin said. "Because if you're a safety valve, you're back there in space, and typically, those guys aren't athletic enough to make a tackle against the best athlete on the other team in space. Very few people are, let alone a kicker. So our thing is, go down there. We don't neces- sarily need them to be Mike Singletary Davis sets record vs. Gophers W ith his 27-yard field goal in the third quarter of the Minnesota game, junior kicker Tyler Davis set a Penn State record with 16 consecu- tive conversions. However, had he not received a text message earlier in the week from the former record- holder, Davis would- n't have known he was nearing the his- toric mark. "I actually didn't even know I was even close until [Sam] Ficken texted me the other day," Davis said after Penn State's 29-26 overtime victory over the Gophers. "He said, 'Yeah, don't even think about breaking my record.' We're pretty good friends, so it's funny. He actually texted me again after this game, so it's defi- nitely an honor to break that record." Davis transferred to Penn State two years ago after playing one year of Division I soccer at Bradley Univer- sity. He was eased into action last season, but his role increased as the year went on. By season's end, he had converted all eight of his field goal tries and also went 11 for 11 on PATs. His streak has continued in earnest in 2016, including against the Go- phers. Davis was 3 for 3 on field goals, including a 40-yard long kick with time expiring in the fourth quarter. That helped send the game into over- time tied, 20-20. Davis also hit two extra points dur- ing the game, and a week later against Maryland, he hit five PATs and a 30- yard field goal. Heading into the Ohio State game, he was 10 of 10 on field goal attempts this season and 14 of 14 on extra points. Those numbers make him one of the most surefire kickers in school history. He's been so true with his kicks, in fact – not only in games but in prac- tices – that head coach James Franklin doesn't even talk to Davis before sending him onto the field. "I don't say anything to him," Franklin said. "I talk to the snapper and holder [and tell them to] do your job, because that guy will, because that guy is money. He's just an older and mature kid, just consistently does his job at practice every time, and he's confident right now." Davis was named one of the Groza Award's three stars of the week fol- lowing the Minnesota game, but he's been an unsung hero for Penn State until recently, one who "probably didn't get enough of the credit that he deserved internally or externally" last season, Franklin said. "He has really showed he is one of the better kickers in the conference, if not the country," the coach added, "and I've been very, very pleased with him." – TIM OWEN DAVIS

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