Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/797655
S P R I N G P R A C T I C E P R E V I E W return man Nick Holley was forced to signal for a fair catch. The freshman went on to average 47 yards on six attempts. It was an auspicious start. But there were also a few setbacks last year, including a midseason slump that Gillikin attributes to his unfamiliarity with his new practice regimen. In some practices, he was attempting as many as 40 punts, more than he'd ever done in high school. If he wasn't feeling good about some aspect of his kicking, he would keep on kicking until he did feel good, a habit that led to fatigue. But when he got his routine dialed in, doing all the high-intensity workouts on Mondays and Tuesdays and tapering off as game day approached, he began to feel better about his performances. In the Big Ten Championship Game, for in- stance, Gillikin was rested, ready and confident, in part because he knew he wouldn't have to deal with any foul weather in Lucas Oil Stadium. The re- sult: a 49-yard average on two attempts. Gillikin is looking to be even more ef- fective as a sophomore. During winter workouts, he focused on building leg strength. Because he played football, basketball and soccer in high school, he didn't have a lot of time to devote to strength training, but that's changed now that he's focused on one sport. "This off-season is all about getting my leg stronger, getting more explosive for next season," he said. "Hopefully, I'll see that show up in spring ball." Gillikin is already looking forward to one game in particular: Penn State's visit to Northwestern on Oct. 7. That's because his twin brother, Tyler, is a redshirt fresh- man long snapper with the Wildcats. Tyler had been Blake's long snapper dur- ing their sophomore and junior years at Westminster before suffering a wrist in- jury early in his senior year. He had always wanted to attend Northwestern, and this spring he's vying for a starting spot. No matter what Tyler's role happens to be in the fall, Blake said that standing on the sideline opposite his brother is "definitely going to be one of the weirdest things I've ever done. I don't think I've ever played on a team against him before." While they were being recruited, there was never much talk of the two brothers attending the same school. "At the end of the day, going to college is a new ex- perience that you have to do on your own," Blake said. "The fact that we went to different schools was weird at first because I hadn't been away from him for more than two days in my life. But it's definitely going to be good for us as we grow up and mature." From an athletic perspective, that maturation process seems to be going quite well. If Gillikin's first season was any indication, his career, like one of his punts, is on the way up. ■ KICKING BACK Gillikin helped Penn State finish third in the Big Ten last season with a 37.8- yard net aver- age. Photo by Steve Manuel