KEY
PERSONNEL
P: Blake Gillikin*,
Daniel Pasquariello, Jordan Wombacker;
PK: Alex Barbir, Tyler Davis*, Joey Julius*;
SN: Kyle Vasey; H: Billy Fessler, Blake
Gillikin; KR: K.J. Hamler, Mac Hippen-
hammer, Brandon Polk, Miles Sanders*,
Nick Scott*, Lamont Wade; PR: K.J.
Hamler, Mac Hippenhammer, Josh McP-
hearson, Brandon Polk, Lamont Wade
LOSSES P: Chris Gulla; SN: Tyler
Yazujian*; PR: Gregg Garrity
RISING STAR The kickers and punter
don't really qualify as up-and-comers
anymore, so they're o> the table. The
return spots
are on the table, but they're
likely to be decided in preseason camp
when the freshmen will be able to com-
pete for jobs. Given all that, picking a
rising star is a total crapshoot. We'll go
with McPhearson, a 5-foot-10, 194-
pound senior; he was named Scout Team
Special Teams Player of the Year last
season and seemed to be getting a bit of
buzz throughout spring practice. But it
could just as easily be a freshman trot-
ting onto the
noted, "You don't really know [how
young players will perform] until you get
them in a game situation."
BIGGEST LOSS Technically, Reid is a re-
turnee. The junior cornerback/punt re-
turner hasn't been o?cially ruled out of
action this coming season despite suf-
fering an apparent leg injury in spring
practice. But he has a redshirt available,
and if it looks as though his recovery will
extend deep into the season, it would
make sense to use it. Reid averaged 7.5
yards on 22 attempts last season. Even if
he were healthy, there's a chance he
would have given up this spot to a
younger player such as McPhearson,
Hippenhammer, Hamler or Wade. The
Lions will also no doubt miss Yazujian, a
reliable long snapper and special teams
leader, but James Franklin seemed happy
with Vasey's performance in the spring.
NUMBERS GAME For all its success in
other phases of the kicking game, Penn
State was not among the Big Ten leaders
last season in returns. The Lions were
10th in the conference in kicko> returns
with a 19.7-yard average and 11th in punt
returns with a 6.5-yard average.
OUTLOOK The Lions should have a very
solid kicking game this fall. They had a
very solid kicking game last fall, and
nearly everyone is back. Davis was tied for
s. Recall
that when they wanted to make some-
thing happen at the end of the Rose Bowl,
they put Saquon Barkley back deep on a
kicko> (and got a 33-yard return from the
star running back). At this time a year ago,
Franklin was raising eyebrows by suggest-
ing that Barkley could return kicks on a
regular basis. Maybe he was just thinking
out loud, but whatever the case, the coach
didn't follow through on that idea, as
Barkley returned only three kicks all year.
Heading into the 2017 season, the Lions
might not need to call on their best player
to get the jolt of electricity they're looking
for in the return game. Sanders showed
=ashes of potential on kicko>s as a fresh-
man and could reprise that role this year.
Scott returns, too, and Polk is healthy.
This is also another area where a fresh-
man or two could contribute early, de-
pending on what happens in preseason
camp. The punt-return spot is wide open,
but Reid's injury notwithstanding, the
talent pool just keeps getting deeper.
PHIL'S TAKE There is no question in my
mind that the most improved area on
Penn State's team this fall will be special
teams. Gillikin could well be the top re-
turning punter in the Big Ten a@er aver-
aging 42.8 yards per attempt as a true
freshman. Davis is one of the top two re-
turning place-kickers in the conference,
having converted on 22 of 24 specialist
Julius. It was unclear as of midsummer
whether he planned to be back this fall
a@er missing spring practice to receive
treatment for an eating disorder. The
other question here is, who will replace
Reid and Garrity as Penn State's punt re-
turners? The candidates include McP-
hearson, Wade and possibly Hamler, if
he's fully recovered from an ACL injury
that he su>ered prior to the start of his
senior year at IMG Academy. Sanders,
Wade, Scott and Polk could be the kicko>
returners, and don't forget about Hippen-
hammer. He averaged 40 yards per kicko>
return and 24 yards per punt return as a
high school senior.
■
PLACE-KICKER
NO NAME HT WT YEAR
95
Tyler Davis 5-11 195 Sr./Sr.
99
Joey Julius 5-10 258 Sr./Jr.
90 Alex Barbir 5-9 195 So./Fr.
PUNTER
93 Blake Gillikin 6-2 198 So./So.
92
Daniel Pasquariello 6-1 204 Sr./Sr.
98 Jordan Wombacker 5-10 175 Jr./So.
HOLDER
93 Blake Gillikin 6-2 198 So./So.
16 Billy Fessler 5-11 187 Sr./Jr.
LONG SNAPPER
96 Kyle Vasey 6-2 248 Sr./Jr.
PUNT RETURNS
39
Josh McPhearson 5-10 194 Sr./Sr.
– Mac Hippenhammer 5-11 170 Fr./Fr.
1 K.J. Hamler 5-9 170 Fr./Fr.
10 Brandon Polk 5-9 180 Jr./Jr.
38 Lamont Wade 5-9 193 Fr./Fr.
KICKOFF RETURNS
24 Miles Sanders 5-11 224 So./So.
4 Nick Scott 5-11 200 Sr./Jr.
10 Brandon Polk 5-9 180 Jr./Jr.
1 K.J. Hamler 5-9 170 Fr./Fr.
– Mac Hippenhammer 5-11 170 Fr./Fr.
38 Lamont Wade 5-9 193 Fr./Fr.
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2 0 1 7 S E A S O N P R E V I E W
SPECIAL TEAMS
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