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S P R I N G P R A C T I C E R E P O R T looking to keep the position changes to a minium this spring. 5 Who's going to step for- ward at the place-kicking spot? Of all the position battles taking place during the off-season, this one is easily the hardest to predict, in part because most of the presumed contenders aren't even on campus yet. The only kicker listed on the team's most recent roster is Carson Landis. A redshirt freshman from Macungie, Pa., Landis was a first-team All-State kicker at Emmaus High in 2016. He had a school-record nine field goals that year, including the winner in double overtime of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference title game. Franklin said he's "got a strong leg and we're excited about [him]." The Lions had another walk-on last year in Nick DeAngelis, but the Division III transfer wasn't included on the team's most recent roster. If Landis is going to get a challenge this spring, it might come from punter Blake Gillikin. There had been talk following the 2017 season that Gillikin might take a shot at winning the position that opened up with Tyler Davis's graduation. He had been an outstanding kicker at Westmin- ster High in Georgia, with three makes from 50-plus yards and a five-star rat- ing from Kohl's Professional Camp. Gillikin is listed as a punter/kicker on Penn State's roster, so it's not as if the speculation came out of nowhere. But Franklin threw some cold water on it in February when he said he didn't want his All-Big Ten punter moonlighting at another position. "I'd prefer to leave him focused on being the best punter in the country," Franklin said. That's certainly a worthy goal, and it seems entirely within reach. So unless Gillikin forces the issue with a spectacu- lar kicking performance this spring, the real battle will take place in August, when Class of 2018 signee Jake Pinegar and walk-ons Rafael Checa and Vlad Hilling arrive. Franklin would prefer to use two kick- ers: one for kickoffs and another for field goals and PATs. The Lions did that two years ago, with Davis and Joey Julius sharing the kicking responsibilities. Julius left the team for personal reasons last summer, and in his absence Davis handled both kickoffs and placements. It ended up being the worst of his three starting seasons, as he hit only 9 of 17 field goal attempts. It's impossible to know whether his declining accuracy had anything to do with the expansion of his kicking duties, but what is certain is that Franklin would rather use two kickers whenever possible. "If one guy can do both at a high level, great," he said. "But if we can have two guys specialize and be the best in the conference or the best in the country, that's what we would prefer to do." ■ HUB-Robeson Center • On-Campus SouthwestChili chicken sandwich NEW! ©2018 McAlister's Franchisor SPV LLC

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