It’s about time Penn State fans appreciate how good they had it on special teams last year.
For Penn State, the upcoming season is accompanied by an entire special teams overhaul following the do-it-all Jordan Stout’s departure. Stout handled place kicking, punting and kickoff specialist duties last season.
There’s also a new leader of the special teams units in town, with Stacy Collins taking over as the special teams coordinator upon longtime coach Joe Lorig’s departure.
With Stout’s absence opening up a competition across the board, here’s a look at the Nittany Lions’ special teams unit and the notable names to look out for.
Punter: Barney Amor
Amor is the only punter on the roster that’s even seen game action in his career, starting the entire 2019 season at Colgate. Amor set the school’s record for yards-per-punt average with a minimum of 40 attempts — 42.1 yards per punt.
The 2019 season was three years ago, and since then, the sixth-year senior Amor hasn’t punted in a game, which leaves questions as to whether he’d be rusty if he gets the starting nod.
As previously mentioned, Amor took part in the Blue-White game in April to showcase his abilities in front of the fans. He appeared to be the leading punter throughout spring practice. However, a lot can change in the months between then and the season opener.
Punter: Gabriel Nwosu
Standing at 6-foot-6 and 276 pounds, redshirt freshman Gabriel Nwosu is about as large of a punter as can be found.
His remarkable size allows him to generate power that other punters can’t replicate, which makes him a strong option for kickoff duties on top of potential punting opportunities. The ability to kick the ball through the back of the end zone on kickoffs was a staple for Penn State last season because it completely eliminates any chance of a return touchdown.
There’s a recurring theme on the Nittany Lions’ special teams’ squad — inexperience. Nwosu fits the bill of that sentiment as he doesn’t have any college playing experience outside of the practice field. The Derwood, Maryland, native hasn’t seen any in-game action in his career so far.
Nwosu did see action in the annual Blue-White game along with fellow punter Barney Amor. James Franklin said Nwosu’s performance that day was his best yet, showcasing a big leg with end-over-end punts.
Punter: Alex Bacchetta
Given the prestige of Penn State’s program, true freshmen usually don’t start right away because of their inexperience. Punter Alex Bacchetta has a real opportunity to change that narrative thanks to the lack of experience in the punting room as a whole.
Bacchetta comes into State College as the No. 3 punter in the 2022 recruiting class, according to 247Sports. He just enrolled at Penn State at the end of May, but there’s plenty of buzz about him among players and staff.
The Nittany Lions’ punting job is still open for the taking, but Bacchetta has a relatively good chance to start in the season opener.
Kicker: Jake Pinegar
Before the Stout takeover in 2021, Jake Pinegar was the team’s primary kicker for the prior three seasons and even broke the program’s freshman scoring record with 101 points in 2018.
Pinegar is one of the most experienced special teamers on the roster. The fifth-year senior from Ankeny, Iowa, has a considerable advantage in experience over fellow placekicker Sander Sahaydak.
The only knock on Pinegar that could open the door is his inability to kick long range, as he’s only converting at a career 50% clip — 9-for-18 — on field goals more than 40 yards.
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Pinegar could easily start the season as the team’s starting kicker like in seasons past, but it won’t be surprising if another kicker, like Sahaydak, comes in just to kick the long field goals.
Kicker: Sander Sahaydak
Sahaydak committed to the blue and white in the 2021 recruiting cycle as the No. 2 kicker in the country, according to 247Sports, and was rated as a five-star by Kohl’s Kicking.
The redshirt freshman didn’t see any action during his redshirt year last season, but he’s poised to make a run for the starting gig this offseason because of his kick power.
Before committing to Penn State, Sahaydak posted videos of himself kicking field goals from more than 70 yards away on Twitter.
74 🚀🚀 @CoachJoeLorig @coachjfranklin pic.twitter.com/8IUx2Gwatv
— sander (@SanderSahaydak) July 10, 2020
His power gives him a leg up on Pinegar, which could lead to a situation similar to past seasons, where Stout would take the longer field goal attempts instead of Pinegar.
Long Snapper: Chris Stoll
Every facet of field goal kicking and punting needs to be perfect in order to avoid disaster on the gridiron, and it all starts with the long snapper. Fortunately for special teams coordinator Stacy Collins, he has one of the most experienced in Chris Stoll.
Stoll has been a part of the Penn State program for six years and has started ever since he made his debut in 2019. Last season, Stoll played a large role in Penn State’s No. 2-ranked net punting and helped Stout win four Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week awards and Big Ten Punter of the Year.
Stoll doesn’t face any competition at his position and will almost certainly round out his career in a blue-and-white uniform as the team’s starter.
Returners: Parker Washington/Devyn Ford
The dynamic Jahan Dotson will not be returning punts this season, and the search for his successor is well under way.
Parker Washington is a name that sticks out right away. Washington’s speed and shiftiness in open space is arguably the most important criteria when it comes to the improvising chaos that is returning punts, not to mention the fact that Washington returned punts in the Outback Bowl.
However, punt returner has a broad choice of potential suitors and pretty much anyone that possesses an ability to change direction quickly could get the job.
For kick returns, though, only one name sticks out — Devyn Ford.
Kick returns are mostly a thing of the past, and the majority of kickoffs don’t get brought out of the end zone, but it still remains a position that needs to be filled. For the past two seasons, that position has been held by Ford.
The Stafford, Virginia, native registered 191 yards on nine returns last season, 119 of which were compiled in the regular season finale against Michigan State.
As the saying goes, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’ and it doesn’t look like there would be any reason to change at this point.
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