Buzzworthy: Projecting Penn State special teams position battles

Penn State’s special team competition has been a consistent storyline all month long and while the results will end up telling the story, there is starting to be a clearer picture of who will be handling the roles for the Nittany Lions this year. Head coach James Franklin did not name starters at his latest media availability last week, but indicated that the Nittany Lions are getting closer. 

The program went out and added a pair of experienced transfers in former FAU punter Riley Thompson and Columbia kicker Alex Felkins to compete with scholarship holdovers Alex Bacchetta and Sander Sahaydak. 

“However this thing plays out, I do think going out and getting some veterans to come in here and create competition has been really good for us. I think Sander [Sahaydak]’s development because of the competition is dramatic. I don’t know if that happens without the competition. And I would say that has happened at kicker, punter and really kickoff as well.”

Walk-ons Gabe Nwosu and Ryan Barker have also participated in the kicking battle and Mitchell Groh has been punting for the Nittany Lions. With under a week to go, the competition is still ongoing. Penn State will be charting kicks through the end of the week, but we’re starting to get the sense of who the Nittany Lions will trot out first on Saturday night. 

Kicker – Sander Sahaydak

The Franklin mention last week was enough to stoke curiosity regarding redshirt sophomore Sander Sahaydak. Always considered to have some sort of an edge over Felkins, Sahaydak has the big leg that has dialed in a bit during camp. He hasn’t been perfect, but the upside is there. This seems like something that will run into the season (see week two vs. Delaware), but Sahaydak seems to have held onto the job for the time being. The Pennsylvania native is 1-for-2 in his career as a field goal kicker and made his only PAT attempt.

Punter – Riley Thompson

Penn State went to the Transfer Portal and used a scholarship for former FAU punter Riley Thompson. The Aussie senior averaged 45.4 yards per kick on 61 punts last season. He seems to have edged out Alex Bacchetta so far in camp. Thompson uses a rugby style for his kicks, while Bacchetta uses a traditional approach. Consistency is key for both kicking spots, so how Thompson hits them right off the bat will determine if the Nittany Lions stick with him over Bacchetta. 

Longsnapper – Tyler Duzansky

James Franklin was pretty clear last week that redshirt sophomore Tyler Duzansky had outlasted redshirt freshmen Will Patton and Blaise Sokach-Minnick in the battle to replace Patrick Mannelly Award winner Chris Stoll. 

“I would say Duzansky is probably the one guy that has pretty much solidified himself and there’s a pretty significant gap between the other two,” said Franklin. “I think the other two are pretty good, but there is a significant gap.”

Easy enough there. 

Kick Return – Nick Singleton

Penn State wants to be aggressive in its kick return approach this year and the Nittany Lions have the firepower to do it. Don’t be shocked if we once again see starting running back Nick Singleton back deep paired with, well, fellow starting running back Kaytron Allen as the upback. Sure, Penn State has other options that aren’t the starting running backs, but the Nittany Lions are looking to maximize their opportunities to pick up chunks. Omari Evans, Daequan Hardy, Kaden Saunders and freshman Elliot Washington have also been noted as guys fielding kicks, but it would be a surprise if the Nittany Lions didn’t open the season with the big guns back deep. Singleton averaged nearly 25 yards per return on 14 attempts last year.  

Punt Return – Kaden Saunders

The Nittany Lions’ punt return game last year was nothing special. Penn State, led by Parker Washington, averaged under five yards per return with a long of 30. The operation seemed content to cleanly field the ball and get on their way. There’s nothing wrong with that, for the most part. On the flip side, when talking about maximizing touches, just making the fair catch doesn’t register as a playmaking opportunity. Penn State gets a fresh start with Washington moving on. Kaden Saunders should get the first crack at it. He was a successful return man at the high school level and he does have a little spark if given some space. Daequan Hardy will also get some opportunities back deep. In a situation where the Nittany Lions don’t want to take the defense off the field, Hardy makes a lot of sense. A wild card here would be freshman safety King Mack. Penn State doesn’t prefer to put true freshmen or defensive players back deep for punts, but Mack did it exceptionally well at the high school level. 

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