UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For Penn State fans, Sean Clifford’s name shouldn’t be the only one synonymous with the extra year of eligibility afforded to college athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Nittany Lions have benefitted from having a number of tenured specialists on roster for an additional season, like sixth-year long snapper Chris Stoll, sixth-year punter Barney Amor and fifth-year kicker Jake Pinegar. But when Penn State squares off with Utah in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2, 2023, it’ll mark the last time this trio will take the field together as Nittany Lions.
Pretty soon, special teams coordinator Stacy Collins will have to look to a new group of specialists to fill the aforementioned players’ voids. While Penn State prepares for the Utes, Collins has to balance between focusing on the upcoming New Year’s Six game and the 2023 campaign.
“I treat it a lot like that first game of the season as you go through camp, making sure that you have a routine and development, continue to get your fundamentals and techniques where you want them to develop young players, but as we progress closer and closer to the game, get our core group of guys ready to go,” Collins said last Friday.
Replacing Stoll will prove to be no easy task. Earlier this month, Stoll was honored as the winner of the Patrick Mannelly Award, which is presented to the long snapper who is deemed by a committee of former specialists, coaches and sportswriters to be the best at the Division I level.
“Hats off to Chris, obviously had an amazing year,” Pinegar said of Stoll. “His job makes my job easier. I’m very happy for him. Chris is a teammate, but he’s also a good friend of mine, had a really good relationship for the last five years.”
Among the candidates to replace Stoll next fall are Tyler Duzansky, Will Patton and Blaise Sokach-Minnick. Duzansky has the advantage of being in the program for two years while the other two are wrapping up their freshmen seasons.
In the earlier part of December, Stoll was able to rest, which allowed for the trio of Duzansky, Patton and Sokach-Minnick to get some extra repetitions during practice. The Westerville, Ohio, native will get back to handling long-snapping duties shortly, but soon enough, it’ll be time for Collins to put his trust in somebody other than Stoll.
“I’m excited where that long snapper position is,” Collins said. “Exciting to watch these guys compete as we go through spring.”
Pinegar, whose mercurial collegiate career has drawn both praise and condemnation, finished his 2022 campaign 12 of 16 on field goals and was 6 of 7 on attempts of over 40 yards. While Pinegar’s consistency within 40 yards took a dip relative to his career numbers, he was pleased he was able to showcase his leg strength.
“That was a big step, being able to hit deeper kicks, longer kicks, confidently,” Pinegar said.
During the latter half of the season, Pinegar handled kick-off duties, as well, which was an inconsistent area of Penn State’s special teams units in nonconference play. Kicker Sander Sahaydak and punter Gabriel Nwosu originally rotated in with Pinegar, but they each proved ineffective at either keeping the ball in play or kicking for touchbacks frequently enough.
Even though Sahaydak’s role diminished as the season went on, Pinegar picked up on some progress being made by the young placekicker who could soon be taking over as the starter.
“He’s improved a lot. He’s stepped in. He’s developed. He’s gotten stronger in the weight room, which helps translate to kicking,” Pinegar said of Sahaydak. “I think he’s found more of a routine that he can follow. It’s kind of tough when you’re a younger guy. You kind of don’t know what to do. I think he’s grown, especially throughout the season. He’s developed a routine that he can follow and lean on.”
How Penn State will elect to handle its punting situation next season is a bit more uncertain. Last week, the Nittany Lions added former Florida Atlantic punter Riley Thompson via the transfer portal. In 2022, Thompson averaged 45.4 yards per punt, which is a little over a yard better than Amor’s average.
Unless either player leaves, the Nittany Lions will still have Nwosu and freshman punter Alex Bacchetta for the 2023 campaign. Appearing in two games in 2022, Bacchetta punted four times with an average of 41 yards per attempt.
But in Penn State’s contest against Rutgers, Bacchetta also dropped the ball prior to one attempt and it was recovered by the Scarlet Knights, though the play was negated due to an offside penalty. The young punter has demonstrated his leg strength, but fending off Thompson will be no easy task.
“He’s a hard worker. He works his butt off and wants to be successful,” Pinegar said of Bacchetta. “He’s doing everything in his power right now to do his job the very best he can do it.”
Collins believes “true game time” like what Sahaydak and Bacchetta received will pay dividends down the line.
While there’s some uncertainty as to who will win the starting jobs at long snapper, punter and kicker, the departing Pinegar believes Penn State will be in good hands with its next crop of specialists.
“The guys that are coming up next year, I have all the confidence in them,” Pinegar said. “They do everything right. Their time’s coming, and they’ll be ready for it.”
Andrew Destin: adestin@post-gazette.com and Twitter @AndrewDestin1.
First Published: December 23, 2022, 11:00 a.m.
