Penn State hasn’t gotten much production from its punt and kickoff returns this season, which has contributed to its poor field position.
The Nittany Lions rank 121st out of 133 FBS teams in punt returns with a meager 3.7 average under first-year special teams coordinator Justin Lustig.
Penn State has started 55 of its 75 possessions from its 30-yard line or worse. Only six drives have begun across midfield.
“It starts with having a punt returner who has caught a lot of balls in games and who returned balls and made plays,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “We’ve had a little bit of musical chairs trying to find the guy.”
Kaden Saunders began this season as the primary punt returner after suffering an undefined injury during training camp. He mostly made fair catches, returning just four punts for 25 yards before he was hurt again.
Zion Tracy has taken over for Saunders and has 14 yards on six returns.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to field more of those balls and be more aggressive,” Franklin said. “But most importantly, knock on wood, we haven’t turned the ball over in that category. Now we have to take the next step. We have to start returning more of those.”
Last year, the Lions made a midseason change when Daequan Hardy replaced Saunders and had a 14.6 average that included two touchdowns against Massachusetts. They finished tied for 24th nationally.
Penn State also is struggling with its kickoff returns, averaging just 18.1 yards and ranking 97th. Nick Singleton is averaging 18.7 yards after he averaged more than 24 yards each of the last two seasons.
Allar recognized: Penn State junior Drew Allar has made the first cut for two national quarterback awards.
Allar was named Thursday as one of the top 10 candidates for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, presented annually to the top junior or senior quarterback set to graduate with their class.
Allar is ranked eighth nationally in pass efficiency with a 71.3 completion percentage, 1,640 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions.
The other quarterbacks selected are Carson Beck of Georgia, Jaxson Dart of Mississippi, Quinn Ewers of Texas, Dillon Gabriel of Oregon, Will Howard of Ohio State, Cade Klubnik of Clemson, Kurtis Rourke of Indiana, Shedeur Sanders of Colorado and Cam Ward of Miami.
The winner will be announced Dec. 6.
Earlier this week, Allar was one of 35 players named to the Davey O’Brien Quarterback Award Class of 2024.
Sixteen semifinalists will be named Nov. 12 before three finalists will be announced Nov. 26. The winner will be announced Dec. 12 during the College Football Awards show on ESPN.
Official complaints: Ohio State coach Ryan Day welcomed the Big Ten’s ruling to overturn the targeting call against linebacker Arvell Reese during a win over Nebraska.
The Buckeyes appealed to the conference that it wasn’t targeting. Ohio State announced the Big Ten had overturned the penalty, which would have kept Reese out of the first half of Saturday’s game against Penn State.
“It was a good challenge for our defense,” Day said. “We didn’t get that call. We had to get off the field and win the game and we did that. That’s the biggest lesson.”
Three weeks ago, Day and the Buckeyes complained about the end of their 32-31 loss at Oregon.
They thought there should have been time on the clock after quarterback Will Howard slid down to set up a potential game-winning field goal. But the referees determined that time had run out.
“I don’t know what’s coming Saturday (at Penn State),” Day said. “I’m not expecting to get a bunch of calls because it doesn’t seem to just happen for us. We have to win the game and leave no doubt. There’s nothing we could do about what the calls are.”
