Gillikin a critical piece to Penn State's field position success

As a part of Penn State’s 4x100-meter relay team, Dan Chisena helped produce a school-record time of 39.08-seconds in the event during the 2017 outdoor season.

So when Chisena returned to the Nittany Lion football program, the intention for the 2019 season was for that speed to help solidify what had been an undeniably challenging punting campaign the year prior. Averaging 8.57 yards per punt return as a special teams unit, the Nittany Lions ranked 69th nationally in 2018 and allowed the catastrophic result of a punt return for a touchdown against Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl.

As far as Blake Gillikin has been punting the ball this season, though, keeping up has proven to be a challenge for Chisena.

“The goal is to try to beat the ball down there,” Chisena said recently, “which doesn't always happen as far as Blake's kicking it.”

In the world of punting statistics, Gillkin’s senior season with the Nittany Lions hasn’t necessarily been notable.

Through eight games, Penn State’s net punting sits squarely at No. 48 nationally with an average of 39.04 yards per punt. According to Pro Football Focus College grading scale, Gillkin checks in at No. 52 of 109 FBS punters with at least 25 attempts this season, grading out at 68.6.

Penn State head coach James Franklin and the entirety of the Nittany Lion football program, of course, know better.

“We’ve had a number of punts where I think Blake has done a really good job of pinning people inside the 10-yard line, which the field position has been a big part of our success this year, as well,” Franklin said. “And it's also skewed some of our punting numbers and punting ranking because we're moving the ball. And when we do punt it, a lot of the times, it's a sky-punt situation rather than a traditional punt.”

The numbers bear it out.

A closer look and a little statistical manipulation show that Gillkin is second among the same set of punters with attempts pinned inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, currently at a remarkable 28 of his 45 total punts. In conjunction, Penn State’s special teams unit as a whole sits at No. 9 nationally in allowing only 2.38 yards per attempted return, giving up 31 total punt return yards on 13 attempts, a number skewed significantly by Donovan Peoples-Jones’ 14-yard return in the Michigan game.

With at at least five games remaining Gillikin's punts inside the 20 are already a vast improvement on his 20 total through the 2018 season, and his 11 fair catches set to easily surpass his 13 from a year ago.

The result has amounted to the perfect blend of complementary football for Franklin, all three phases of the game expertly playing off each other to routinely win field position battles each game.

Most recently, that goal was cemented when Gillkin was called up a career-high eight times to punt in the pouring rain at Michigan State. Five were downed inside the 20, three were stopped inside the 10, and thanks to a fantastic effort by gunner Drew Hartlaub, another was pinned at the Spartans’ 1-yard line.

The result was a field position battle that saw the Nittany Lions start their 14 possessions with an average starting point of their 43-yard line (aided in part by a Michigan State punt return fumble at its 6-yard line) against the Spartans’ starting field position at their own 19.

“Obviously, the way we were able to punt the ball and pin them deep… obviously, you'd love to score every possession, but if you're not, you want to pin people deep and we were able to do that pretty consistent tonight,” Franklin said. “I think the last two weeks, that's been huge for us. So that's Blake. But that's also Hartlaub and that's also Chisena and that's even (Chris) Stohl as well.”

Along the way, Gillikin has also added a variety of punting styles to his repertoire.

At times asked to go rugby style in an effort Franklin described as necessary to protect the three-man wedge, the traditional-style Gillkin has proudly obliged.

“It’s tough, I think, especially for my background it’s very tough. I grew up only traditionally punting,” Gillikin said. “But obviously it’s something my team needs me to do. I’ll do anything my team needs me to do regardless of putting my left foot, by my right foot, it doesn’t really matter. Whatever the coach calls I’m going to trust the coach and do my best to execute it to the best of my ability.”

Earning a second Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week this year thanks to his effort at Michigan State, it’s an execution that has been critical to the Nittany Lions’ successes throughout an 8-0 start to the year.