Gillikin 'intrigued' by honors college opportunity

Punter Blake Gillikin has already signed with Penn State, inking his letter of intent in February. This week, however, he has received another letter from the university.

This one informed the three-star prospect from Atlanta that he’d also been accepted into the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State.

Gillikin attends the private Christian academy of Westminster School, whose mission, according its website, is “to develop the whole person for college and for life through excellent education.” When he graduates this spring, it’s expected that his GPA will be at or near the 4.0 mark.

Gillikin, who picked Penn State over other prestigious academic institutions including Northwestern, Vanderbilt and in-state Georgia, plans to study biology at first when he enrolls at University Park this summer.

“Since I was a kid, my parents have always pushed me to challenge myself in the classroom,” Gillikin said in a text message to Blue White Illustrated. “Having the opportunity to be a part of Schreyer intrigued me, not only because of the challenge it presents, but also the benefits that it will provide for me in the future.

“It’s a great feeling to be able to represent the football program in Schreyer, as well as a student-athlete.”

According to the Schreyer website, only 20-25 percent of applicants are accepted into the honors college.

Not only is Gillikin a select student, he’s also one of the better punters in the country. He finished his regular season, which included a trip to and a victory in the Class AAA Georgia state championship, averaging 43.2 yards on his 27 punting attempts and he put 14 of those punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

Part of his on-field success can be attributed to his off-season work with One on One Kicking, a training academy that hosts satellite camps along the East Coast and across the Southeast and assists with professional, college and select high and middle school punters and kickers, including fellow PSU signee Alex Barbir.

Gillikin, who primarily trained in the Atlanta Division, worked closely with One on One director Dawson Zimmerman, a four-year starter at Clemson who earned All-America honors before a brief stint with the Atlanta Falcons.

“[Dawson] trained Blake, and we also trained Drue Chrisman, who is going to Ohio State,” said founder Mike McCabe said. “If you want to compare the two together, they’re both phenomenal. I mean, for their age, their consistency – it impresses me. We deal with a lot of NFL players that I train – Ryan Allen [of the New England Patriots], Johnny Hekker [of the St. Louis Rams] and many others – and you can see that continuous spark of [Gillikin and Chrisman] becoming that.”