Penn State Football: 3 fixes to make before 2020 season

2. Special teams needs to replace key losses

For the last four years, punter Blake Gillikin was a staple in Happy Valley. He was an anchor of the Penn State special teams unit from his first day as a freshman. Gillikin was reliable, averaging 43 yards per punt in his four seasons and was instrumental in flipping the field on many occasions. Now his time is up at Penn State and they will need to fix the hole left behind.

Penn State does not have a scholarship punter left on the roster. This likely means the punter battle this spring and into fall camp will be between to scholarship kicker Jordan Stout and walk on players. Unless the Lions land an unexpected transfer or a walk on has an outstanding spring and fall camp, fans should expect Stout to be the team’s punter this year.

Gillikin is not the only big departure from special teams. How will the Lions fix the void left by the speedy return man KJ Hamler? Jahan Dotson stood in for Hamler at times last season so he would be the obvious replacement. Also look for the running backs to get time at returning kicks, particularly Journey Brown.

Special teams coach Joe Lorig did a marvelous job with the Nittany Lions in his first season. Now he will need to make sure there is not a drop off in year two.