During the scholarship restrictions, Penn State was lean on quality special team players. That facet of their game started to improve in 2016. Punter Blake Gillikin was a big reason for the jump.
Good punting is mostly overlooked in football, but Gillikin had an outstanding freshman season in 2016. He finished the season averaging 42.8 yards per punt. That may not seem like a big average, but considering in 2015 the team averaged 39.9 yards per punt, it’s a big increase. Special teams jumped from 11th in the conference in yards per punt average to third overall.
In only one season, Gillikin is proving James Franklin was right to recruit him.