Barney Amor named B1G Special Teams Player of the Week
Within minutes of starting his postgame press conference following a 17-7 win over Northwestern on Saturday, James Franklin aired a grievance. Barney Amor, the Nittany Lions’ punter, had produced yet another quality performance in the game. And, according to Franklin, not enough attention was being given to just how good he’s been this season.
“We did win the field position battle. Barney Amor has been a big part of our success there all year long,” Franklin said. “He’s been phenomenal. He should be getting more people talking about how well he’s playing, in my opinion.”
Apparently, the Big Ten was listening.
Announced by the conference Monday morning, Amor earned his first career Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honor for the performance. Punting four times in the wet and wild conditions at Beaver Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Amor made five attempts and maximized the opportunity.
Barney Amor’s standout 2022 season
Averaging 40 yards per attempt with a long of 48, Amor was precise in pinning the Wildcats deep. Four of those attempts kept Northwestern within their own 20-yard line, with three of those inside the 10.
The effort was nothing new for Amor, who has been creating long fields for Penn State’s opponents throughout. Of his 23 punts this season, 12 have been downed inside the 10-yard line. The numbers are good for first nationally for punts inside the 10 and the highest percentage of punts inside the 20.
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“We’ve done a really good job in field position in the first four games,” Franklin said. “The punts play a factor in that, the kickoffs play a factor in that, and obviously the turnovers play a factor in that. So, it’s obviously been helpful, and then to not only be able to punt for average or net, but also be to be able to pin people deep inside the 10-yard line is obviously significant.”
A transfer from Colgate ahead of the 2021 season, Amor sat behind Jordan Stout last year. He battled scholarship freshman punter Alex Bacchetta in the preseason. Ultimately,he not only won himself the job but also earned a scholarship in the process.
Penn State has had four consecutive weeks of conference recognition with Amor’s honor Monday. Nicholas Singleton won Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice. That was followed by Kaytron Allen for the same.
