Penn State punter Riley Thompson makes Ray Guy Award watch list
Penn State has not yet named a starting punter. But, the Ray Guy Award watch list has picked a favorite for the multi-man competition. New Nittany Lion Riley Thompson is one of 60 college football players up for the honor given to the sport’s best punter at the end of the season. He joined the team this offseason after spending a year at Florida Atlantic. The Australian native made The Athletic’s and College Football News‘ all-freshman teams despite being older than most first-year players at 23.
Thompson is battling a pair of returners in Alex Bacchetta and Gabe Nwosu for the first-team punting job.
“Certainly Alex [Bacchetta] got a chance to get some game reps last year,” Lions special teams coach Stacy Collins said last Sunday at team media day. “He’s continued to have a good offseason. I like what Riley [Thompson] did throughout the spring. Gabe [Nwosu] has done a nice job. But, we’re focused on the daily part of it. I like the growth and development and the competition that we have.”
Thompson finished second in Conference USA with a punting average of 45.4 yards. That figure was 12th nationally. He also put 26 punts inside of the opponent’s 20-yard line. But, the battle continues for the first-team job at Penn State. It’s been going on since spring practice and continues today as preseason camp enters its second week.
“Punter-wise, it’s been a great competition,” Collins said in April. “Bacchetta came back for us. Alex is back after getting a little bit of play for us last year. And then you’re bringing in Riley Thompson. Those two competing. And Gabe Nwosu has done a great job. He’s got a big-time leg. Gabe has done a great job with our kickoffs, he’s stood out from our kickoffs. And Mitch Groh’s in there competing also.”
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More Penn State football special teams position battle updates
On Sunday, we heard plenty about various Penn State position battles. No winners have been picked yet. But, besides punter, Collins also covered a couple of other areas under his purview.
Return game: “From a kickoff return standpoint, Nick [Singleton] is still there,” special teams coordinator Stacy Collins said. “Kaytron Allen got a lot of reps. We’ve had guys like Omari Evans, Trey Potts, and a crew of young guys that will continue to work and develop. We’ll continue to put those guys in different situations. King Mack’s got really good ability, Zion Tracy, Elliot Washington, so we’ll continue to work through it.
Kicking: First of all, we’re looking for consistency. Right now, our focus has been on putting those guys in different situations. Sander [Sahaydak] and [Alex] Felkins are striking the ball extremely well. And, I like where Ryan Barker is as a freshman coming in.
