Penn State returner Kaden Saunders feels ready for return to leading role in 2024; here's why
Arguably, the most newsworthy direct quote to come out of Penn State media day last Saturday came from the final speaker inside the Beaver Stadium media room. While the words that came out of special teams coordinator Justin Lustig’s mouth were not a surprise to anyone paying attention to the Nittany Lions this spring and summer, the annual event is rarely a place where positional pecking orders are made public. But, the first-year special teams coordinator had no problem making one thing very clear during the first week of preseason camp: There is a leader in the clubhouse to replace Daequan Hardy as the team’s primary punt returner. And, it’s the person the current Buffalo Bill took over for in the first place last fall.
“I would say Kaden Saunders right now is a clear leader,” Lustig said. “In the clubhouse. We showed the team a stat the other day. There were 199 muffed punts in college football last year. So it starts with catching the football. It starts with having range and not allowing a ball to bounce down the field. And Kaden gives us both of those. I don’t mean to discredit his playmaking ability. But, he is as solid as can be in those first two areas. So he’s the clear leader right now.”
The outlook for Kaden Saunders in 2024
Saunders was the team’s primary punt returner for the first five games of the 2023 season. In game six, Hardy returned two punts for touchdowns against UMass, and the job was his for the remainder of the season. Head coach James Franklin would say the obvious explosive nature of Hardy’s return abilities played a big role in the change. He had previously described Saunders in a way similar to how Lustig did: There was never criticism for nor praise of his potential to change the game in the blink of an eye, but his ability to catch the ball and not lose field position was well regarded.
All of it might make one wonder why Penn State would go back to Saunders this fall. Catching the ball is obviously key. But, the Ohio native feels that some experience and some changes will help him be a better all-around punt returner in 2024.
“I feel like I was a little timid last year,” Saunders said. “I was tiptoeing a lot back there once I returned the ball, and I wasn’t being myself, I don’t feel like. But, now that I’m used to everything, used to people in college running full speed at me, and once I see a seam, I just got to trust myself and trust my God given abilities to make something happen. And I feel like I’m definitely going to do that.
“You just got to trust the other 10 guys on the punt return unit to do their job. And, all you need is one crease. You got to make the first guy miss. Then, after that, you just got to go.”
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Saunders will still need to fend off some youngsters to fully make the job his own. Freshman running back Quinton Martin and first-year receivers Josiah Brown and Tyseer Denmark all have “the potential to be dynamic back there,” Lustig said. Saunders believes he does, too. If he can showcase that in addition to the strengths shown in 2023, he won’t lose this particular job again.
“I’m taking a lot of pride this year in showing people that I can do what Dae Dae was doing plus more,” Saunders said. “That’s something I take pride in.”
