Tag: Barney Amor

Report card: Grading Penn State’s Week 3 performance at Auburn

Report card: Grading Penn State’s big win at Auburn

Penn State handled Auburn last year in State College by winning by a mere eight points. That was not the case this year with the team traveling down to Jordan-Hare Stadium and laying the smackdown on the Auburn Tigers.

They become the first Big Ten to win a game in Jordan-Hare Stadium and they did so in an impressive fashion. The offense was clicking, the defense imposed their will after a slow start, and the special teams did great with what little they were asked to handle.

To kick things off, the quarterbacks played well across the board and deserve big praise to start this report card.

Quarterback

Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Grade: A+

[autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] last year picked apart the Auburn defense. After a slow start to the game he started to settle in after converting a major third down in the first half. He didn’t throw any touchdowns but he went 14/19 for 178 yards. He didn’t get flashy but he was efficient and kept the offense rolling.

We also got to see [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] and [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag] as they entered the game for some reps in the fourth quarter. No turnovers from any of them, perfect execution start to finish in today’s game.

NEXT: Running backs

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Report card: Grading Penn State’s Week 2 performance vs. Ohio

Report card: Grading Penn State’s 46-10 win over Ohio

Penn State had a solid all-around team effort in a 46-10 victory over the Ohio Bobcats on Saturday afternoon, which meant everyone on the team received some good praise for their collective efforts. In a game like this, everyone finds a way to chip in on offense, defense, and special teams. And because Penn State got a chance to go deep into the depth chart beginning midway through the third quarter, there was plenty of praise to go around in the postgame evaluations.

Here is how Penn State’s select position groups, defense, and special teams were graded after the Week 2 victory in the home opener in Beaver Stadium.

Quarterback

Sep 10, 2022; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford (14) throws a pass during the second quarter against the Ohio Bobcats at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Ohio 46-10. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

Grade: A

Penn State starting quarterback [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] may not have lit up the box score the way he did the previous week, but it is hard to complain about starting the game completing all six passes on the first offensive series and capping the drive with a touchdown run. Clifford added 213 passing yards and a touchdown before getting an early rest in the third quarter.

Freshman [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] took advantage of his reps by completing six of eight attempts for 88 yards with two nicely throw touchdown passes. And [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag] made his 2022 debut by completing six of seven attempts for 37 yards.

NEXT: Running backs

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Inside the box score: Key stats from Penn State’s win over Ohio

Here are some key stats from the box score of Penn State’s 46-10 win over Ohio

Penn State improved to 2-0 following a 46-10 victory over Ohio on Saturday in Beaver Stadium. The 36-point victory was fueled in large part by Penn State’s youth movement, but some veterans had a solid hand in the outcome as well.

Penn State’s offense put up some big numbers, led by freshman running back [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag]’s big home debut in front of the Beaver Stadium crowd. Quarterback [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] added two more career touchdowns to his Penn State legacy as well as the Nittany Lions had an opportunity to get many younger and inexperienced players some significant playing time in the second half.

Here are some of the key stats from the final box score from the game.

Penn State has a punter, but kickoff duty still up for grabs

Will Penn State continue to rotate kickoff specialists in Week 2 vs. Ohio?

Among the many takeaways you could have from Penn State’s Week 1 victory at Purdue is the Nittany Lions have a suitable successor for punter [autotag]Jordan Stout[/autotag], but the kickoff duties are either still up for grabs or will be a kicker by committee approach.

[autotag]Barney Amor[/autotag] showed off his powerful leg and ability to pin the football deep with eight punts spanning 375 yards against Purdue. Armor averaged 46.9 yards per punt, with a long of 52 yards, to help Penn State flip the field position or set the defense up in a great spot all night long. Amor had three of his five punts downed inside the 20-yard line, and it should have been four. He had just one touchback in the game, and that was only because an overzealous punt coverage defender made the regrettable decision to try getting a hand on the football when it appeared the ball was going to die inside the Purdue two-yard line anyway.

Stout was a fourth-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2022 NFL draft. Last season for the Nittany Lions, Stout averaged 46.0 yards per punt. Of course, Punt did more than punt the football. He also handled placekicking responsibilities with 34 of 36 extra point attempts converted and 16 of 23 field goals made. Stout also took care of kickoffs for Penn State to keep his leg busy all season long.

While it seems as though Amor has taken control of the punting duties, Penn State spread the other kicking duties around the special teams unit against Purdue.

Going into the game last week, head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] did note that senior [autotag]Jake Pinegar[/autotag] will be the team’s field goal kicker. Penn State didn’t attempt a field goal against Purdue, but Pinegar did convert all five PAT attempts in the game, suggesting he will handle the extra points as well.

Pinegar kicked off once out of the six times Penn State kicked off. [autotag]Sander Sahaydak[/autotag] and [autotag]Gabriel Nwosu[/autotag] each got involved on kickoff duty. Sahaydak took three kickoffs and Nwosi added two. All three kickers had one touchback as Franklin suggested this is a bit of a competition that will be ongoing until a comfortable decision can be made. Franklin suggested he would rotate kickoffs between Sahaydak and Nwosu against Purdue. That could carry over to Week 2 against Ohio.

The encouraging news is any competition dragging on is more because the options are keeping it tough in a good way and not because the staff is looking for the lesser of two evils.

Penn State faces Ohio on Saturday, September 10 at 12:00 p.m. ET on ABC.

[listicle id=23035]

[vertical-gallery id=19286]

[lawrence-related id=23053,23051,22920,22902,22809]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01ey902ehrs6e9bvhw player_id=none image=https://nittanylionswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Follow Kevin McGuire on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Winners and losers from Penn State’s win over Purdue

Who stood out in Penn State’s 2022 season opener at Purdue, and who has some work to do?

In what turned into an eventual win, there is plenty for Penn State to work on before the home opener next week against Ohio. They ended up scoring a game-winning touchdown with under two minutes left in the game.

The Nittany Lions had their moments, they just couldn’t build the momentum for more than a quarter. Despite how negative this all sounds, and there is plenty to be down about, we also saw a ton to look forward to.

We saw flashes from a supremely talented freshman recruiting class that points to the future of the program being in good hands. For now, it seems that the veteran presence on the team is still going to be relied upon.

Apart from the actual winner and loser of the game, there are more individual performances to highlight. Some were on the field, some were off. The spotlight hits everyone in a game like this.

Eli Manning awards Penn State walk-on punter Barney Amor scholarship

Eli Manning makes the day and year for a Penn State walk-on punter

A special day in Happy Valley Thursday as Head Coach James Franklin introduced Eli Manning to his Penn State football team.

And the day when from special to incredible for one player.

Watch as the former New York Giants great quarterback and two-time Super Bowl champion makes an inspirational speech that concludes with him requesting the presence of walk-on Barney Amor.

Actually, make that former walk-on as Manning lets the redshirt senior from Doylestown, Pa, know that he is on scholarship.

For a little history, Penn State is the third stop in Amor’s college career:

Awards: 2020: Named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. 2019: Earned Phil Steele All-Patriot League second team honors…Named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. 2018: Named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.

Season: 2020: Fall season did not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2019: Appeared in all 12 games as Colgate’s primary punter…Averaged 42.1 yards per punt with a long of 60 yards, 11 punts of 50-plus yards and 17 punts landing inside the 20…42.1 yards per punt was a program record for a minimum of 40 punts. 2018: Did not see any game action. 2017: Redshirt season…Did not see any game action.

Rankings: 2019: Ranked second in the Patriot League and 22nd in the FCS in punting average (42.1).

2019: Villanova (8/24): Averaged 50.2 yards on six punts, including a long punt of 60 yards. at Air Force (8/31).

Have to love the good news for, um, Amor.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ChseXo4gLNA/?hl=en

Looks like Amor has his own clothing line, which can be checked out by clicking here.

Everything James Franklin said at Penn State football media day

Everything James Franklin talked about during his Penn State media day press conference

Penn State’s first week of fall camp was capped on Saturday with the annual football media day. Head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] highlighted the day’s schedule from Beaver Stadium as he once again had a chance to meet with the media and answer some questions that face the team going into the 2022 season.

As is typically the case, the Penn State media day event allowed Franklin to echo some thoughts and comments he shared recently at Big Ten media day, but Franklin also threw out some nuggets providing a little more in-depth insight into what to potentially expect out of the team in 2022 such as a pair of defensive players that may be more of a factor on the roster than some may have been anticipating.

Here is a roundup of everything Franklin talked about during his media day press conference on Saturday.

Who stood out at Penn State’s first winter football workout?

Penn State coaches named their standout players from the first day of winter workouts.

[mm-video type=video id=01fvd9shg5xyttx9sahh playlist_id=01ey902ehrs6e9bvhw player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fvd9shg5xyttx9sahh/01fvd9shg5xyttx9sahh-b28e0a44bc2b26d56316bcc4eba3bb2b.jpg]

It was just over a month ago that the final game of Penn State’s 2021 season was played, and spring football is still a little more than a month away. But winter workouts are underway in Happy Valley as the Nittany Lions begin preparing for what they hope will be a big rebound season, and some new faces are starting to get to the grind with their new teammates.

Winter workouts officially got underway bright and early Tuesday morning and assistant coaches made sure to spread some encouraging news about who showed up to compete in the practice sessions.

Both coordinators took to their Twitter accounts to share who their unit’s best player was. Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich named starting quarterback and team captain Sean Clifford as the offensive competitor of the day. Clifford announced his return for a rare sixth year of eligibility prior to Penn State’s appearance in the Outback Bowl. It will be the first offseason in which Clifford has had the same offensive coordinator to work with leading into a new season, and Clifford would like to make up for a few down moments in 2021 in his final year of eligibility.

Penn State’s new defensive coordinator, Manny Diaz, also went with a team captain for his defensive competitor of the day, with Jonathan Sutherland getting the props of the day from the new defensive playcaller. Sutherland has been a standout on special teams during his time at Penn State, with some defense mixed in. But Sutherland is expected to be a top candidate to take on a larger role in the defense in 2022.

Other notable players from Penn State’s first winter workout included cornerback Kalen King, defensive end Nick Tarburton, cornerback Ji’Ayir Brown, running back Keyvone Lee, wide receiver Jaden Dottin, tight end Tyler Warren, offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, and punter Barney Amor.

These winter workouts are the first that have been opened to early enrollees in Penn State’s Class of 2022, so we will be keeping an eye out for possible shoutouts from the coaching staff for any of the new faces in the crowd. Penn State will eventually be adding to its roster with other recruits in the Class of 2022 that have not enrolled early and any possible additions from the transfer portal, including recent commit from Cornell, Hunter Nourzad.

Penn State’s spring game, the Blue-White Game, is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 23 in Beaver Stadium.

[listicle id=10557]

[lawrence-related id=16028,16020,16018,16011]

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.