Tag: Jordan Stout

Ravens’ 2022 season in review: Special Teams

We analyze the Ravens’ 2022 special teams unit

Fundamentally sound play on special teams has been a core aspect of the Baltimore Ravens’ strategy over the years, and their 2022 campaign was no different. Though Lamar Jackson’s injury near the end of the season derailed the momentum that Baltimore had built earlier in the year, the Ravens’ special teams unit stepped up in a big way while the offense operated with backup quarterbacks, and helped keep the team in the playoff picture.

Over the course of 2022, kicker Justin Tucker missed just six field goal attempts and one extra point. He led the team in scoring by a wide margin, ending the season with over eight points scored per game, which was under six points more per game than running back Kenyan Drake, who managed two and a half per game.

On the other end of the special teams operation, punter Jordan Stout racked up 2,618 punting yards on 57 punts, good for an average of 45.9 air yards. Though the raw numbers seem impressive on the surface, his air yards per punt average was only good for 25th place across the league’s punters, which leaves plenty of room for improvement in 2023.

His coverage team allowed just 155 return yards on punts throughout the season, which ranked fifth in the league among punters who started 16 or more games over the course of their teams’ schedules.

Tucker’s job is secure as ever heading into next season, and his reputation as one of the NFL’s top kickers remains intact. Stout, on the other hand, may see his role challenged by competition if Baltimore decides to bring in another leg during training camp, and if he can’t show signs of improvement over the course of next season, could face major competition for his job.

Long snapper Nick Moore impressed as well, getting a bid to the 2023 Pro Bowl Games. He has performed admirably ever since stepping in for Morgan Cox a few seasons ago, and is one of the most consistent players at his position.

Punt and kick returns are also a big aspect of special teams, and Pro Bowl returner Devin Duvernay didn’t disappoint, showing his electricity in both aspects. He is one of the best return specialists in the league, and showed it on plenty of occasions before going down with a season-ending injury.

What Penn State players are in the NFL playoffs in 2023?

What Penn State players are on the rosters for teams in this season’s NFL playoffs?

The NFL’s regular season is now officially in the books and the field for this year’s playoff is set. And once again, this NFL postseason will be seeing Penn State well represented throughout the playoffs. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the most former Nittany Lions on their roster as the battle for the Super Bowl is about to get underway. In all, there are 18 players from Penn State in this year’s NFL playoffs.

The only teams in the NFL playoffs with no Penn State ties are the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks.

Here is a look at every Penn State player on a roster for a team in the NFL playoffs.

Penn State adds FAU punter from transfer portal

Penn State adds a punter from the transfer portal

Penn State is expecting a big week with the opening of the early signing period on the college football recruiting calendar, but the Nittany Lions added to the program with an addition from the transfer portal on Saturday. Punter [autotag]Riley Thompson[/autotag] announced on his Twitter account on Saturday he has committed to Penn State and will join the program in 2023.

The Australian native kicker will have one final year of eligibility left to use at Penn State despite being listed as a freshman on FAU’s roster in the 2022 season. That is because his eligibility actually started in Australia before moving to FAU.

Thompson will be a top candidate to handle Penn State’s punting duties in 2023 after losing [autotag]Barney Amor[/autotag], who proved to be a reliable asset following [autotag]Jordan Stout[/autotag]. Penn State has one of the top punters in the Class of 2022 with [autotag]Alex Bacchetta[/autotag] to look forward to as well, but Thompson is coming off a solid season at FAU.

Thompson had the 10th-best punting average this season with an average of 45.75 yards per punt according to CFBstats.com.

The early signing period officially opens on Wednesday, December 21 and closes on Friday, December 23.

Penn State will face Pac-12 champion Utah in the Rose Bowl on January 2, 2023.

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Ji’Ayir Brown accepts Senior Bowl invitation

Ji’Ayir Brown will have a great opportunity to improve his draft stock in the Senior Bowl

The Senior Bowl has long been one of the best tools for college players looking to make the jump to the NFL to make an impact on their draft stock. Over the 75-plus year history of the game there have been 128 Penn State players to represent the Nittany Lions in Mobile, Alabama and this year they are adding another.

[autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] is officially going to Mobile, Alabama in January and into February to perform in front of 32 NFL teams as he looks to prove why he is worth the investment from a team. On Sunday, the Senior Bowl announced Brown had accepted his invitation to the 2023 Senior Bowl.

Upon coming to State College as a JUCO transfer, expectations weren’t really set for the incoming junior. It was the heart of COVID-19 in 2020 when he made the transfer but that didn’t stop him from making adjustments and making an impact right away.

His second year on the team in 2021 saw his biggest impact. Brown would end up being tied for the lead in interceptions with five and would be a member of the All-Big Ten team.

Brown would follow that up with strong final season in State College where he would emerge as an overall player making plays both in the run and pass game. He would end up totaling 145 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 3 sacks, and nine interceptions.

Brown now heads to Mobile as the first of potentially many Nittany Lions to be named to the Senior Bowl roster. Last year the team sent [autotag]Tariq Castro-Fields[/autotag], [autotag]Arnold Ebiketie[/autotag], [autotag]Jesse Luketa[/autotag], and [autotag]Jordan Stout[/autotag]. All four players would end up hearing their name called during the 2022 NFL Draft and the same can be said for Brown heading into the 2023 NFL Draft season.

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Penn State punter Barney Amor honored by Big Ten

Penn State punter Barney Amor receives weekly Big Ten honor for first time.

One of Penn State’s breakout heroes this season has been punter [autotag]Barney Amor[/autotag]. Amor, who has been a model of consistency this season on special teams, was finally honored by the Big Ten for his performance on the field. As Lizzo would say, it’s about damn time.

Amor was named the Big Ten’s special teams player of the week for Week 5. In a rainy game against Northwestern, Amor punted five times with an average of 40.0 yards per punt, Four of his five punts landed inside the 20-yard line, with three downed inside the 10-yard line. Amor’s ability to flip the field has come in handy and should continue to do so this season.

The last Penn State player to be named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week was [autotag]Jordan Stout[/autotag], last September.

Here are this week’s Big Ten players of the week:

  • Offensive Player of the Week: Miyan Williams, RB, Ohio State
  • Defensive Player of the Week: Cam Allen, S, Purdue
  • Special Teams Player of the Week: Barney Amor, P, Penn State
  • Freshman of the Week: Malcolm Hartzog, CB, Nebraska

A Penn State player has won at least one Big Ten weekly award each week this season. [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] was the Big Ten’s Co-Offensive Player of the Week after Week 1. [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week in Week 2 and Week 3. [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] was named Defensive Player of the Week after Week 3 as well. [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] was the Freshman of the Week in Week 4.

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Every Penn State player on an NFL opening day roster in 2022

Here is every former Penn State plater on an NFL roster to start the new NFL season in 2022.

The start of a new season in the National Football League is here and there will be a good amount of Penn State flavor throughout the league this season. Penn State will have the eighth most players on an NFL opening day roster this season with 34 players appearing on an NFL team’s 53-man roster to start the season (plus two additional players on injured reserve and another on the physically unable to perform list). In all, Penn State claims 44 players are on NFL rosters to start the year with the inclusion of practice squad players.

That includes nine players who were on the Penn State roster in 2021, including wide receiver [autotag]Jahan Dotson[/autotag], defensive end [autotag]Arnold Ebiketie[/autotag], and safety [autotag]Jaquan Brisker[/autotag]. Dotson is one of four Penn State players on the Washington Commanders, the most of any NFL franchise to start the season.

Former kicker [autotag]Robbie Gould[/autotag] continues to be the elder statesman of the Nittany Lions football family in the NFL. Gould, of the San Francisco 49ers, is entering his 19th season in the NFL.

Here is a look at every Penn State player on either an NFL team’s 53-man roster or practice squad at the start of the 2022 season.

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.

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Ravens P Jordan Stout showers praise on special teams consultant Sam Koch

Baltimore Ravens rookie punter Jordan Stout on former Raven punter Sam Koch as a coach.

The Baltimore Ravens drafted punter Jordan Stout in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.  The team already had fellow punter Sam Koch on the roster at the time, but a few weeks after the draft the veteran hung up his cleats and transitioned to a coaching role within the Baltimore organization as a special teams consultant.

Stout was asked what he thought about having Koch coaching him, and showed praise on the accomplished former punter. He talked about how Koch is “genius”, diving in depth into his coaching style and how he’s not trying to turn Stout into a version of himself.

“[Special teams consultant] Sam [Koch] is genius on the field. He really knows what he’s doing. And the one big thing I want to say is me and Sam are very different punters, and every day I’m out there … Let’s say I make a mistake, or I consistently make a mistake that he wouldn’t have made, he never once says, ‘Oh, well, if I was out there, I would be doing this.’ He’s always like, ‘Hey Jordan, this is what you did; let’s fix it next time.’ He’s not trying to turn me into him, which is unbelievable, and how good of a coach he is after player for 16 years is remarkable.”

Koch was one of the best punters in the league during his time in the NFL, so to have someone of that nature coaching Stout is a tremendous advantage for not only the rookie himself, but the team as well. The former Penn State star impressed during the 2022 preseason, and should help the Ravens win games throughout the year.

Ravens TE Isaiah Likely believes Baltimore has best 2022 rookie class in NFL

Ravens rookie tight end Isaiah Likely thinks that the team’s 2022 draft class is the best in the NFL

The Baltimore Ravens are one of the best drafting teams in the NFL. They were able to pick up an impressive 2022 draft class, and through two games of the 2022 preseason have shown their ability, with players such as defensive lineman Travis Jones and tight end Isaiah Likely starting off extremely strong.

Likely was asked about how special the draft class can be, and the first-year player gave high praise to his fellow rookies. The tight end said that he feels that Baltimore has the best rookie class in the entire NFL, with many things factoring into his opinion, including the bond that the group has.

“I feel like we got the best rookie class in all 32. I mean the bond we have in the locker room even off the field is unique,  When Tyler (Huntley) scored we all celebrated when Raleigh (Webb) we all celebrated.  Even after Jordan’s (Stout) punt to put them down in the 15, we were jumping, and celebrating with Jordan because at the end of the day it’s just the love you want to show your teammates whether good play or bad play you always got to cheer them up and make them know that next play mentality so especially rookies playing in the preseason on their first NFL stage, first away game, you just need that and having your brother do that is always going to be a help”

Likely was one of six fourth-round selections that the Ravens made in 2022, with some of the others being fellow tight end Charlie Kolar, offensive lineman Daniel Faalele, punter Jordan Stout and cornerback Pepe Williams. Each of Baltimore’s 11 draft picks has the ability to make a big impact for the team, and they’re certainly off to a good start so far.

Penn State in the NFL: A look at former Nittany Lions in NFL preseason Week 1

Check out these photos of former Penn State players in the NFL’s Week 1 of the preseason.

The NFL preseason is off and running and a number of former Penn State players have been getting some work in against live competition. While many former Penn State players are seeing limited action, as is the norm for starters these days in the NFL preseason, a few fresh faces are getting some real tastes of life in the NFL, including recent draft picks Jahan Dotson and Jaquan Brisker.

Here is a look at some of the NFL preseason action for some former Penn State football players.