Tag: Riley Thompson

Report: Boise State hires special teams coordinator Stacy Collins away from Penn State

Boise State hires special teams coordinator Stacy Collins away from Penn State

[autotag]James Franklin’s[/autotag] offseason will now include replacing all three coordinators on his staff. He already hired [autotag]Andy Kotelnicki[/autotag] to replace Mike Yurcich and [autotag]Tom Allen[/autotag] to replace Manny Diaz last month.

It was reported Friday morning by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg that Penn State’s special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach [autotag]Stacy Collins[/autotag] will be returning to Boise State. Collins coached at Boise State during the 2021 season before being hired by Franklin.

Based on Rittenberg’s report, it looks as if Collins will receive a promotion once returning to Boise, gaining the title of assistant head coach. The special teams unit stood out this year and seemed to never miss a beat on gameday. His work with the linebackers and recruiting prowess will definitely be missed in Happy Valley. Collins was also a major factor in handing over punter returning duties to nickel cornerback [autotag]Daequan Hardy[/autotag] partway through last season. Hardy flourished in his new role and even returned two punts for touchdowns against UMass.

It is now a full-blown turnover for Penn State’s coaching staff under Franklin, with three new hires all in the matter of one offseason. Whoever takes the reigns of Collins’ room has plenty of talent to work with, including star running back and returner [autotag]Nicholas Singleton[/autotag], along with punter [autotag]Riley Thompson[/autotag] and Tulsa transfer [autotag]Chase Meyer[/autotag] at kicker.

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Penn State punter enters the transfer portal

Penn State specialist enters the portal with three years of eligibility remaining

With the ever-expanding transfer portal opening on Monday morning, there was no shortage of news about many players opting to leave their current programs. For Penn State, that news began with special teams and redshirt freshman punter [autotag]Alex Bacchetta[/autotag] announcing he was entering the portal. He will have three years of eligibility remaining.

Bacchetta was a redshirt last fall and served as the backup to FAU transfer Riley Thompson. He appeared in only two games during his two-year career at Penn State. The Australian played his senior season last year, so it is unclear whether he would have more eligibility, but Bacchetta’s portal entry seems to point in that direction.

Bacchetta is a Georgia high school product who was a three-time all-state selection at the 3A level and was the third-ranked punter in the Class of 2022. Before deciding on Penn State, he had offers from Arkansas and Virginia.

If Thompson does not gain more eligibility after playing Australian rules football at a college level, Penn State will be in the market for a new punter.

The transfer portal will close on January 2, 2024.

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Olu Fashanu named Big Ten offensive lineman of the year

The return of Olu Fashanu paid off for Penn State in 2023. Now he’s adding some hardware to his collection.

When offensive lineman [autotag]Olu Fashanu[/autotag] announced he would be returning for another year at Penn State, it was a bit of a shock. Expected to be a potential first-round draft pick had he declared for the 2023 NFL draft, Fashanu gambled on a return for one more season of college football before turning pro. It seems that gamble has been paying off quite nicely.

On Wednesday, the Big Ten announced Fashanu had been named the Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year. He was also a consensus first-team All-Big Ten player according to Big Ten coaches and media.

Fashanu is the second Penn State player to win the Big Ten’s top offensive lineman award. [autotag]A.Q. Shipley[/autotag] received the award in 2008. Fashanu remains a clear first-round draft pick prospect, and he could be one of the earlier picks in the draft after his performance this season.

Here is a look at how the Big Ten coaches voted for the conference’s top players on the football field in 2023. Penn State was well-represented across the board this year.

All-Big Ten selections by Big Ten coaches

  • OT Olu Fashanu (first-team)
  • DE [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag] (first team)
  • LB [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] (first team)
  • DE [autotag]Adisa Isaac[/autotag] (second team)
  • RB [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] (second team offense, honorable mention special teams)
  • DB [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag] (second team)
  • C [autotag]Hunter Nourzad[/autotag] (second team)
  • DL [autotag]Dani Dennis-Sutton[/autotag] (third team)
  • DB [autotag]Johnny Dixon[/autotag] (third team)
  • DB [autotag]Daequan Hardy[/autotag] (third team defense; second team special teams)
  • RB [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] (third team)
  • TE [autotag]Tyler Warren[/autotag] (third team)
  • K [autotag]Alex Felkins[/autotag] (third team)
  • OL [autotag]Caedan Wallace[/autotag] (honorable mention)
  • OL [autotag]JB Nelson[/autotag] (honorable mention)
  • OL [autotag]Sal Wormley[/autotag] (honorable mention)
  • TE [autotag]Theo Johnson[/autotag] (honorable mention)
  • WR [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] (honorable mention)
  • QB [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] (honorable mention)
  • P [autotag]Riley Thompson[/autotag] (honorable mention)

 

Report Card: Grading Penn State’s dominant Week 2 win vs. Delaware

Grading Penn State’s performance against Delaware in Week 2

There are some weeks in the course of a college football season where you can probably fill out the postgame report card ahead of time and not have to worry about it. Penn State’s Week 2 matchup against Delaware was one of those games where you hoped things would go as planned and you wouldn’t have to worry about too many issues against an FCS program.

And they did.

Penn State’s offense and defense each took care of business against the Blue Hens in the first all-time meeting between the two schools. Delaware may go on to have a solid season in the FCS championship hunt, but they were overmatched in every facet of the game against Penn State, which is also hoping to set the tone for what they hope will be a playoff push of their own this season.

It may have been a home game against an FCS program collecting a solid check, but Penn State did just about everything you would expect a top-10 team to do in this situation. Here are the grades for Penn State’s performance following its 63-7 victory over Delaware.

Quarterback

Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Grade: A

After being named the Big Ten offensive player of the week, [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] picked up right where he left off a week ago. The touchdown pass count was down but Allar completed 22 of 26 pass attempts for 204 yards with a touchdown pass (and a touchdown run) for a fine outing before getting an early rest in the second half.

Allar showed great vision and patience and just made smart throws that were taking advantage of the holes Delaware’s defense was giving him.

Backup quarterback Beau Pribula played for most of the second half in relief of Allar. Pribula attempted five attempts with three completions for 22 yards and a short touchdown in the fourth quarter. Pribula added to the ground attack with

NEXT: Running Backs

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Penn State punter Riley Thompson named on Ray Guy Award watch list

Penn State punter Riley Thompson has landed on the Ray Guy Award watch list for 2023.

One of Penn State’s newest additions to the special teams unit is already on the national radar as one of the top punters in the nation. [autotag]Riley Thompson[/autotag], who transferred to Penn State from Florida Atlantic during the offseason, was named to the Ray Guy Award watch list.

The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to the nation’s top punter by the Augusta Sports Council and is named after former All-Pro punter Ray Guy. The award was first presented in 1990 to Wisconsin’s Kevin Stemke.

Thompson, a native of Australia, was one of the top punters in Conference USA in 2022 with 61 punts for 2,770 yards and 15 punts of at least 50 yards with 26 punts inside the 20-yard line and just three touchbacks. Thompson averaged 45.4 yards per punt in 2022 for the Owls and was the nation’s 12th-best punter for average punt yardage.

No Penn State punter has ever won the Ray Guy Award, so Thompson will be looking to be the first winner in school history. Last year’s winner of the Ray Guy Award was Adam Korsak of Rutgers.

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Penn State football 2023 award watch list tracker

Penn State football college football award watch list tracker for 2023

Penn State is gearing up for a potentially exciting college football season. With a roster full of talented individuals across the roster, it is no wonder that so many players have been receiving various degrees of preseason hype leading into the fall.

Before fall camps opened up, the watch lists for a number of college football awards were released to help generate some enthusiasm and excitement about some of college football’s top players at every position. Not surprisingly, a number of Penn State players received some recognition from the watch list announcements. But keeping tabs on every single college football award watch list can be difficult if you don’t know when they are being announced. But we’ll help you out by keeping tabs on every watch list we come across and let you know what players are appearing on which list.

And if you don’t know what an award is specifically for, we’ll keep you informed on that as well.

Here is a look at each Penn State player who has appeared on a watch list for the upcoming season, and which lists they have appeared. This will be updated accordingly as watch list announcements continue to be made.

2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 95 Riley Thompson

This former FAU punter will look to solidify Penn State’s special teams unit in 2023.

Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.

Continuing this effort is a look at one of the newest additions to the program this year by way of the transfer portal, punter [autotag]Riley Thompson[/autotag]. Thompson comes to Penn State as an accomplished punter from Florida Atlabntcio and he could be stepping right into a key role with the Nittany Lions this season. Here si a snapshot look at one of Penn State’s top punting options for the 2023 college football season.

Top 5 position battles heading into Penn State’s spring practices

These position battles will be heating up when Penn State opens spring football practices.

Penn State football is in a very good position overall with the way that James Franklin has this team constructed. Of course, there are a few positions that need to be sorted out still.

The position battles going on this spring will be what solidify the starting lineup. The team is very deep and whoever loses these battles shouldn’t be seen as someone not of the quality you expect from Penn State. Rather, it will speak volumes as to what the starters should be seen as which is top-level quality players.

Here are the top five position battles to monitor this spring.

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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