Despite having an undefeated record, Penn State head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] was looking for ways to get a few more explosive plays out of his roster as they came out of the bye week. Penn State’s 63-0 victory over UMass didn’t have quite the impact with explosive plays most want to see out of the offense, but there was a bit of a roster change that led to pair of touchdowns on special teams.
[autotag]Kaden Saunders[/autotag] had been the primary punt returner this season. But the athletic and speedy Saunders has not been able to turn a big return for Penn State this season. Against UMass, Penn State gave a new player a few opportunities to return punts. That was the veteran [autotag]Daequan Hardy[/autotag], a respected team leader who has spent most of his time on defense with some kickoff return duty on the side. But he had never returned a punt for Penn State until Saturday.
The move paid off in a big way as Hardy returned not one but TWO punts for touchdowns in Penn State’s 63-0 lead. That included the first score of the game in the first quarter as Penn State’s offense was a bit sluggish to start the game.
“Him and Kaden (Saunders) kind of went into a competition all summer camp with catching punts and returning punts. They battled back and forth,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said in his postgame press conference when asked about using Hardy as a punt returner.
“Kaden had done a nice job of catching the ball all year long. But we weren’t, we weren’t very explosive or making a ton of yardage,” Franklin went on to explain. “That’s no knock on Kaden, he was doing a nice job, but we’re looking to try to create some more big plays not just on offense, but special teams as well.”
Hardy delivered. He became the first Penn State player in school history with two punt returns for a touchdown in the same game.
“So, we wanted to get [Hardy] some opportunities and some reps and obviously he did a did a phenomenal job,” Franklin explained. “So, we got two guys we feel like we can win with but he obviously showed tonight that he could be special.”
When Penn State heads to Ohio State next week, don’t be surprised if we see Hardy get a few more opportunities to make some plays with a punt return.
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