Penn State will have a new look special teams unit in 2024 with the departure of coordinator Stacy Collins, marking the third coordinator change for the Nittany Lions this offseason. While it might not matter that much about a Collins unit given the fact someone else – Justin Lustig – will be coaching special teams in 2024, it’s still worth looking back at a group that made big strides from the first week of the season.
The Grade: A-
The Good: Aside from the functional things that made this unit good in 2023, the biggest form of praise you can really give it is the fact Penn State’s special teams went from being a major question mark to one of the most reliable groups on the team. There were some hiccups along the way, but for the most part Penn State turned a corner under then special teams coordinate Stacy Collins and never looked back. Alex Felkins proved to be a reliable placekicker, Riley Thompson quietly had one of the better Penn State punting seasons and Gabe Nwosu was plenty reliable on kickoffs. Add in the wrinkle of Daequan Hardy being a potent return specialist and you’ve got a special teams crew that is firing at every level. Into the numbers, Thompson finished the year 10th in the nation in terms of punting average and Hardy finished the year with two touchdowns, tied with five other programs for best in the nation. The early season bumps in the road count for something, but Penn State did far more good than bad on special teams, and in a year where special teams could have cost Penn State a game on paper, that never happened. In fact it probably kept the Nittany Lions in them.
The Not So Good: In terms of how this season panned out, there really isn’t a major area in which you could point to Penn State’s special teams and say “this was clearly a weakness.” There is something of a perpetual desire for teams to trot out elite return units and while Penn State could have done more on average with its kickoff and punt returns, Penn State also led – in a tie – the nation in punt return touchdowns. Penn State is a reasonably respectable 33rd nationally in punt return average and 21st in kickoff return average. Those numbers sound better than how things looked, and that might speak to how hard it is anymore with big leg kickers to get decent return opportunities.
Overall: All any coach or fan can really ask for is that a team gets better over the course of the year and while the Nittany Lions at-large managed a somewhat up and down affair in 2023, Penn State’s special teams went from a major question mark to a major asset over the course of the season. You can nitpick about a miss here or a mistake there, but when it’s all said and done this group went out and did its job, and did it well.
See all of the Positional Grades HERE.
