For Penn State’s Special Teams, a Promising Outlook in 2025

For all the movement in and out of Penn State’s program during this offseason, the Nittany Lions’ specialists emerged nearly unscathed. Second-year special teams coordinator Justin Lustig will return his starting placekicker, punter, long snapper, kickoff specialist and kick/punt returners.

Barring any unexpected twists this offseason, Penn State’s specialists should look pretty familiar in 2025. Here’s how things shake out this winter.

Penn State’s returning kicking specialists

One of the best stories from last season was the rise of redshirt freshman Ryan Barker, who took over as Penn State’s starting placekicker in Week 5 against UCLA. He finished the season 15 of 18 on kicks with a long of 49 yards. He took over for Sander Sahaydak, who started the first four games of the season and made only 2 of his 5 field goal attempts. Sahaydak no longer is on the Penn State football roster, which the program updated in mid-February.

Riley Thompson should assume the starting punter spot for his third season with the Nittany Lions. The Aussie punter was named a team captain last season, when he averaged 42.8 yards per attempt and downed 17 of his 51 punts inside the 20-yard line. Thompson averaged more yards per punt (45.8) in 2023, but he booted a career-long of 63 yards in 2024.

Returning at long snapper is Tyler Duzansky for his redshirt senior season. Duzansky has started all 29 games across the last two seasons and figures to keep hold of that spot. Gabriel Nwosu is expected to be the team’s kickoff specialist for the third straight season. The 6-foot-6, 285-pound punter averaged 63.5 yards per boot with 61 touchbacks.

Penn State’s projected top return specialists

Running back Nick Singleton is the incumbent kick returner for Penn State, averaging 23.6 yards per return with a long of 66 yards. While he returned only 14 kicks last year, Singleton has proven to be a home-run threat with the football in his hands, and kickoff returns are another way Penn State can get him touches.

There will be more of a competition for punt returner, with wide receiver Kaden Saunders and cornerback Zion Tracy battling for the role. Saunders began the season as the starting punt returner, but an injury sidelined him for most of the season. Tracy stepped in and started for the rest of the season, averaging 5.8 yards on 15 returns. If Saunders can get back on the field healthy, then he seems like the front-runner for the role.

Another name to watch is receiver Tyseer Denmark. He fielded two punts as a redshirt last season and seems poised for a much bigger role offensively in his second season with the program. Transfer receiver Devonte Ross is another possible return specialist, as he did return a punt for a touchdown last season at Troy.