Ray Guy Award watch list 2017: 5 favorites to win
By John Buhler
Blake Gillikin
Punter, Penn State Nittany Lions
Blake Gillikin made a bold choice to play his college ball for James Franklin a few years ago, but it seems to have been a great one. The Penn State Nittany Lions are back. They just won the Big Ten last fall and they are one of the few teams in the Power 5 that can legitimately say national title or bust.
For that reason, a ton of attention will be on the program. The sophomore punter should benefit greatly from increased national exposure of the surging traditional power. Penn State already has three standouts on the offensive side of the ball in quarterback Trace McSorley, running back Saquon Barkley and tight end Mike Gesicki. They will only help Gillikin on his quest to win the Ray Guy Award as sophomore.
Keep in mind that the weather will inevitably change in State College shortly after Halloween. From there, the field position battle will become even more important in Big Ten conference play. It’s frankly time for Gillikin to live up to the hype of being the best punter prospect of his recruiting class. His team should be fantastic, which will only help his punting stats.
The only issue with being a big time punter for a Big Ten program is that the winds associated with that part of the country could hurt his yards per punt average. If Gillikin is able to overcome volatile Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic wins to help lead Penn State to back-to-back Big Ten Championships, he might emerge as the favorite to win the Ray Guy Award.