Why was LB Micah Parsons listed as Penn State football’s top kick returner? Joe Lorig explains
Penn State special teams coordinator Joe Lorig wasn’t trying to trick anyone when the Nittany Lions released their depth chart Saturday.
The Nittany Lions listed Micah Parsons atop the group of kick returners when they initially released the spring depth chart over the weekend. The program then sent out and updated version later Saturday afternoon with two return positions listed and Parsons as the starter at the “off” returner spot.
Lorig said that was simply the result of a miscommunication.
“I think it was a little bit of us not all being in the same room and we went through it because I saw it differently,” Lorig said on a conference call with the media Tuesday morning. “I saw the first two guys listed as the two returners that would be on the field.”
Parsons had the ball in his hands as a returner in his high school career and has pined for those opportunities at Penn State. He’s taken to social media to make his plea for return chances, but may not need to go to those lengths to get them.
He could receive those chances based on his own merit, and based on where the opponents kick the ball.
“Well, who’s gonna be the returner?” Lorig said. “Well it depends on which way they kick the ball? I don’t know which way each team is gonna kick the ball.”
For now, he’ll have to keep pleading on social media and impressing Lorig in whatever way he can.
Here are the key points from the Penn State special teams’ coordinator’s Tuesday morning conference call.
Expected returner improvement
Lorig expects the Nittany Lions to see improvement from their return game whenever they next take the field. Former Penn State wide receiver K.J. Hamler, who should hear his name called sometime before Saturday in the 2020 NFL draft, was the team’s returner last season, but didn’t get many opportunities.
The coordinator said his unit only received 21 returnable kicks last season, in part because opponents feared Hamler.
“People just didn’t kick or punt to us,” Lorig said. “When they did the punters were oftentimes scared. You could tell they were over-coached during the week.”
With the team using more unknown commodities in the return game, it could lead to more opportunities in the short term, leading to overall improvement for the unit.
Of course if those players, like Journey Brown, have success, it’s easy to envision teams once again doing their best to make sure they don’t get the ball in their hands.
If that happens, Lorig is happy with taking the advantageous field position that would result.
“(Field position) is a major, major factor,” he said. “It had a big impact on us in a lot of games last year.”
Jordan Stout providing versatility
Penn State lost a staple of its special teams this offseason when punter Blake Gillikin ran out of eligibility. Gillikin, who punted for the Nittany Lions for four years, finished second all-time on the program’s punting average charts with 43.03 yards per punt. His expected replacement, Jordan Stout, has already spent a year in the program after transferring from Virginia Tech and had a big role last season.
Stout was the team’s kickoff specialist and long field goal specialist. He made two field goals longer than 50 yards and pounded 80% of his 83 kickoffs for touchbacks last season, his first with the team.
Now, he’s set to maintain those two jobs as well as punting and holding for the team’s other kicker, Jake Pinegar.
“Thankfully we got Jordan last year,” he said. “He’s really a combo guy. ... I don’t think there will be any question that Jordan will be good enough to fill in for Blake. Obviously Blake was fantastic, that’s not to minimize his value, but I think Jordan is that good also.”
With the increased workload, Lorig has tried to find an ideal plan to make sure Stout doesn’t get worn out or get injured.
“It’s really just going to be managing the workload on him,” he said. “If he’s becoming a great punter (we want to make sure) there’s no drop-off in kickoffs.”
Quick Hitters
- Lorig lets his kickers pick his holders, which is why Stout was listed as the first-team holder. The special teams coordinator asked Pinegar who he wanted, and Stout was his immediate answer. He values how comfortable the kicker is with the holder most.
- Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry has an excellent relationship with Parsons. Lorig said he expects the duo to be in touch long after both are done with football because of how close they are, calling the defensive coordinator a mentor.
- The Nittany Lions special teams coordinator is relying on relationships to recruit during the pandemic. He’s built contacts throughout 20-plus years he has coached and has to go to them to get evaluations of specialists while he can’t see them himself.
