Field goals, kickoffs and punts? Penn State football’s Jordan Stout wants to do it all
Penn State football’s most versatile player might be its punter, and he’s ready to prove how much he can contribute to the Nittany Lions.
Specialist Jordan Stout is set to carry three major roles in the 2020 season and is ready for the task at hand. The redshirt junior said he enjoys kicking and punting equally, and he’s doing exactly what he hoped to do at Penn State.
“I pride myself as a combo guy,” Stout said on a conference call with the media Thursday afternoon. “Kicking, punting and kicking off, and holding this year, too. My goal is to make it to the NFL. So I think the best way for me to make it to the NFL is exactly what I’m doing now — punting, kicking off, and hitting long field goals — just to show NFL teams I can do all three. The best way to make it to the NFL is definitely punting and kicking off.”
Stout transferred to the Nittany Lions prior to the 2019 season after spending his first two years of college at Virginia Tech. He was Penn State’s kickoff specialist and long field goal kicker in 2019 and will show off his repertoire this year by adding punting to his list of duties.
While he didn’t punt for Penn State last season, Stout has done it in the past and is ready for the challenge of doing it for the Nittany Lions.
“Since my sophomore year of high school, I’ve been practicing punting and kicking and kicking off,” he said. “So I feel like I’ve been preparing for this ever since I started (playing football).”
With the increased role comes increased reps in practice and a bigger workload in general. Stout and special teams coordinator Joe Lorig will have to balance getting enough reps in to make sure Stout is ready to perform at a high level on game day while also making sure he’s not wearing himself out in the long run.
“In a normal day I hit about 30 punts and 10-20 field goals,” Stout said. “But I was probably there for an hour and a half doing that because I would be doing drills. I do a lot of drills because kickers can’t kick that much. It’s just like a pitcher in baseball.”
Stout will have to replace former Penn State punter Blake Gillikin next season, but is adequately prepared to do so. The new punter sought out Gillikin, who’s now signed as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints, to get advice last season and is ready to take on his former teammate’s role.
“Blake was a really good mentor,” Stout said. “Just to see him prevail and do super well in games has given me confidence to do it this year.”
