Even Jordan Stout himself might be surprised at this award. The Big Ten named the Penn State punter/kicker, who missed a 23-yard field goal and an extra-point attempt Saturday at Wisconsin, as its special teams player of the week.
Stout, an all-purpose kicker/punter/placekicker senior two-time captain, had a tremendous punting day in the Lions' 16-10 victory over Wisconsin. He averaged 53.9 yards on a career-high seven attempts and connected on a career-long 76-yarder in the third quarter. The punt tied for the third-longest in Penn State history.
Stout's single-game punting average ranks No. 2 in program history, behind Ralph Giacomarro's 54.75 vs. Syracuse in 1981. It was nearly 5 yards better than his single-game, career-best average of 49 vs. Ohio State last season. Stout also was a perfect 4-for-4 on kickoff touchbacks.
And yet...
Stout missed a 23-yard field goal in the first half and an extra point in the fourth quarter that nearly proved costly. Penn State coach James Franklin told reporters in Madison after the game that the missed extra point "probably gave me as much agita as anything."
"I think we kicked the laces there, but we still should be able to make an extra point," Franklin said.
Stout, who transferred from Virginia Tech in 2019, played a unique role against Wisconsin in handling all the kicking duties. The past two seasons he took primarily long field-goal attempts: Saturday's game marked the first time Stout had attempted a field goal shorter than 40 yards in his Penn State career. He also had not attempted an extra point since the 2018 season at Virginia Tech.
Franklin said that scholarship kicker Jake Pinegar was available for the game. Pinegar, a senior, has kicked extra points for the past three seasons, going 136 of 141. He also is 14-for-15 on field-goal attempts of 29 yards or shorter in his career.
Stout went 2-for-5 on field-goal attempts last season, all from 40+ yards. He set Penn State's school record with a 57-yard field goal against Pitt in 2019.
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