Penn State Lands Five-Star Specialist from Class of 2026

Last season the Nittany Lions found stability at the kicker position, although it did not come right away. Junior Sander Sahaydak last year had the starting job at the beginning of the year for Penn. He lost it after week four after going 2-5 on field goals, then giving freshman kicker Ryan Barker the job. 

Barker over the rest of the season had a solid 83.3% on all FG attempts and made 98% of his extra points. The average FG% for college kickers lat year was 75.6%.

With the addition of McCann-Gibbs it gives Penn options. They can develop him behind Barker, who looked like he could be the starter for as long as he chooses to stay on campus. Or if things go south in Barker's sophomore season, they can opt to go with the native from Ireland as the starter.

McCann-Gibbs was ranked as the No.22 kicker and the No.36 punter by Kohl's Professional Football Kicking Camp.

Here is what the player evaluation from Kohl's Professional Football Kicking Camp.

"McCann-Gibbs is a very talented 17-year old player from Ireland. He scored 106.3 in punting, 114.5 on kickoffs, and 11/15 at a windy Spring Ranking Event in March of 2025. McCann-Gibbs demonstrates D1 talent and has a lot of upside as a kicker who can also punt. McCann-Gibbs is very mature for his age and should be heavily recruited in the coming months."