Penn State punter/kicker Jordan Stout gives team a leg up

UNIVERSITY PARK — Jordan Stout is in rare company at Penn State as the team’s primary kicker, punter and kickoff specialist. It’s a heavy workload for the redshirt senior, but Stout has thrived through the first half of the season after a couple of early hiccups.

The No. 7 Nittany Lions, though, will need Stout to continue to kick and punt at a high level down the stretch. And that’s where Stout’s off-field work habits come into play. Special teams coordinator Joe Lorig offered some insight into that process Thursday.

“He’s got what I would call a specific pitch count,” Lorig said over Zoom. “So on Sunday, there’s a really detailed, regimented plan that he has for every single day, and then him and I sit down before practice every day and go through what does that day entail, and that’s the things that he’s going to do.”

During the offseason, Lorig knew there was a possibility Stout could start for Penn State at all three spots. Stout was the team’s primary punter and kickoff specialist last season, and for the past two years, Stout, a transfer from Virginia Tech, also handled long-distance field goals.

But Stout competed with incumbent Jake Pinegar for the chance to be the team’s primary kicker from all distances, including extra points, and won the job. Lorig revealed Thursday that Pinegar battled a back injury over the summer, and it carried into camp. Pinegar is healthy now, Lorig said.

Lorig had known Stout taking over all of the kicking duties might be a possibility, so he consulted with contacts in both the NFL and college football on what the best way for Stout to handle the workload would be.

“He’s on a very specific schedule that is regulated by the day, literally Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, so on and so forth,” Lorig said.

Earlier this season, Stout said he built up a “tolerance” and strength in his leg by taking lots of reps during the offseason. Once the season started, Stout put extra focus on recovery.

It’s been tough to argue with the results. Stout has hit 33 of 35 kickoffs for touchbacks this season, and none of those kicks have been returned. Stout ranks fifth nationally in punting average at 48.79 yards on 29 attempts, with 15 of those getting fair caught, 12 landing inside the 20 and 14 traveling at least 50 yards, including a 76-yarder in the season opener at Wisconsin.

Stout is 8 of 11 on field goals, with a long of 50 yards, and 20 of 21 on extra points. One of those field goal misses and the one extra point miss came in the season opener. Since then, Stout has been consistent.

Through the first half of the 2021 season, Stout was one of the most improved Penn State players. The Virginia native got better in all three facets of the game, and he has provided both the Penn State offense and defense with an extra weapon.

“Jordan’s going to take his performance as a punter, kicker, everything very personal,” Lorig said. “It’s part of why he’s great because it matters to him a lot. It’s very, very important to him.”