Penn State Kicker Alex Felkins Earns All-Big Ten Honors
Penn State kicker Alex Felkins proved to be one of program's best transfer-portal additions of the 2023 football season, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors from the media. Felkins, voted third-team by the coaches, was among four Nittany Lions to earn special-teams honors from the Big Ten. Daequan Hardy was named second-team punt returner, while Nicholas Singleton (kickoff returner) and Riley Thompson (punter) earned honorable mentions.
Felkins, who wasn't Penn State's starting kicker for the season-opener against West Virginia, took over the role in that game and retained it for the remainder of the season. He finished 18-for-22 on field-goal attempts, finishing seventh in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage, and was perfect (45-for-45) on extra points. Felkins went 10-for-10 inside 40 yards and 8-for-12 from 40+. Felkins' season-long was 50 yards.
Felkins, originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, spent four years at Columbia, where he was a two-time All-Ivy League kicker. After transferring to Penn State, Felkins dueled with Sander Sahaydak through spring and preseason training camp, with Sahaydak ultimately winning the job to begin the season. After Sahaydak missed two field goals in the opener, Felkins took over the position and never relinquished it.
“I think I'm just much more confident in myself based on what I actually see for myself when I'm out on the field and how I see the ball fly," Felkins said earlier this season. "And I think that goes hand in hand with me just having four years of college experience, being on the field and starting from day one of my freshman year at Columbia and learning all of those lessons throughout the years. I've always been talented, but I think the mental game is something that I've had to put a lot of work [into]. And I think that part, the mental game, has gotten significantly better for me since I've gotten on here."
Penn State placed 13 players, including all 11 primary starters, on the All-Big Ten defensive teams.
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