Penn State Kicker Jake Pinegar Nominated for Ray Guy Award

Penn State kicker Jake Pinegar, who had a terrific season in 2019, is among 30 preseason nominees for the Ray Guy Award. He became the eighth Penn State player named to a preseason college football watch list.

Pinegar, a junior, converted 11 of 12 field-goal attempts last season and was perfect (3-for-3) from 40-plus yards. He made a 45-yarder against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl and also made 56 of 58 extra-point attempts. Pinegar was named honorable mention All-Big Ten.

During the spring shutdown, Pinegar trained at home in Iowa with his brother Hunter, who is a kicker and punter at Sam Houston State. He said their sessions helped compensate for the lack of spring drills.

"Obviously with what was going on, a lot of people weren't able to get to in deep with their training," Pinegar said. "But with kicking, all you need is a field goal, a field and a ball. ... My brother was back home, and I was able to go [kick] with him almost every day. With no spring ball, it sucks not being able to get that edge. But being home, being able to kick with my brother and being able to kick quite often played a huge advantage."

As college football's watch-list season rolls on, here's a look at Penn State's preseason awards candidates:

Biletnikoff Award: Tight end Pat Freiermuth

Bronko Nagurski Trophy: Linebacker Micah Parsons, defensive end Shaka Toney

Butkus Award: Linebacker Micah Parsons

Chuck Bednarik Award: Linebacker Micah Parsons

Doak Walker Award: Running backs Journey Brown, Noah Cain

Jim Thorpe Award: Safety Lamont Wade

John Mackey Award: Tight end Pat Freiermuth

Davey O’Brien Award: Quarterback Sean Clifford

Lott IMPACT Trophy: Linebacker Micah Parsons

Ray Guy Award: Kicker Jake Pinegar

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