Jordan Stout Named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week

Stout, who gave his coach "agita" after missing an extra point, is recognized for a huge punting day at Wisconsin.

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 punter/placekicker and redshirt 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 after the game. At his Tuesday press conference, Franklin said he was proud of the way Stout handled the misses in not allowing them to impact his other duties, which were substantial.

Stout, who transferred from Virginia Tech in 2019, played a unique role against Wisconsin in handling all the kicking duties. Franklin said Tuesday that Stout won the starting role at all three positions in training camp.

Stout handled kickoffs the past two seasons and became the starting punter in 2020. He also has been Penn State's designated kicker of long field-goal attempts the past two seasons. Saturday's game marked the first time Stout had attempted a field goal shorter than 40 yards in his Penn State career.

In addition, Stout had not attempted an extra point since the 2018 season at Virginia Tech. Fellow scholarship kicker Jake Pinegar, a senior, has kicked Penn State's extra points the past three seasons, going 136 of 141. Pinegar also is 14-for-15 on field-goal attempts of 29 yards or shorter in his career.

"Now obviously it's a lot on his plate," Franklin said of Stout. "You’re talking about all three things. So we spent a lot of time talking to national kicking gurus about how do you handle that. How does the practice look, what are the reps he’s taking in practice, what do we need to do to put him in the best position to be successful?"

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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