Nov. 21, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - For the third time in the past eight weeks, placekicker/punter Anthony Fera (Cypress, Texas) has been selected Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week. Fera was honored for his efforts in Penn State's 20-14 win at Ohio State last Saturday.
A redshirt sophomore, Fera also was honored on Oct. 3 and 17 after Penn State's wins over Indiana and Purdue, respectively. Fera is the first Nittany Lion to earn Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors three times in a season in Penn State's 19 seasons in the conference. He and Nebraska kicker Brett Maher are the only Big Ten players to earn conference specialist honors three times year.
Penn State Football student-athletes have been honored seven times this season by the conference, with Fera being joined by linebacker Gerald Hodges (twice), quarterback Matt McGloin and cornerback/kick returner Chaz Powell.
In his seventh game as the Nittany Lions' field goal kicker, Fera broke his career-long field goal made twice in the win over the Buckeyes, connecting from 43 yards (first quarter) and 46 yards, on the final play of the first half, for a 20-14 lead at the break.
Fera dropped three punts inside the OSU 20-yard-line, including punts that bounced out of bounds at the OSU 3 and 13 yard-lines in the final 15 minutes. A third punt was fair caught at OSU 10 The former St. Pius X standout also averaged 69.2 yards on his four kickoffs with one touchback.
A semifinalist for the Lou Groza Placekicker Award, Fera is the first Nittany Lion since Chris Bahr in 1975 to be the starter for field goals, kickoffs and punts. Fera also was a candidate for the Ray Guy Award, presented to the nation's top punter.
For the season, Fera is averaging 41.6 yards on his 50 punts, with 14 landing inside the 20. He is ranked fourth in the Big Ten in punting average. He is 14 of 17 on field goal attempts, to rank second in the conference in field goals made (1.40 fgpg) and field goal percentage (82.4 pct.). Fera leads the team with 59 points, having made all 17 of his PAT attempts.
No. 20/19 Penn State (9-2, 6-1) visits No. 15/13 Wisconsin (9-2, 5-2) on Saturday, Nov. 26, with the winner earning the Leaders Division berth in the first Big Ten Football Championship Game. The Nittany Lions have already earned no worse than a share of the division title. The clash with the Badgers will kick at 3:30 p.m. ET and air on ESPN, the Penn State Sports Network and www.GoPSUsports.com.