UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Senior punter Blake Gillikin (Smyrna, Ga.) is among the 137 candidates for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® is an annual award given to college football players for the impact they make off the field.
Gillikin enters his final season as Penn State's record holder in career punting average (43.32 ypp) and season punting average (43.95 ypp). He is the only player in program history with three punts of 70 or more yards, all of which came in 2018. Gillikin hit a career-long 74-yard punt at Michigan, which is tied for fourth on Penn State's single-game charts with Anthony Fera. He also averaged 51.2 yards per punt in the 2019 Citrus Bowl against Kentucky, which is second in Penn State bowl history and fifth overall. A perfect 4.0 student, Gillikin was a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American last year. He spent the summer interning at Drayer Physical Therapy and performing a job shadow at Penn State Health in State College.
Established in 1992, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® continues to be one of the most coveted community service awards in college football. From the 137 nominees, the final roster of 23 award recipients will be announced in September, bringing together 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision;11 players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA); and one honorary head coach. To be considered for a spot on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, each player must be actively involved with a charitable organization or service group while maintaining a strong academic standing.
Three different Nittany Lions have been named to preseason watch lists. They include: senior punter Blake Gillikin – Allstate AFCA Good Works Team; junior defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos – Bednarik Award (National Defensive Player of the Year), Lott IMPACT Trophy (National Defensive Player of the Year on and off the field); junior wide receiver KJ Hamler – Maxwell Award (National Player of the Year); sophomore linebacker Micah Parsons – Bednarik Award (National Defensive Player of the Year).
The Nittany Lions' home schedule features three non-conference games and four Big Ten Conference match-ups. The Nittany Lions open the season against Idaho (Aug. 31; 3:30 p.m.), Buffalo (Sept. 7; 7:30 p.m.) and the 100th all-time meeting with Pittsburgh (Sept. 14; noon) in non-conference action. In Big Ten play, Penn State welcomes Purdue (Oct. 5; noon), Michigan (Oct. 19), Indiana (Nov. 15) and Rutgers (Nov. 30) to Happy Valley.
For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and reserving new season tickets for the 2019 Penn State Football season presented by PSECU, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Nearly 4,500 new season tickets have already been sold for the 2019 campaign.
