Penn State kicker Sander Sahaydak moving past shaky debut
Penn State sophomore kicker Sander Sahaydak’s debut as the Nittany Lions’ primary placekicker did not go to plan at all on Saturday night. Sahaydak pulled a pair of short-to-mid-range field goals to the right before giving way to Columbia transfer Alex Felkins, who knocked his only attempt through in the second half.
The winner of the offseason contest to replace Jake Pinegar faced the music with teammates at practice on Sunday and it was a big step for the redshirt sophomore.
“Sander Sahaydak got up in front of the team on Sunday without me talking to him, without anybody talking to him,” James Franklin said on Tuesday. “I usually end practice and I say something, and he said, “Coach, I’ve got something to say.” [He] got up and just handled himself really well. I was really proud of him as a young man, like if it was my son, very proud of him. As a member of this team, as a teammate, I just thought he conducted himself really well.
“I think he’s earned everybody’s respect. I thought what he did right there and what he said did it even more.”
No decision yet on starter for Saturday
Franklin said after the win on Saturday night that the Nittany Lions weren’t making any snap decisions on the kicker job. He echoed those sentiments on Tuesday afternoon and reverted to the close competition that Sahaydak and Felkins shared throughout August.
“I would also say as tight as that competition was all camp, I don’t think there was a shock by anybody on our team when we made the change because literally it was that close all training camp,” Franklin explained.
“But just like Felkins had to keep preparing because you never know when your number is going to get called, Sander has got to do the same thing. We haven’t made any decisions at this point. But that’s where all of them, as much as you can get them to do it, first team, second team or third team better be preparing as if they’re the starter because it can change like that.”
Deja vu for Penn State fans
Penn State fans have seen this story before. Eleven years ago, Sam Ficken made just one of five field goals against Virginia in his second game as the team’s starting kicker. Ficken, who was in attendance on Saturday night at Beaver Stadium, eventually bounced back to finish his career second all-time in program history in field goals made and he’s played in parts of four seasons in the NFL.
“I tell the Ficken story all the time, and not just for our specialists, but for our team,” Franklin said. “And I think it’s a really good example. I wasn’t here his freshman year, but most of you who have been covering Penn State for a while know that story better than me, but my first year on campus, Ficken couldn’t have had a better year.
“I think it’s a great example of again, trusting the process, not getting too high, not getting too low.”
