Penn State Loses confidence in kicker Sander Sahaydak after signing another.
Penn State held a kicking competition this offseason. Redshirt junior Sander Sahaydak battled redshirt freshman Ryan Barker and Tulsa transfer Chase Meyer for the job. According to head coach James Franklin in August, the trio was close throughout preseason camp, but Sahaydak and Barker had a slight edge.
That led to Saturday’s opener at West Virginia, where Sahaydak was the starter. It returned him to the starting role he had in 2023 before giving way to Alex Felkins early in the season. The Bethlehem, Pa., native was perfect on four extra point tries but missed a 47-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. It was not an ideal situation, Franklin said Monday.
Facing a 3rd and 11 at the West Virginia 29 with 3:55 to play, backup running back Cam Wallace took a handoff from quarterback Beau Pribula and was stuffed at the line of scrimmage. The Nittany Lions were hoping to get enough yards to make the kick shorter, at the very least, but the goal was to get enough to go for it.
When that didn’t happen, Franklin sent Sahaydak out following a timeout. He pulled the kick from the right hash, marking his fourth miss in five attempts as a Nittany Lion. Despite that fact, the team appears set to move forward with the veteran as its starter as it prepares for a Week 2 clash with Bowling Green. Kickoff is set for Noon ET on Big Ten Network.
“Obviously, we wanted to give him an opportunity to get a field goal and start on the right foot. So, not ideal, probably all the way around,” Franklin said. “The offense and special teams. We got a ton of confidence in him based on what he did all training camp, or what he did all spring ball. And I know he’ll make the next one.”
Sahaydak is now 1 of 5 as a Nittany Lion on field goals. He was 1 of 2 in 2022, 0 for 2 in 2023, and is now 0 for 1 this year. It will be interesting to see what Penn State does if it gets a big lead Saturady. Which, it should as a 32.5-point favorite. Will it give Barker or Meyer a shot? Or, will Sahaydak handle every kick? Time will tell, but it’s a situation that continues to be worth monitoring early in the season.
