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Blake Gillikin Signs With New Orleans Saints As Undrafted Free Agent

Penn State special teams legend Blake Gillikin is officially a member of the National Football League.

The former Penn State football punter signed with the New Orleans Saints shortly following the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Georgia native leaves Penn State as one of its most decorated special teams members. After starting at punter during all four of his seasons in Happy Valley, Gillikin is the only player in program history to nail seven punts of 65 or more yards. During his senior season this past fall, the Flow Bro averaged 42.2 yards per attempt and pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line a career-high 32 times.

While he had plenty of memorable opponents in the blue and white, one of Gillikin’s best performances came in a 17-10 victory over Pitt in 2019. Six of the punter’s seven attempts on the day landed inside the Panthers’ own 20-yard line. One of the highlights of Gillikin’s junior campaign a year before came when he booted a career-high 74-yard punt against Michigan in the Big House.

It’s not too often that a punter can put together a highlight reel, but Gillikin has plenty of memorable moments over his four-year career. He was truly a special teams weapon for James Franklin’s squad and will likely be able to do the same at the next level.

He’ll join fellow Nittany Lions Juwan Johnson and Tommy Stevens, who joined the Saints as an undrafted free agent and a seventh-round draft pick, respectively, in the Big Easy. Gillikin will also reunite with former Penn State special teams coordinator Phil Galiano, who’s currently on New Orleans’ staff.

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About the Author

Will Pegler

Will is a senior majoring in digital and print journalism and is an associate editor for Onward State. He is from Darien, Connecticut and is a lifelong Penn State football fan. He loves a good 80's comedy movie, Peaky Blinders, The Office, and the New York Yankees and Giants. You can catch some of his ridiculous sports takes on his Twitter @gritdude and yell at him on his email [email protected]

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