Penn State football is one day away, folks.

The Nittany Lions are back in Beaver Stadium for their season opener against Nevada on Saturday after finishing with a successful 13-3 record last season, culminating in a close loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the College Football Playoff Semifinals.

There shouldn’t be much change with Penn State’s special teams personnel as Special Teams Coordinator Justin Lustig enters his second season with the team. Based on preseason chatter, let’s take a look at what the Penn State special team units will look like in 2025.

Placekicker

Starter: Ryan Barker

Bench: Matthew Parker

Ryan Barker will be the starting placekicker for the Nittany Lions to start the 2025 season. The redshirt sophomore took over the starting position midseason last year and never looked back. He appeared in 14 games, going 15-for-18 on field goals, with a long of 49. The Nittany Lion was a perfect 9-for-9 from 39 yards and in and went 48-for-49 on extra points. Barker received three Special Teams Player of the Game distinctions last season and currently ranks seventh all-time at Penn State in extra-point percentage with 97.9.

Punter:

Starter: Riley Thompson

Bench: Gabriel Nwosu

Riley Thompson will be Penn State’s starting punter for the third consecutive season. In his junior year, Thompson appeared in all 16 games and finished with 46 punts, averaging 42.8 yards per punt with 17 punts sitting inside the 20-yard line. In his career, the Nittany Lion holds a 44.2 punt average, ranking third all-time at Penn State.

Long Snapper

Starter: Tyler Duzansky

Bench: Blaise Sokach-Minnick, Andrew Dufault

Duzansky will be the starting long snapper for the third straight year for the Nittany Lions. Over that span, Duzansky has started 29 games for Penn State, earning Academic All-Big Ten honors in both seasons while also being named to the All-Big Ten third team by the media and honorable mention by the coaches in 2024.

Kickoff Specialist

Starter: Gabriel Nwosu

Bench: Ryan Barker, Matthew Parker

Gabriel Nwosu will be the Nittany Lions’ starting kickoff specialist for the third consecutive season. The redshirt senior earned All-Big Ten honors as he appeared in all 16 games a year ago. Nwosu had 97 kickoffs for 6,158 yards and 60 touchbacks, good enough for 63.7 yards per kickoff.

Kick Return

Starter: Nick Singleton

Bench: King Mack, Quinton Martin Jr.

Running back Nick Singleton will be the primary kickoff returner this season, a role he has had since joining the Nittany Lions in 2022. As a returner, Singleton amassed 331 yards on 14 attempts last season, good enough for a 23.64 average return. Singleton’s longest return last season came in at 66 yards, his longest return since he took one to the house in 2022.

Safety King Mack and backup running back Quinton Martin Jr. will also be alternative options for kickoff returns this season. Martin Jr. only has one return in his young career, carrying a kickoff 27 yards.

Punt Returner:

Starter: Zion Tracy

Bench: Trebor Peña, Devonte Ross

Penn State’s punt return game has some serious firepower this season. Junior cornerback and starting nickel Zion Tracy will be the main punt returner for the Nittany Lions this season. Last year, Tracy had 15 returns for 87 yards, with his longest return being 14 yards.

Behind Tracy sit two of three transfer wide receivers, Trebor Peña and Devonte Ross. Both of these receivers have been known to be lethal in the return game, tallying 15 attempts for 120 yards and 12 attempts for 157 yards, respectively. Ross also scored a punt return touchdown against Iowa last season, which more or less helped with his recruitment to Penn State.