After Sander Sahaydak missed his second 40-yard field goal of the game against Illinois, redshirt freshman kicker Ryan Barker trotted onto the field to knock through Penn State’s final extra point of the night, signaling that Sahaydak might have lost the job for the second straight season.
Barker then made his first career start against UCLA, punctuating the moment with a 2-for-2 day from 25 and 40 yards on field goal. He also knocked through all three of his extra point attempts.
“He’s been a guy that since he stepped on campus, has been really impressive. I think the thing that I’ve been most impressed with is just how steady and level he is,” coach James Franklin said Monday. “He doesn’t get too high. He doesn’t get too low. He’s got a very mature kind of way about him.”
The 25- and 40-yard field goals were the first of Barker’s young college career. He made his collegiate debut with an extra point against Kent State.
Hailing from Landenberg, Pennsylvania, Barker was a four-year letterwinner at Kennett High School. Franklin recalled his staff liking Barker’s statistics and film in high school before seeing the 6-2, 192-pounder kick well at a camp. His frame made the staff feel comfortable he’d be able to add strength and increase kicking power.
“But we still, to be honest with you, didn’t know what we were totally getting,” Franklin said. “Then last year he showed up, and he opened everybody’s eyes and was a real pleasant surprise and literally was competing for the job last year.”
The battle for this year’s starting kicking spot was a close one, as Franklin noted multiple times through the offseason. Sahaydak won the job over Barker by a matter of one or two percentage points, according to Franklin’s preseason estimation of 85, 84 and 83% across Sahaydak, Barker and Tulsa transfer Chase Meyer.
Franklin revealed Monday, though, that Barker was leading the competition at times during the offseason. Sahaydak slowly overtook Barker, but it “literally came down to the wire,” Franklin said.
Now that Barker’s taken the job, the biggest keys will be remaining consistent on the field and being able to rebound from a miss — a quality in which Franklin seemed confident.
“How quickly can you flush it and bounce back? I think that’s important at every position. It’s probably magnified at the kicking position because you just don’t get as many plays and you don’t get as many opportunities, so each play is magnified,” Franklin said. “But that ability to flush the last play, good or bad, and move on to the next one is really important. I think from what I’ve seen from him, he does a very good job of that.”
Barker regularly posted social media videos in the past of himself kicking field goals, often from distances surpassing 60 yards. And now he’s gotten off to a perfect start as Penn State’s starting kicker.
“The other thing is, OK, you have the statistics to say you made 91% of your kicks in practice. OK, fine. The thing with him is, it’s almost like a machine, like a JUGS machine or something,” Franklin said. “A large percentage of his kicks are right down the middle, so it’s not just the ones he is making. It’s the accuracy of how he makes his kicks too.”