Courtesy of Penn State Athletics
Today, as the early National Letter of Intent signing day period kicks off, most — if not all — of the newest members of the Penn State recruiting class will sign on the dotted line, accepting a scholarship to play football for the Nittany Lions. For every player who does sign, I’ll be here to provide an in-depth scouting report. Here is my report on a kicker from the Lehigh Valley, Sander Sahaydak.
Height: 6-0
Weight:159
School: Liberty HS (Bethlehem)
Projected position: Kicker
Rating: Three stars by Rivals.com, 247sports and ESPN
Other Power 5 offers: Rutgers
Projection: Next fall will be the rare season where Penn State has three kickers on scholarship, but with Jake Pinegar and Jordan Stout both entering their senior seasons (they’ll get an extra year after that because of the NCAA’s COVID policies), it’s clear who the staff views as the future at the position. The left-footed Sahaydak has one of the strongest legs in the nation. he has connected on several 50-plus-yard attempts during his high school career. Fourteen of his 18 kickoffs went for touchbacks last season, and that number will only improve as he gets stronger. Rivals rated him as the No. 3 kicker in the nation, and it’s likely he’ll be ready to take over by 2022.
Donnie Collins has been a member of The Times-Tribune sports staff for nearly 20 years and has been the Penn State football beat writer for Times-Shamrock Newspapers since 2004. The Penn State Football Blog covers Nittany Lions, Big Ten and big-time college football news from Beaver Stadium to the practice field, the bowl game to National Letter of Intent Signing Day. Contact: dcollins@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5368; @DonnieCollinsTT