Sam Ficken

Sam Ficken
Penn State Nittany LionsNo. 97
Position Placekicker
Class Senior
Major Business
Career history
College
Bowl games
High school Valparaiso (IN)
Personal information
Date of birth December 14, 1992
Place of birth Valparaiso, Indiana
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 184 lb (83 kg)
Career highlights and awards
  • 4x Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week (11/26/12,[1] 9/2/13,[2] 9/1/14,[3] 11/03/14[4])
  • Honorable Mention All Big Ten (2013)
  • Second Team All-Big Ten (2014)
Stats at ESPN.com
Stats at Rivals.com

Samuel James Ficken (born December 14, 1992) is the starting placekicker for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team. He was promoted to the starting kicker position after Anthony Fera, the Nittany Lions' starting punter and placekicker, transferred to the University of Texas.[5]

High School

Ficken, a former soccer player, was born in Valparaiso, Indiana, and attended Valparaiso High School, where he was named first-team Associated Press Class 5A all-state kicker. He also was a member of the all-area team. Ficken made 13 field goals during his senior year, including a school-record 52 yard kick. He also had 45 touchbacks on kickoffs.[6]

College

2011

Ficken saw little action in 2011 behind veteran starting kicker, Anthony Fera. He hit a point after touchdown in the opener against Indiana State, as well as kicking off once. He missed his first collegiate field goal attempt in a game against Temple, but rebounded with a completed field goal against Eastern Michigan.[7] Besides two more kickoffs, Ficken did not play for the remainder of the year.[6]

2012

Ficken became the starting kicker in 2012. Ficken started the year off poorly, missing 7 of his first 11 field goals (including one from the one yard line in a game against Illinois, as well as missing 4 out of 5 in a one point loss to Virginia[8]). However, after being mentored by starting Chicago Bears placekicker Robbie Gould,[9] he finished the year by hitting ten straight successful field goals, putting him 14 for 21 on the year. Ficken also completed 39 of 41 extra-point attempts (one was blocked, the other one was a miss).[7] He was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week on November 26, 2012, after a 3 for 3 game against the Wisconsin Badgers, one of which was the game-winning kick in overtime.[9]

2013

Ficken broke the Penn State record for consecutive field goals made. He made 15 consecutive field goals from October 27, 2012 to September 14, 2013.[10]

2014

To start the season, Ficken kicked a last-second, game-winning field goal in the 2014 Croke Park Classic.[11] During the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College, Ficken tied the game with a 44 yard field goal and kicked the game-winning point after touchdown in overtime.

References

  1. Juliano, Joe (26 November 2012). "Penn State's Jordan Hill, Sam Ficken honored by Big Ten". Philly.com. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  2. "Ficken and Hackenberg Earn Big Ten Player of the Week Accolades". Penn State Sports. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  3. Flounders, Bob (1 September 2014). "PSU's Sam Ficken, DeSean Hamilton earn Big Ten honors after clutch efforts against Central Florida". The Patriot News. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  4. Pianovich, Steven (3 November 2014). "Penn State's Sam Ficken named B1G Special Teams Player of the Week; Hull not a Bednarik semifinalist". The Patriot News. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  5. Fitzpatrick, Frank. "Report: Standout kicker leaving Penn State for Texas". Philly.com. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Sam Ficken Profile - Penn state Official Athletic Site". Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Sam Ficken Stats, News, Videos, Pictures, Bio - Penn State Nittany Lions". ESPN. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  8. Pencek, Matthew (September 10, 2012). "Sam Ficken's bad day recalls Penn State kicker Ray Tarasi and redemption". PennLive LLC. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Kaplan, Emily. "Penn State's Jordan Hill, Sam Ficken honored by Big Ten". Philly.com. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  10. Moyer, Josh. "Sam Ficken goes from goat to hero". ESPN. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  11. Crowe, Aisling (31 August 2014). "Croke Park lights up as sport and theatre collide". Independent.ie. Retrieved 16 November 2014.