Five Stories: Part 1

Since it’s the bye week, and there’s no game for me to predict or comment on, I figured I’d take this opportunity to delve into the backgrounds of some of the Penn State football players we've all come to know and love.  This is part 1 in a 5 part series I’m titling Five Stories, chronicling the careers of five different players from the past few years of Penn State football.  I think each story is unique and can offer different lessons, however, what those lessons are, I’ll leave up to you.  So, let’s get to story number #1: Sam Ficken

This is one of the more inspiring stories of the bunch, a true tale of perseverance and redemption.  Sam Ficken went from little known backup kicker to one of the shining stars of the still young O’Brien Era.  When the sanctions against the Penn State football program were announced back in the summer of 2012, it was decided that in order to “help” the players escape the burden of playing under harsh sanctions, all players would be granted the right to leave the program without penalty.  One of the biggest losses of this decision was do-it-all kicker and punter, Anthony Fera.  Now, I was probably the least mad at Fera for leaving (of the surprisingly few who left) because he transferred to the University of Texas, near his hometown, to take care of his ailing mother.  However, it left the inexperienced Ficken in a tough spot.  It was abundantly clear by game 2 that Ficken wasn't quite ready to kick in the big leagues.  At Virginia, Ficken delivered arguably the worst kicking performance in Penn State history, missing 4 field goals and an extra point in 1 game; a game decided by 1 point no less!  He received hate mail and threatening messages on social media for weeks.  His poor performance forced Bill O’Brien to consistently take risks on 4^th down, something very unfamiliar to Penn Staters during the Paterno years.  It must have been hell for the Indiana native who shouldn't have been in that situation to begin with.  Things looked bad for Ficken, until he got a surprising phone call from Chicago Bears kicking phenomenon, and former Nittany Lion, Robbie Gould.  Gould analyzed Ficken’s technique and noticed some flaws.  It’s technical, but basically, Ficken was going too fast and getting sloppy.  With his new friend’s advice in toe (see what I did there?), Ficken went on to hit all 10 of his final field goals of the season, shockingly becoming Mr. Automatic.  His biggest kick of the season, though, came in the final game, at home, on Senior Day, against Wisconsin, the eventual Big Ten champs.  Everyone on the team played great that night, but, in as perfect an ending as there could ever be, everything came down to a kick in overtime.  There would be no bowl game for this team, only this moment, to send this amazing senior class out with a win on their day, in front of a packed Beaver Stadium.  And, whereas Wisconsin’s kicker would go on to miss his field goal, Ficken, the former team liability, squeaked his kick through the uprights.  It wasn't the prettiest, but it was good, and that’s all that mattered.  The jubilation that ensued that night was indescribable and memories of that win would help to carry a fan base that had been put through hell into yet another legendary State College winter.  O’Brien was so overcome with emotion that he tripped on a word during his post game interview, accidentally swearing on national television.  But even that was ok given everything that had just happened.  And somewhere in that crowd of celebrating players, coaches, and fans, stood little Sam Ficken, the kicker who was thrust into the spotlight too soon, failed in epic fashion, and was now redeemed.  He would go on to set the Penn State school record for most consecutive field goals made the very next season.  But it was that 1 kick, on a freezing cold night in late November, that will forever cement his legacy in Happy Valley.

*BREAKING NEWS* The #1 tight end recruit in the country, Mike Gesicki out of Southern Regional H. S. in Menahawkin, N.J. has committed to Penn State.  That’s the second year in a row that O’Brien has landed the #1 tight end.  Welcome aboard Mike, and go State!!!