Penn State football showed the country in their game against Buffalo that they have a weapon that you just don’t see enough of anymore
The Penn State Nittany Lions have an elite special teams player and returner in Zay Robinson, and he showed that on Saturday.
The Penn State Nittany Lions showed that they have a weapon you just don’t see enough of anymore in college football. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Zay Robinson is making his money on special teams. And he’s really carved out a nice role for himself on this team.
During the game, Robinson delivered two punt returns of more than 30 yards, each time putting the offense in excellent field position. The Nittany Lions capitalized on those setups, turning them into 10 points.
Robinson opened his impressive 126-yard day with a 38-yard return that gave Penn State a prime start deep in Buffalo territory—just the beginning of his standout performance. He exuded great patience and speed in the return game. And, most importantly, he followed the blocking nearly perfectly.
“At first, I’m really just seeing how the ball’s kicked, seeing if it’s like a run job or it’s carrying, seeing how the ball is spinning,” Robinson said. “It’s a lot going into the returns, but then kind of just seeing the gunners and the jammers are the biggest for me because those are probably the fastest guys on the field.”
Robinson was as much of a weapon vs. Buffalo as anyone
The Nittany Lions were working the offensive side of the ball well on Saturday. Sure, they started slow again. They had the initial punt return that set them up mid-field, and had to settle for a 48-yard field goal. But then things got going. They ended up with 300 rushing yards, and wide receiver Koby Howard was elite.
But Robinson’s play helped set it all up.
“When you’re talking about winning field position, being great in special teams, having the ability to, you know, even just get a first down on a punt return, those things are awesome,” head coach Matt Campbell said. “I think our kids really believe in special teams and the value of that.”
Penn State may have a legit weapon in the return game. Robinson has it all in that area. And we will certainly have to see if it translates over to B1G play. Their 55-13 win over Buffalo showed this team can be special. They just have to keep getting better.
