Penn State got a bit closer to answering one of its biggest long term needs on Sunday afternoon as 2019 kicker Anthony DaSilva verbally committed to the program.
DaSilva will head to Happy Valley from Bethlehem Catholic and while the 2019 product won’t be heading to campus in time for this season, he does provide Franklin with another option at a position that, so far, has no obvious answer following the graduation of Tyler Davis. You can check out DaSilva’s Hudl page here.
So far this past spring, Carson Landis was Penn State’s primary kicker with punter Blake Gillikin backing him up. Promising freshman kicker Jake Pinegar will provide some instant competition for Landis this fall, arriving on campus this summer.
Penn State will also welcome Pennsylvania native and kicker Vlad Hilling, who was ranked as the No. 1 kicker in the state for the 2018 cycle, committed to the Nittany Lions in January. Washington, DC product Rafael Checa took a spot as a walk-on kicker in the squad as well.
While Penn State has had two memorable kickers in Davis and Sam Ficken under James Franklin, neither had a career that was not without a few eyebrow raising hiccups along the way. Only time will tell if DaSilva or any of the other Nittany Lions can provide Penn State with a more stable tenure.
Penn State’s 2019 recruiting class is ranked 22nd in the nation and sixth in the Big Ten, but is just nine commitments deep.
