Penn State Football

Key Penn State Player Announces He’ll be Back in 2024

Published

December 9, 2023

Photo by Penn State Athletics: James Franklin

For a while, it looked like Penn State was going to lose one of its key players.

As the great Lee Corso has said once or twice, “not so fast, my friend.”

Penn State’s punter, Riley Thompson, announced via social media Saturday afternoon that the NCAA has extended his eligibility clock by two seasons.

Stoked to be back. pic.twitter.com/ubkK314cwC

— Riley Thompson (@rathompson_) December 9, 2023

Thompson, who committed to Penn State last December out of the transfer portal from Florida Atlantic, did an excellent job for PSU this season, succeeding fan-favorite Barney Amor. Penn State fans grew to like the Australian Thompson, as well.

Per the Portal Report’s data, the Australian-born punter was Penn State’s most productive transfer this season, and was on TPR’s midseason All-American team.

Here’s how FTPS works for punters.

Punt Attempts = 0.2 fpts

Punt Inside 20 = 2.0 fpts

Average Yards per Punt
< 35 yards = 0 fpts
35 – 40 yards = 2 fpts
40 – 45 yards = 6 fpts
45 – 50 yards = 8 fpts
50 yards = 12 fpts

Thompson finished the year with 10.3 total f/pts per game and had a total FPTS of 123.2.

In his social media post, Thompson said he has “loved my first season playing in front of you guys at Beaver Stadium.”

“I am so thrilled to announce that I have been approved by the NCAA for a two-year extension to my eligibility clock through the 2025 season,” he wrote. “I can’t wait to be back out there with my teammates and in front of you.”

He then wrote in bold letters:

“Job’s not finished. We are!”

The job isn’t finish. Barring a surprise, Thompson will be punting for Penn State against Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl, scheduled for Dec. 30 at noon in Atlanta. Penn State won’t have to worry about getting a starting punter next season, and that should make coach James Franklin and company happy.