2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 91 Alex Felkins
Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.
Next up is a look at the special teams unit and one of the newest members of the program from the transfer portal, kicker Alex Felkins. Felkins comes to the Nittany Lions from the Ivy League and he is expected to step right into handling the main placekicking responsibilities for the team this season. But he could just be one of the kickers used this fall. Here is a snapshot look at Penn State’s new kicker heading into the 2023 college football season.
Preseason Player Profile
Hometown: Tulsa, OK
Height: 6-3
Weight: 200
Kohl's Kicker Ranking
Career Stats
Games | FGA | FGM | FG % | XP | Points | |
2019 | 10 | 14 | 9 | 64.3 | 22-24 | 49 |
2021 | 10 | 24 | 16 | 66.7 | 25-27 | 73 |
2022 | 9 | 16 | 11 | 68.8 | 28-28 | 61 |
Alex Felkins improved his field goal accuracy each of his three seasons with Columbia (Columbia and the Ivy League did not play a 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic), which suggests Penn State is adding a kicker with a solid track record. But how is his range? Felkins was 3-of-4 from 40-49 yards on field goal attempts in 2022 for Columbia. He was 1-of-2 from 50 or more yards and 4-of-6 from 30-39 yards. Felkins was perfect on extra-point attempts last season after missing two attempts in each of the previous two seasons played.
Depth Chart Overview
Penn State needs to figure out its kicking solution once again, and Alex Felkins figures to be one of the top options for the special teams’ kicking responsibilities. Jake Pinegar was the main kicker for Penn State last season, but the job will be up for grabs this season. There is a reason Penn State brought Felkins into the program out of the transfer portal, so expect him to be a top option for the Nittany Lions in the kicking game.
Felkins is likely Penn State’s top choice to handle extra points and field goal attempts, but it would not be a surprise to see the kicking game sort itself out a bit early on this season with Felkins and Sander Sahaydak getting opportunities to handle kickoffs and placekicking attempts. Sahaydak may have a bit more power in his leg, making him more suitable for kickoffs, but each will have to prove themselves to be reliable on the field in game action.
