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Penn State using boxing gloves, squirt guns to improve return skills

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Special teams can sometimes be the difference between winning and losing a game. Penn State wants to make sure it’s well prepared in that facet of the game this fall.

The Nittany Lions have some unique ways to practice on kickoff and punt returns. During camp, Ben Jones of StateCollege.com captured a few players fielding kicks during practice. What was the challenge, you ask?

Coaches were using squirt guns as a distraction. Apparently this is the second unique idea Penn State has incorporated into perfecting its special teams. Audrey Snyder of The Athletic tweeted out the players were fielding kicks while wearing boxing gloves, as well.

Obviously, those aren’t game-like situations, but they do help players prepare for distractions.

Below is the video floating around Twitter. We’ll see if this methods helps Penn State to have one of best return teams in the B1G this fall.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB