UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Blake Gillikin was, as he recalls, a pretty fair cornerback when he was younger.
Nice size.
A strong tackler.
Good ball skills.
But then, something happened.
He entered high school.
“Once my sophomore year started, I got converted to just being a punter,” Gillikin said. “That happened because I wasn’t really the varsity-quality corner they were looking for.
“Obviously, I wasn’t the fastest kid, but I was tall [for his age] when I was younger. I had really good ball skills. I played baseball for a long time.