Blake Gillikin

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Blake Gillikin
WFT vs. Saints (51582986153) (cropped).jpg
Gillikin with the Saints in 2021
No. 12 – Arizona Cardinals
Position: Punter
Personal information
Born: (1998-01-21) January 21, 1998 (age 26)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:196 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school: The Westminster Schools (Atlanta, Georgia)
College: Penn State (2016–2019)
Undrafted: 2020
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 16, 2024
Punts:249
Punting yards:11,994
Average punt:48.2
Longest punt:77
Inside 20:91
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Blake Thomas Gillikin (born January 21, 1998) is an American professional football punter for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State.

Contents

Early life

A former resident of Smyrna, Georgia, Gillikin helped lead The Westminster Schools to its first GHSA Football Class AAA Georgia State Championship since 1978 in 2015, and was rated as a five-star punter and a five-star kicker by Kohl's Kicking Camp.

College career

A four-year starter at Penn State, Gillikin is ranked No. 2 on Penn State's career punting average charts (43.03 avg.) He landed 53 career punts downed inside the opponent's ten-yard line (seven in 2016, 18 in 2017, 12 in 2018, 15 in 2019) and is the only player in program history with seven punts of 65 or more yards. Gillikin is second all time in net punting yards in school history behind Jeremy Kapinos. In 2019, Gillikin averaged 42.2 yards per punt as was selected All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention by the conference coaches and media. Was also selected for the CoSIDA Academic All-American first-team. [1]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeight
6 ft 2 in
(1.88 m)		200 lb
(91 kg)
Values from Pro Day [2]

New Orleans Saints

Gillikin signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent on April 27, 2020. [3] He was placed on injured reserve on September 9, 2020. [4]

Gillikin was named the Saints starting punter for the 2021 season after the team released longtime starter Thomas Morstead in the offseason. [5]

Gillikin did not receive a qualifying offer following the 2022 season and became a free agent on March 15, 2023. [6] On March 16, Gillikin re-signed with the Saints. [7] He was waived on August 29, 2023, after losing the punting battle to Lou Hedley. [8]

Arizona Cardinals

On October 3, 2023, Gillikin was signed by the Arizona Cardinals. [9]

In Week 9 of the 2024 season, Gillikin punted four times with three inside the 20-yard line in a 29-9 win over the Chicago Bears, earning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. [10]

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References

  1. ↑ "Penn State Football". Penn State Nittany Lions Athletics. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  2. ↑ "2020 NFL Draft Scout Blake Gillikin College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Blake Gillikin". New Orleans Saints. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  4. ↑ Williams, Charean (September 9, 2020). "Saints place backup punter on injured reserve". NBCSports.com. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  5. ↑ Sigler, John (August 24, 2021). "Blake Gillikin, Thomas Morstead's former understudy, wins Saints punter competition". Saints Wire. USA Today. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  6. ↑ Holt, Adam (March 15, 2023). "Saints make a surprising decision at the beginning of free agency". A to Z Sports. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  7. ↑ Camer, Jonny (March 16, 2023). "Saints re-sign P Blake Gillikin competition". Canal Street Chronicles. SBNation.com. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  8. ↑ "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. August 29, 2023.
  9. ↑ Urban, Darren (October 3, 2023). "Cardinals Make Roster Change At Punter". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  10. ↑ Gordon, Grant (November 6, 2024). "Jets WR Garrett Wilson, Eagles RB Saquon Barkley highlight Players of the Week". NFL.com.
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