Although kickers usually don't get any respect on the football field, Royer had a rigorous kicking schedule this summer. Because he wasn't pleased with finishing near the bottom of last season's Big Ten punting statistics, Royer worked almost every day on his consistency. He finished ninth in the conference last season, averaging only 34 yards per punt, and that won't be good enough for this Penn State football team to be successful. Royer said he needs to improve his punting range and accuracy for the Nittany Lions to be in a good position defensively.

"Over the summer I didn't kick every day because that would be too much, but I went four times a week, probably 40 or 50 balls per day," Royer said.

This season, Royer will have the year of Big Ten experience under his belt and an entire summer of working on kicking fundamentals that lacked in his first season as the Penn State punter. Although he will be faced with a new long snapper (Eric Rickenbach is sidelined for the year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament), the punter is confident things will change from last season.

Royer said punting at Penn State is different than kicking a ball back in high school. Not only are there thousands more fans watching your every move, the consequences of a bad punt can spell other problems for the Lions.

"Last year it was a whole new experience coming from a small high school and having 200 people at your game and then coming to something like this," Royer said. "Having the experience will definitely be beneficial."

Coach Joe Paterno said the kicking game has improved, but it still needs to get better to compete with opponents' special teams. Paterno is concerned that the kicking game is sometimes forgotten and wants to make sure it is crucial to the Lions.

"If you were to ask me the biggest thing I am concerned about, it would be our kicking game, compared to some of the people that we have to play," Paterno said. "If we are giving up 12 or 15 yards every time we punt, it is going to be a long day."