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Now that the New Orleans Saints have released Thomas Morstead, the question now becomes, for the first time in over a decade: Who will be the Saints punter for the upcoming season?
Blake Gillikin was stashed on the injured reserve all season, so there’s not much to talk about from this year. He will be a member of the New Orleans Saints in 2021 and 2022, and now may finally come off injured reserve. This shows it wasn’t necessarily a bad idea to have a special teamer waiting while COVID is still a thing as well.
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In 2019, playing for Penn Sate, Gillikin had 36/63 punts land inside the 20. Over his career, since 2000, he ranked top 10 in Big Ten punting yards and yards per punt. He also has an absolute BOOT. I, for one, am excited for the future. Lastly, let’s not overlook his wonderful mullet.
Blake Gillikin was booting it Saturday for @PennStateFball.
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) October 28, 2019
354 total punt yards.
Five inside the 20 and three inside the 10.
Earns his second Special Teams Player of the Week honor of the season. pic.twitter.com/Yfja3FUwbn
Thomas Morstead, in his press conference announcing his retirement, had this to say about the Saints’ possible punter-of-the-future:
I specifically asked Morstead about if he talked to Blake Gillkin, and he said he left Blake a voicemail and told the team he has the utmost faith in Blake.
— Christopher Dunnells (@ChrisDunnells) March 4, 2021
Morstead said he thinks Blake can be great for the team. Hopes the fans are patient.@thomasmorstead is just the best.
But it sounds like Gillikin knows the shoes he’s trying to fill:
@thomasmorstead pic.twitter.com/HMfg6j9Sk6
— Blake Gillikin (@blakegillikin) March 4, 2021
Alright, Blake.
All eyes on you now.
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