Penn State punter Barney Amor's story sounds fictional, but it's not [opinion]

Sep. 26—His story sounds fictional, but he's not Barney Miller or Barney Rubble.

He's Barney Amor, punter extraordinaire for the Penn State football team.

He's packed more life experiences into his 23 years than most people his age.

Born in The Netherlands. Lives part time in Switzerland. Punted for Colgate. Lived with his girlfriend's parents for a year. Transferred to Penn State as a walk-on. Learned he was being put on scholarship last month by Eli Manning. Earned three academic degrees on his way to a fourth.

Is there anything else? Yes, he's been one of the top punters in the Big Ten this season.

"I think it's been a huge story in my opinion," Amor said after the Nittany Lions' 33-14 victory over Central Michigan on Saturday. "All the kids I didn't get along with in high school now want to be friends. I mean that in the most sincere way.

"That's one of the coolest things for me, how much everything has shifted. Me contributing (at Penn State) is what I expected but not what everyone expected."

Amor hadn't punted in a game since Colgate's 2019 finale at Lafayette until the Lions' opener at Purdue. He's kicked 18 times this season for a 46.1 yards per punt average, including nine that he's dropped inside the 10-yard line. Penn State opponents have scored just three points after those nine kicks.

Saturday against Central Michigan, he averaged 44.5 yards on four punts, including two that were downed at the 3 and the 6 and one that was muffed and recovered by the Lions' Curtis Jacobs at the 7.

Amor had serious hang time on that 51-yarder on which he pinned returner Jordyn Williams near the sideline. The Lions scored a touchdown two plays later.

"Obviously that was an absolute (break)," he said. "He (Williams) could have just caught it, right, and it would have just been a good punt. Curtis gets on it. Everyone starts getting credit. It's been great.

"The whole unit is doing really well. Curtis is elite. The bullets are elite. The shields are elite. I'm really happy with where we are right now."

After moving several times because of his father's job, Amor began punting and kicking at Central Bucks East High School. He set school records with a 66-yard punt, 10 field goals as a senior and 14 field goals in his career.

He enrolled at Colgate, highly regarded for its quality education, and earned two undergraduate degrees there. He did not play his first two seasons before taking over as punter in 2019, when he set a school record with a 42.1 average, ranking second in the Patriot League.

Amor planned to be even better as a senior in 2020, but the league canceled its football season because of COVID. He tried to rejoin his parents, Marie and Andy, in Switzerland, but was unable to do so because of travel restrictions. He ended up living with his girlfriend's family in Virginia for more than a year.

"Her family are complete saints," he said. "I love them all. I was training with one of my really close friends, (Ricky Brumfield, who) was the special teams coordinator at UVA (Virginia). Now he works at FIU.

"The people in my inner circle have boosted me, steered me in the right direction and have kept me humble and level-headed."

While in Virginia, he decided to put his name in the NCAA transfer portal and reached out to many coaches hoping to land at a major college program. As luck would have it, Penn State special teams analyst Eric Raisbeck had coached in Switzerland for nine months.

"If you look at my Twitter, I follow every single FBS coach in the country," Amor said. "Eric figured out I had lived in Switzerland (part time) with my parents for four years. He said, 'There's no way you're from Switzerland.'

"A month later he called me and said, 'Hey, man, you wanna come here.' I said, 'Sweet, for sure.' "

He arrived at Penn State in the spring of 2021 and earned a master's degree in management and organizational leadership. He's pursuing a second master's in supply chain management after watching Big Ten Punter of the Year Jordan Stout last fall.

"I don't know who decided he wasn't, but Stout was the best punter in the country," Amor said. "Was I planning on coming here and being behind the best punter in the country? No, but I learned so much from being behind him. I'm having success now."

Amor's Penn State teammates understand how important he's been to their 4-0 start.

"I love what Barney does," Jacobs said. "He's an incredibly important part of the team. He just comes to work every day with a different kind of mindset. That's why we all love Barney."

Call them Barney & Friends.

"It seems like a made-up story when you think about it," Amor said. "I did my share this weekend at the hotel. Everything sounds bad at the time, but you don't really know how it's going to play out.

"It's been a journey, but I've enjoyed the whole thing."