Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | FGM/FGA | LONG | XP | PTS | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 45-0vs Marshall | 1/1 | 38 | 6/6 | 9 | |
| Wk 2 | W 27-9@ Temple | 2/3 | 39 | 3/3 | 9 | |
| Total | 3/4 | 39 | — | 18 |
#94
Ryan Barker
Drew Allar is gone. So are Kaytron Allen, Dani Dennis-Sutton, and most of the defensive line. Matt Campbell inherited a Penn State roster bleeding 17 of 22 starters and rebuilt it with 39 transfers — but the one piece he made sure to keep was a former walk-on kicker. The boards are calling Ryan Barker's return the most underrated move of the offseason.
6′2″ · 191 lb · Landenberg, PA · Kennett
Returning to Penn State for 2026
The numbers
3
field goals · 2026
of 4 attempts · long of 39 · 18 points
2 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 2 FG, 3 XP, at Temple
Swing playSwung Minnesota from 12% to 32% to win.Penn State at Minnesota · 26-25
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Drew Allar is gone. So are Kaytron Allen, Dani Dennis-Sutton, and most of the defensive line. Matt Campbell inherited a Penn State roster bleeding 17 of 22 starters and rebuilt it with 39 transfers — but the one piece he made sure to keep was a former walk-on kicker. The boards are calling Ryan Barker's return the most underrated move of the offseason.
- Signed with Penn State in 2023.
Drew Allar is gone. So are Kaytron Allen, Dani Dennis-Sutton, and most of the defensive line. Matt Campbell inherited a Penn State roster bleeding 17 of 22 starters and rebuilt it with 39 transfers — but the one piece he made sure to keep was a former walk-on kicker. The boards are calling Ryan Barker's return the most underrated move of the offseason.
Penn State's offseason has been a controlled demolition. Campbell took over a program shedding starters to the NFL and the portal, brought a busload of his Iowa State players with him, and at one point didn't have a scholarship quarterback on the roster. In all that churn, retaining Barker — who announced his return on January 2 — got filed under "underrated," and that framing stuck: a roster losing everything held onto the surest thing it had.
The receipts are absurd for a former walk-on. Barker hit 18 of 19 field goals in 2025 (94.7%) — a Penn State single-season record and the best mark in the FBS — and was a perfect 6-for-6 from 40 to 49 yards. He owns the best career field-goal percentage in program history. And yet he wasn't even on the Lou Groza watch list and landed only honorable-mention All-Big Ten, a snub Penn State fans haven't stopped relitigating. EA agreed with the fans, not the award committees: he's one of the highest-rated kickers in College Football 27.
The one open thread is range. His long is 49, he's never been asked to prove it from deep, and beat writers keep gently noting it "remains to be seen" how far out Campbell will trust him. So the 2026 question writes itself: on a team that may have to win close games while it rebuilds, can the most accurate leg in the country also become a long-range weapon — or is automatic from inside 50 exactly the kind of certainty a torn-down roster needs most?
How he plays
A precision specialist, not a cannon. Barker's game is the make-it-look-routine variety: 18-of-19 in 2025 for a 94.7% clip that led all of FBS, perfect (6-for-6) from 40-49, and — per beat reporting — has never missed from inside 40 in his career. His one 2025 "miss" was a blocked kick, not a shank. The profile is automatic-inside-50 reliability with a long of 49 and a leg that shows up on kickoffs (multiple 76-yard kickoffs with 3.7-second hang per his camp profile) more than it has on long field goals. The unproven part of the resume is exactly the part deep range would fill.
src
- Penn State's Most Underrated Roster Move: Retaining its Kicker (Sports Illustrated)
- Kicker Ryan Barker announces return to Penn State for 2026 season (Daily Collegian)
- Countdown to Kickoff: 94 days — focus on a proven weapon at kicker (247Sports)
- Penn State roster overhaul: 17 of 22 starters may not return in 2026 (A to Z Sports)
The story
Penn State's offseason has been a controlled demolition. Campbell took over a program shedding starters to the NFL and the portal, brought a busload of his Iowa State players with him, and at one point didn't have a scholarship quarterback on the roster. In all that churn, retaining Barker — who announced his return on January 2 — got filed under "underrated," and that framing stuck: a roster losing everything held onto the surest thing it had.
The receipts are absurd for a former walk-on. Barker hit 18 of 19 field goals in 2025 (94.7%) — a Penn State single-season record and the best mark in the FBS — and was a perfect 6-for-6 from 40 to 49 yards. He owns the best career field-goal percentage in program history. And yet he wasn't even on the Lou Groza watch list and landed only honorable-mention All-Big Ten, a snub Penn State fans haven't stopped relitigating. EA agreed with the fans, not the award committees: he's one of the highest-rated kickers in College Football 27.
The one open thread is range. His long is 49, he's never been asked to prove it from deep, and beat writers keep gently noting it "remains to be seen" how far out Campbell will trust him. So the 2026 question writes itself: on a team that may have to win close games while it rebuilds, can the most accurate leg in the country also become a long-range weapon — or is automatic from inside 50 exactly the kind of certainty a torn-down roster needs most?
SOURCES
- Penn State's Most Underrated Roster Move: Retaining its Kicker (Sports Illustrated)
- Kicker Ryan Barker announces return to Penn State for 2026 season (Daily Collegian)
- Countdown to Kickoff: 94 days — focus on a proven weapon at kicker (247Sports)
- Penn State roster overhaul: 17 of 22 starters may not return in 2026 (A to Z Sports)
His career
He was winning awards before he was old enough to be a story.
A precision specialist, not a cannon. Barker's game is the make-it-look-routine variety: 18-of-19 in 2025 for a 94.7% clip that led all of FBS, perfect (6-for-6) from 40-49, and — per beat reporting — has never missed from inside 40 in his career. His one 2025 "miss" was a blocked kick, not a shank. The profile is automatic-inside-50 reliability with a long of 49 and a leg that shows up on kickoffs (multiple 76-yard kickoffs with 3.7-second hang per his camp profile) more than it has on long field goals. The unproven part of the resume is exactly the part deep range would fill.
Written by our staff.
2023
- Signed with Penn Stateout of Kennett
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
Penn State
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎓
FRESHMAN HONORS
Freshman recognition (2024)
1 mention(s)
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: James Franklin, Terry Smith, and Matt Campbell. Multi-era developmental context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2024Penn State13-3HC: James Franklin · Run-leaning
2025Penn State7-6HC: Terry Smith · Run-leaning
2026Penn State2-0HC: Matt Campbell · Run-leaning
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Not enough tracked stats yet to summarize this season.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Campbell
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 11/11 (100%) | 6/6 (100%) | 0/1 | |
| 2024 | 7/7 (100%) | 6/8 (75%) | 0/1 | |
| Career | 18/18 (100%) | 12/14 (86%) | 0/2 |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 27–9
at Temple
Game log
How he plays
Play style
A precision specialist, not a cannon. Barker's game is the make-it-look-routine variety: 18-of-19 in 2025 for a 94.7% clip that led all of FBS, perfect (6-for-6) from 40-49, and — per beat reporting — has never missed from inside 40 in his career. His one 2025 "miss" was a blocked kick, not a shank. The profile is automatic-inside-50 reliability with a long of 49 and a leg that shows up on kickoffs (multiple 76-yard kickoffs with 3.7-second hang per his camp profile) more than it has on long field goals. The unproven part of the resume is exactly the part deep range would fill.
Our classifier reads him the same way: money from inside 50 — you don't sweat the routine ones.
2026 Outlook
Penn State
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
PK · Penn State
Returning around him
- 8 Penn State players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -10 net (38 in / 48 out)
2026 Award watch
- Groza
Penn State · Last season: 7-6 (AP #7) · Talent rank #26 · 2026 recruiting class #65
DNA match
Player DNA
Automatic
Money from inside 50 — you don't sweat the routine ones.
K
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Connor Lytton’s 2021 season.
79%match
Matches Connor on
FG%
Longest make
Weight
Differs from Connor on
Height (higher)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Kali Nguma's sophomore season at North Texas (2025).
57%match
Matches Kali on
Class year
FG%
Differs from Kali on
Height (higher)
Weight (higher)
Longest make (higher)
Player DNA
Players who play like Ryan Barker
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology