Ryan Barker

#94 · PK · R-Jr. · Penn State6′2″ · 191 lb · Landenberg, PA · Kennett

Field goals1221st of 105 kickersLast gameW 31–17vs Purdue · Oct 31
Nextat WashingtonSat Nov 7 · 3:30 pm ET
61 points in 8 games; their best was 12 vs Buffalo.
vs Marshall: 9 points, W9WMRSHat Temple: 9 points, W9W@TEMvs Buffalo: 12 points, W12WBUFvs Wisconsin: 8 points, L8LWISat Northwestern: 1 point, L1L@NUvs USC: 11 points, L11LUSCat Michigan: 4 points, L4L@MICHvs Purdue: 7 points, W7WPUR
vs Marshall: 9 points, WWat Temple: 9 points, WWvs Buffalo: 12 points, W12Wvs Wisconsin: 8 points, LLat Northwestern: 1 point, LLvs USC: 11 points, LLat Michigan: 4 points, LLvs Purdue: 7 points, W7W

2026 games, points per game. W and L: the team’s results.

This week

The story

As of

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.

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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?

In Penn State's 34-13 loss at Northwestern, Barker went 0 for 1 on field goals and made his one extra point.

Sources

Style of play

Style of play

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.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

The battery

Penn State’s specialists