Penn State kicker Sam Ficken's season is on the upswing after early struggles

After the last of his four missed field-goal attempts against Virginia - this one the potential game-winner for Penn State - Sam Ficken trudged off the field at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville appearing to be the loneliest person in the world.

Initially, the Nittany Lions sophomore kicker became a target of criticism on Twitter. However, the tide of vitriol was reversed by supporters. Encouragement came from not only family, friends and fans but from former Lions kickers Robbie Gould, Kevin Kelly, and Massimo Manca.

With their help and some technical guidance from head coach Bill O'Brien and his staff, Ficken has turned his season around. He will enter Saturday's game at Beaver Stadium against Indiana on a run of six straight successful field goal attempts and eight of the last nine.

"It's been great," Ficken said Wednesday. "After the Virginia game, I actually received more support than I did negativity, so that felt really good. Now with things going a whole lot better, it's pretty much been all positive, and it feels really good to know that you've turned it around a little bit."

Ficken has worked on two aspects of his craft - placement of his plant foot and his leg swing - for a straighter flight path. He has slowed down his approach a bit, completing the snap-set-kick routine in 1.3 seconds instead of 1.2 for better direction.

O'Brien, who has been unwavering in his public confidence in Ficken, is glad to see him turn things around.

"You've got to give Sam a lot of credit," he said. "He's really worked hard, especially on his plant foot, and finishing kicks and keeping his head down. He's one of the most improved guys on our team. Hopefully he continues to improve. He's a great kid."

Ficken said he had reached out to Gould, now kicking for the Chicago Bears, and exchanges texts with him "pretty much every week."

He said Gould gave him two pieces of advice: "Slow down and don't think too much."

"Robbie probably has been the biggest help looking at my film and stuff from the games," Ficken said. "He really helped me out and told me what I needed to work on."

Gould tweeted on Wednesday: "Really happy for @sficken1 great kid, great worker, and excited to see him doing well."

It has been a trying year for Ficken, who became the Lions' No. 1 kicker after Anthony Fera transferred to Texas in the wake of NCAA sanctions. The low point, at Virginia, was followed by so much corrective work at practice that he developed a sore right quad that kept him from kicking the week of the Ohio State game.

Ficken said he was feeling much better, but O'Brien has limited him at practice.

Before last week's game at Nebraska, the strong wind kicked up a rubber pellet, one of thousands spread over an artificial turf field to provide a more forgiving surface, and it went into Fickens' eye.

"I tried to rub it and get it out, and, unfortunately, I kind of scratched up my eye pretty bad," Ficken said.

Ficken received eye drops and wore sunglasses during the game so the wind wouldn't dry out the eye. He still takes eye drops but said he is fine.

All in all, it was another dip and rise in what has been a roller-coaster season.

"The season didn't really go exactly the way I wanted to," he said. "With the turnaround here, my goal is to not miss another kick the rest of the season."