New Orleans Saints punter Blake Gillikin has been named the NFC's Special Teams Player of the Month for his performance in October. The NFL announced the news Thursday, Nov. 4.

Gillikin, 6 feet 2, 196 pounds, was originally signed by New Orleans as a free agent following the 2020 NFL Draft out of Penn State. After spending his rookie year on Injured Reserve, the Atlanta native has enjoyed an impressive sophomore campaign in his NFL playing debut. Gillikin has punted 30 times for 1,489 yards for a 49.6 gross punting average and a 44.3 net punting average, while ranking third in the league with 12 punts inside the 20-yard line.

In the month of October, Gillikin punted 17 times for 843 yards with a 45.5 net punting average, ranked second in the NFL over that time as the Saints went 3-1. Gillikin's 10 punts inside the 20-yard line were tied for third in the league for October. On Oct. 10 at Washington, Gillikin had three punts downed inside the 3-yard line, as he became the first punter since at least 2000 to have three punts of 53-plus yards downed inside the 3-yard line.

Gillikin is the second Saints punter to win a Player of the Month award since it was established in 1986, joining Thomas Morstead (September 2019) and is the ninth Saints player overall to capture a monthly award.