Boone became the starter in 2007, punting 59 times for an average of 43 yards-per-punt for the season—the third-best season for a punter in Penn State history.[1] He led the conference in punting that season and named first-team All-Big Ten. He was also earned Academic All-Big Ten and Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars honors.[1]
He began the 2008 season on the Athlon Sports[2] and College Football News[3] pre-season All-Big Ten lists. He would again average 43 yards-per-punt and lead the conference in punting,[4] earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors[5] and was named an ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-District and Academic All-Big Ten.[6] Boone had 15 punts inside the 20 yard line in 2008, but only had 39 total kicks that season, which was too few to qualify for him national ranking.[7] He was an inaugural recipient of a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award for the 2008-09 academic year.[8]
Boone continued with strong performances in 2009. After 5 games, he led the Big Ten with a 48.8-yard average on 15 punts, with seven landing inside the 20 yard line. He led all conference punters by more than three yards per punt. These statistics would rank him #2 in the nation, but he did not meet the NCAA's 3.6 punts per game minimum to be considered. He was named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance in week 5 versus Illinois[9]