Penn State football roundtable: Picking the most important players, potential breakouts of 2020

Penn State football would typically be nearing the end of spring practice as we roll into the middle of April, but instead, the Nittany Lions are at their respective homes across the country, along with millions of others waiting out the coronavirus pandemic.

Still, even without spring practice or the Blue-White Game, there’s plenty to talk about with the fall season looming. So let’s take a look at the most important players on the Nittany Lions’ roster and some potential breakout candidates on both sides of the ball:

Most Important Offensive Player

Josh Moyer: QB Sean Clifford

We’re all going to say Clifford, right? Because I don’t see how it can be anyone else. You might argue that wide receiver is the most important position now that the starters outside of Jahan Dotson aren’t obvious. But most important player? It’s got to be Clifford.

The offensive line is on the upswing, and the running backs are solid. The passing game could certainly use improvement, and that has to start with the unquestioned leader of the offense — Clifford. Let’s not belabor the point: If he plays well, Penn State wins. If he doesn’t? It loses. When he finished with a QB rating over 115.0 last season, Penn State was 8-0. Under? 2-2.

Lauren Muthler: QB Sean Clifford

Clifford is the most obvious answer here, but it’s the most obvious for a reason.

Whether or not Penn State, which is ranked No. 5 in several preseason polls, can break through and make the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history is largely going to depend on the play of its quarterback.

While Clifford led Penn State’s offense to an average of 35.8 points per game in his redshirt sophomore season, he struggled with consistency and now loses his top target in KJ Hamler. On the plus side, he has the opportunity to work with new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, who has a proven track record in developing quarterbacks. With the exception of Hamler, Penn State returns most of its top offensive weapons.

If Clifford is able to take the next step forward under Ciarrocca’s guidance, Penn State has a chance to be in that conversation at the end of the season.

Bret Pallotto: QB Sean Clifford

No need to get cute.

The Nittany Lions have depth at running back, a group of largely unproven wide receivers and the offensive line — good or bad — will publicly receive its reviews as a unit.

Clifford led the Nittany Lions to an 11-2 season, including a Cotton Bowl victory, in year No. 1 and has been praised for the way he has carried himself.

An offseason’s worth of development heading into year No. 2 should only help.

Jon Sauber: QB Sean Clifford

No player will dictate how Penn State fares next season more than Clifford. His redshirt junior year could be of the make-or-break variety for his future. The quarterback struggled at times under the tutelage of former offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne, displaying inconsistent footwork and questionable decision-making. Too often he would tuck and run at the first sign of danger or if his first option wasn’t open.

Clifford will be in his fourth year in the program when he next takes the field, and if he doesn’t take a step forward under new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, the Nittany Lions won’t have a chance to take a step forward, and he may not be at the helm of the offense for much longer.

Most Important Defensive Player

Josh Moyer: LB Micah Parsons

Take Parsons away from the Cotton Bowl, and the Nittany Lions likely don’t win that game. That’s how important he is — he’s a game-changer. In fact, he’s one of the best in the nation.

Parsons has lived up to every ounce of hype he generated since he was racking up double-digit sacks in high school. He still has room for growth — a scary prospect for Big Ten offenses — and his closing speed is as unique as it is freakish. Parsons can turn a game on its head, defensive coordinator Brent Pry wants to use him near the line of scrimmage even more, and he’s a lock to be a future first-round NFL draft pick.

No player’s absence to the defense would be more detrimental than Parsons. Because he’s the most important.

Lauren Muthler: DL coach John Scott Jr. (Yes, I’m cheating)

I’m going to bend the rules a bit here, and instead of choosing a player, I’m going to pick Penn State’s new defensive line coach.

It’s no secret that Scott has big shoes to fill after the departure of one of the program’s longest-tenured assistants, Sean Spencer, left for a job with the New York Giants. While there has been some inconsistency in other position groups in recent years, Penn State could always count on having a top-notch defensive line. But with both Spencer and last year’s sack leader in Yetur Gross-Matos off to the NFL, there are some question marks surrounding the unit heading into this season.

Penn State returns a lot of promising younger talent in players like rising juniors Jayson Oweh and P.J. Mustipher, and whether Scott can help them take another step forward will be key in the defense’s success this season.

Bret Pallotto: LB Micah Parsons

He’s a first-team All-American who is almost always met with, “Yeah, he’s good, but just wait until …”

The junior is already regarded as one of the best players in the nation and has proven he can cover up any potential warts the defense may have.

And what better motivation than the allure of being a top-10 NFL draft pick?

Jon Sauber: S Lamont Wade

Parsons is the best player on the Penn State defense, but Wade is the most important one.

The senior safety has the ability to fill a myriad of important roles in the upcoming season.

He can play single-high safety coverage and lurk in the defensive backfield when quarterbacks drop back. He can slide into the slot and play man coverage against opposing tight ends, running backs and slot receivers. He can drop down into the box and defend the run with some of the best safeties in the conference.

Most importantly, he can be a leader as a senior in a group that lost its veteran when Garrett Taylor exhausted his eligibility at the end of the 2019 season.

Everybody knows what Parsons will do next season, but it’s Wade who will dictate just how versatile and dynamic the defense can be. If he can take another step forward and play like he did against Ohio State in 2019, the defense may be the best in the country.

Offensive Breakout Candidate

Josh Moyer: WR KeAndre Lambert

There’s a lot of good prospects here to choose from, but Lambert is an easy choice for me. The wideout group features the most potential here, simply because there’s opportunity. Sean Clifford is the QB, Journey Brown is the RB, and the starting offensive line returns virtually intact. But at wideout? It’s a different story.

Lambert enrolled early and, sure, this time off now can’t be helping him. But he’s already earned positive reviews from both head coach James Franklin and strength coach Dwight Galt, who called him “really good.” Unlike Justin Shorter, Lambert has proven production at the high school level. He also has good genes — his uncle is former Pro-Bowl safety Kam Chancellor — and his athleticism, and hands, still give him the ability to start from Day 1.

Lauren Muthler: WR John Dunmore

The most likely position group for a breakout star to emerge from this season will be the one with the most question marks — wide receiver. The main question will be, “Who from the wideouts?”

Penn State’s wide receiver room has a lot of young talent that has yet to prove itself on the collegiate level. KeAndre Lambert, a former four-star recruit out of Virginia, was one of the top signees in Penn State’s 2020 recruiting class. But with the loss of the spring practice season, he won’t reap the full benefits of enrolling early.

For that reason, a guy who’s already been around the program for a year, like redshirt freshman Dunmore, might be more equipped to make an immediate impact. Before spring ball was canceled, Dunmore, also a former four-star, was one of the team’s top 10 weight-gainers, according to 247Sports, packing on an extra 12 pounds on his 6-foot-1 frame since last season. The opportunity is there for Dunmore to take this season.

Bret Pallotto: TE Pat Freiermuth

He’s been the Nittany Lions’ most reliable offensive player the past two seasons. He has already tied the program record for most TD catches by a tight end (15) and, nationally in 2019, he tied for the fourth-most receiving TDs at his position (7) and was one of just 20 tight ends to finish with more than 500 receiving yards.

Because of that, this breakout pick is more about his stature nationwide, rather than in Happy Valley.

He’s unabashed about wanting to win the John Mackey award and being known as the best tight end in the nation.

“I personally think I got snubbed from it last year,” Freiermuth said in February. “Now I can say that since it’s the end of the season, but I’m going to work for it this year — and we’ll see.”

Jon Sauber: WR John Dunmore

Dunmore will have a leg up on the other wide receivers fighting for playing time this season because he’s already been on campus for a full year, and because he’s an excellent route runner.

The freshman receiver has top-notch quickness, along with refined footwork for a young player. He uses those skills to get in and out of his breaks and create separation between himself and the defender. Dunmore’s biggest issue as a freshman was his lack of size, but that no longer appears to be an issue.

He’s now listed at 191 pounds after weighing 172 pounds out of high school, according to his 247Sports recruiting profile, and he has the necessary muscle to hold up across the middle of the field in the Big Ten.

As long as the added weight hasn’t affected his quickness, Dunmore should be first in line to take the No. 2 receiver job.

Defensive Breakout Candidate

Josh Moyer: DE Jayson Oweh

Oweh will likely appear on just about every major national breakout list this season. His athleticism is stunning.

At 6-foot-5 and 256 pounds, he was clocked last year at 4.33 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Let’s put that into perspective. If he’d run that at a future NFL combine, that would make him the fastest front-seven player in the NFL in at least two decades. Yes, he’s still learning the position and he started off as a project — but no one on the team, maybe even in college football, has a better toolbox.

If he can put it together, he can make national waves. So, sure, maybe he doesn’t put it together or maybe he needs yet another year of seasoning. But nobody’s ceiling on this defense is higher than Oweh’s, except maybe Micah Parsons.

Lauren Muthler: LB Brandon Smith

Smith burst onto the college football scene early in his true freshman campaign last season when he racked up three solo tackles, including one for loss, in his debut against Idaho. While he played in 13 games last season, both on defense and special teams, he has a chance this season to go from promising up-and-comer to a household name — especially playing alongside Micah Parsons.

Parsons, one of the top defensive players in the country, has consistently praised the top 2019 linebacker prospect, telling the Allentown Morning Call in January that Smith has “the most athletic ability” in the linebacker room. Now that the pair are set to play alongside each other in every game, Smith can only get better. And that’s not good news for opposing offenses.

Bret Pallotto: DT P.J. Mustipher

Mustipher was defensive coordinator Brent Pry’s 2019 breakout pick, and he responded last year with 37 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and one sack despite being the third defensive tackle in the rotation behind starters Rob Windsor and Antonio Shelton.

He’s in line for an expanded role in 2020, especially with Windsor moving on to the NFL, and perhaps a breakout season to go along with it.

Jon Sauber: CB Marquis Wilson

Wilson didn’t register a start in 2019 and played in only 10 of 13 games, but he tied for the team lead in interceptions with two.

He showed a knack for tracking the ball in the air and reading quarterbacks as they worked through their progression in his limited action, and that should translate to more interceptions this coming season. Wilson may get caught peeking in the backfield on occasion, which could lead to a few open receivers, but his ball skills are more than enough to make up for those lapses.

While there are better athletes waiting to make an impact on the Penn State defense, few can turn the tide of a game on a dime like Wilson can.

This story was originally published April 11, 2020 at 4:45 PM.