Penn State football’s quarterback room, fixing the running game and more from James Franklin
Much has been made about the arrival of freshman quarterback Drew Allar at Penn State and for good reason. He’s one of the most highly touted recruits the program has ever added and comes at a time when the offense needs a jolt of energy.
Even with that hype, don’t expect Allar to see the field much early in the 2022 season.
“Is is realistic (for Allar to beat out Sean Clifford)? Probably not,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said Monday in his spring practice press conference. “But I think (having competition) is going to be good.”
While Allar is on the backburner from a depth chart standpoint, that doesn’t mean he won’t have an opportunity to grow this spring. His first spring practices with the team will give him a chance to show off his arm talent — and he could potentially do that with groups higher on the depth chart.
Franklin alluded to potential rest for redshirt senior starting quarterback Clifford that would allow Allar, redshirt freshman Christian Veilleux and true freshman Beau Pribula to get more opportunities.
“We’ll probably go back and forth with those guys,” Franklin said. “One day they’ll get reps with the 3s, one day they’ll get reps with the 4s. Kind of rotate back and forth. Then as things adjust there could be some opportunities to take reps with the 1s with Veilleux and reps with the 2s and 3s with Pribula and Allar. We’ll see how that whole thing plays out. Right now that’s been a big emphasis of spring ball, is how do we make sure everybody’s getting reps and getting evaluated.”
There are external expectations that have come with Allar’s arrival that go along with the internal ones Franklin has for his freshman quarterback. Those expectations can create a more toxic environment, with fans potentially calling for him to take over at the first sign of struggle from Clifford in his fourth season as the starting quarterback.
Franklin doesn’t plan to pay attention to those outside voices and whatever they desire, but he does hope that type of competitive environment can help increase the level of play for everyone involved.
“I also think the competition is going to bring out the best in everybody,” Franklin said. “I think that’s gonna be a really important part of this. Internally, we want that. We want that type of competition.”
Fixing the running game
The Nittany Lions struggled to run the ball with any level of positive consistency in 2021 and Franklin doesn’t intend for that to be the case in the 2022 season. While evaluating the job Mike Yurcich had done — which he said even Yurcich would say they expected better in his first year — he once again emphasized the need to get the ground game going.
“I think we can make significant strides this year,” Franklin said. “I think the run game is a big part of that. We have to get the run game going.”
Part of the running game issues could be attributed to the struggles of the running back room last year. Sophomore Keyvone Lee stood out the most among the group, but the Nittany Lions didn’t consistently go to one running back throughout the season. Even with a by-committee approach, they’ve usually been able to identify a lead back who can be relied upon when it matters most.
That didn’t happen despite Lee’s success and now the room has reshaped. Gone is former starter Noah Cain, who left for LSU, and inbound are freshmen Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
Franklin said it’s difficult to tell who they will get reps with, but there’s reason to be excited about the two newcomers.
“We’ll rotate the running backs all spring,” he said. “... Obviously we’ve got two running backs that we’re excited about and winter workouts and testing have only built on that. For right now, for me to say they’re going to get reps with the 1s before practice one, I’m unsure. We’ll just see how it goes. But they’ll have some opportunities in live work to rotate in there.”
The other aspect that must improve for Penn State is the offensive line, which struggled much more in the running game last season than in the passing game. That group has reshaped with the departure of a few contributors, including starting left tackle Rasheed Walker, starting left guard Eric Wilson and occasional starter on the interior Mike Miranda.
Franklin listed the starters on the line to begin the spring as Olu Fashanu (LT), Landon Tengwall (LG), Juice Scruggs (C), Sal Wormley (RG), and Caedan Wallace (RT). Their backups will be — in order by position — Jimmy Christ, JB Nelson, Nick Dawkins, Golden Israel-Achumba/Alex Furmanek and Ibrahim Traore.
Building a new defense
One of the biggest changes Penn State will see this season is at defensive coordinator. Longtime coordinator — and close friend of Franklin — Brent Pry left to take the head coach position at Virginia Tech. He’ll be replaced by former Miami head coach Manny Diaz, but losing one of his closest confidants has already had an impact on the Penn State head coach.
“It’s different, there’s no doubt about it,” Franklin said. “... There’s no doubt it’s a significant loss. ... I miss him and I wish him the best. But obviously my focus and attention is on Penn State.”
While the off-field aspect changed, Franklin previously said the on-field portion of the defense should look similar to what his team’s defenses have done in the past from a schematic standpoint. Diaz will be tasked with replacing a few starters, however, including finding two new starting linebackers.
Brandon Smith and Ellis Brooks both left early for the 2022 NFL Draft, and Franklin said there are two primary competitors to replace Brooks on the interior.
“I think the battle between (Tyler) Elsdon and Kobe King at that position, it’ll be interesting to see what they both are able to do,” Franklin said. “They’ll get a ton of reps and it’ll obviously be a tremendous opportunity for them to be evaluated. ... Elsdon and Kobe will get every rep we can get out of them to evaluate and to see where they’re at. Then we’ll reconfigure that after spring ball.”
Quick Hitters
- Penn State has added Danny Rocco, who has been the head coach at Liberty, Richmond and Delaware and played at Penn State from 1979-1980, in an off-field role.
- Franklin emphasized the importance of his relationship with whoever the incoming athletic director is after Sandy Barbour announced her retirement earlier in March. “This athletic director hire is going to be critical for the university as a whole, for the athletic department, and then specifically to the football program. Very, very important hire and very important that we build strong relationships.”
- Wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley has impressed Franklin with his maturity after transferring in from Western Kentucky and has impressed the quarterbacks as well.
- Freshman defensive tackle Zane Durant has injected his name into the conversation about playing time despite enrolling in January, with Franklin comparing him to former Penn State defensive tackle Kevin Givens.
This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 2:51 PM.
