Who will be Penn State football’s offensive MVP? Previewing the Nittany Lions’ 2022 season
Penn State football is just over three weeks away from opening its season and that means it’s time to project key aspects of how the year will play out. Over the course of the Nittany Lions’ fall camp, we’ll project standouts on both sides of the ball, a potential breakout player as well as the team’s record.
We begin this week with Penn State’s offensive MVP.
Jon Sauber: WR Parker Washington
Penn State is in desperate need of production at wide receiver with Jahan Dotson’s departure for the NFL. The common line of thinking is that there will be a by-committee approach to make up for the lost receptions and yardage. However, there’s a breakout candidate on the roster who has already proven what he’s capable of in some of Penn State’s biggest games last season.
Washington is dynamic with the ball in his hands and that’s going to be the hardest part of Dotson’s game to replace. The sophomore has the lower body strength to run through tacklers but can make opponents miss with relative ease when he has space. Not to mention, he had nine catches for 108 yards against Ohio State with Dotson on the field and then seven catches for 98 yards against Arkansas without him. Washington is unlikely to be as good as his predecessor, but he still has a golden opportunity to be the most valuable piece of the offense in 2022.
Kyle J. Andrews: WR Mitch Tinsley
Tinsley is a gamer. At 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, he isn’t the most physically imposing player that’ll line up at the position, but he has a knack for finding the end zone. Last season at Western Kentucky, Tinsley compiled 87 receptions for 1,402 receiving yards and 14 touchdown grabs. While it may be hard to replicate the same numbers at Penn State, it would come as no surprise if he were to go over 1,000 receiving yards in Mike Yurcich’s offense.
Josh Moyer: QB Sean Clifford
Let’s not overthink this. It’s been a decade since a Penn State back not named Saquon Barkley or Miles Sanders has reached the 1,000-yard milestone, and the passing offenses of coordinator Mike Yurcich have historically spread the ball around. (Yes, first-round NFL draft pick Jahan Dotson accounted for almost one-third of last year’s receptions ... but I’d lean toward that being an anomaly, rather than thinking transfer Mitchell Tinsley — or one of the starting returners — will near that production.)
By process of elimination, unless OL legend Steve Wisniewski finds a time machine, that leaves the sixth-year quarterback. Clifford might not finish as an all-conference selection, but he should complete about 60% of his passes while throwing for at least twice as many touchdowns as interceptions. That should be good enough for MVP honors in an offense that likely won’t feature many statistical standouts.
Bret Pallotto: RB Keyvone Lee
Coach James Franklin openly yearned last season for a glimpse of past rushing attacks that chewed up first downs, piled up yards and lit up the scoreboard. That didn’t happen, and the stats were damning.
Their 25 points per game ranked 9th in the Big Ten — behind the likes of Nebraska, Maryland and Minnesota — and 90th in the country. The average was the worst for the Nittany Lions since 2015. The program hasn’t had a 100-yard rusher in the past 16 games.
There are myriad reasons for that, but the bottom line is the rushing attack will need to be more effective for Penn State to lift itself from the .500 team it has become the past two seasons.
Lee averaged 4.9 yards per carry on 197 totes over the past two seasons. The 6-foot, 234 pound running back is likely in line for more work this year and could be the difference between the team finishing toward the top of the Big Ten or having another middling season. Nick Singleton, the team’s most talented running back since Saquon Barkley, could push Lee for the starting job.
Matt DiSanto: RB Nicholas Singleton
As a true freshman, Nicholas Singleton has a chance to kick Penn State’s offense into high gear. Although the Nittany Lions have seen huge production from their receivers in recent years, a rushing game that ranked 13th in the Big Ten last season desperately needs a boost. The program’s top-ranked prospect could certainly turn that around if he pulls enough touches away from projected starter Keyvone Lee.
Those chances may seem slim, but if Penn State wants to turn things around this year, contributions in the rushing game will be critical. I can certainly see Singleton hitting the ground running this season, finally pulling some attention away from fourth-year starting quarterback Sean Clifford and Penn State’s passing game. The team is far overdue for an explosive running back, anyway.
