Penn State football gave media an extended look at practice. Here’s what stood out

With less than two weeks to the first game, Penn State football and head coach James Franklin opened up its fall practice to the media for about an hour Saturday afternoon, twice as long as its usually open for on Wednesday evenings. The team ran through one-on-one drills, a limited amount of 11-on-11 work and skill work.

Here’s what stood out during the viewing window.

Quarterbacks

• We saw plenty of pass attempts from the team’s quarterbacks, but most of them came against air.
• Redshirt senior starting quarterback Sean Clifford looked comfortable throughout, which isn’t much of a surprise considering he’s entering his sixth year.
• The team does multiple drills where they work on layering the ball — finding the right combination of velocity and loft on passes to narrowly get the ball over a large net with speed. Clifford looked good in those situations and was the only quarterback that didn’t seem to sail a pass or hit the net. He had a well thrown ball to wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith in one of the two 11-on-11 reps we saw near the goal line. Lambert-Smith ran a pivot route and got open fairly easily, hauling in the pass in the end zone.
• Veilleux took the second rep and hit wide receiver Liam Clifford on a similar route, but the younger Clifford was unable to haul it in. Franklin came over to encourage the young wide receiver after the dropped pass. The redshirt freshman quarterback looks the part of a Big Ten starter, but still needs to find consistency.
• Freshman quarterback Drew Allar clearly has the arm talent to be an elite quarterback and showed it off during some of the drills. He needs to be more consistent, especially when he needs to layer the ball in the middle of the field. Some of those passes came out wobbly, but the upside is apparent with Allar.

Offensive line and defensive line

• The offensive line and defensive line got in some one-on-one work during practice.
• Offensive tackle Olu Fashanu looks like a prototypical left tackle and had some good wins during those drills. He beat Adisa Isaac before splitting reps with defensive end Smith Vilbert later on. Fashanu uses his size and length to force pass rushers outside. He should be a strong anchor for the group this season.
• Offensive guard Sal Wormley won a rep against defensive tackle Dvon Ellies in matchup of young contributors. Wormley was slated to be a starter last season prior to an injury and looks poised to take his spot in the starting lineup this year.
• Two high profile freshmen took each other on for three reps during the one-on-ones. Offensive tackle Drew Shelton faced off with defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, with each player winning one rep out of the first two. Dennis-Sutton got the best of Shelton on the third rep, beating him inside. Both players look the part of foundational players on each line.
• Two of the most powerful linemen faced off for a rep when offensive guard Golden Israel-Achumba took on defensive tackle Fatorma Mulbah. Mulbah won the rep, but the sheer strength of both was evident.
• Defensive tackle Coziah Izzard got the best of offensive guard Landon Tengwall in a rep. Izzard used his strength and length to get inside Tengwall and force him backward.
• The final two reps were between Fashanu and Vilbert, with each player taking one and the latter dominating the former in his rep win. Vilbert has the chance to build off his three-sack performance in the Outback Bowl against Arkansas as he continues to convert his athleticism into pass rushing production.

Pass catchers and defensive backs

• The receivers did a drill to help with contact after the catch, catching a slant route before being hit with a practice dummy.
• Most of the receivers did fine in the drill, which can help with preparing to take hits and focusing on the catch. Mitch Tinsley looks every bit of 6-foot-1, 206 pounds and it showed during those reps.
• He and the other receivers, running backs and tight ends caught back shoulder throws and fade routes from the quarterbacks in the corner of the end zone during a drill. Tinsley and the other presumed starters — Parker Washington and Lambert-Smith — hauled in those opportunities with ease. The young running backs, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, are clearly adjusting to the receiving game portion of playing running back in college, but both have the athleticism and hands to be productive in the passing game.
• Lambert-Smith and cornerback Johnny Dixon faced off in one of the one-on-one reps between wide receivers and defensive backs. Lambert-Smith looked like he was going to wriggle free and get open, but Dixon held, drawing a flag.
• A battle of No. 7s took place between wide receiver Kaden Saunders and safety Jaylen Reed. Reed got the best of the freshman during the rep.
• Tinsley and safety Ji’Ayir Brown faced off in a rep with Tinsley winning. That’s a battle he should win considering the two players’ positions, but Brown has shown the ability to hang with wide receivers during games in the past. Tinsley caught the pass from Clifford, who has spent this offseason building a relationship with his potential No. 1 option.
• Two freshmen battled in one of the final two reps before the media was ushered out of practice. Tyler Johnson beat Cam Miller in the rep. Miller was a player the elder Clifford cited as someone standing out during Wednesday’s media availability.

Special teams

• Penn State got some work in on onside kick recovery and field goal attempts during practice.
• Both Jake Pinegar and Sander Sahaydak took reps, but it was Pinegar who was with the first team field goal unit. He struck the ball well, and seemed to have improved leg strength that could allow him to make deeper field goals.
• Sahaydak clearly has the power in his leg but it seems consistency could be the issue there. That being said, the tools he has are obvious and should make him an excellent kicker down the road. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him make a big impact in his career.
• The Nittany Lions also got work in with its hands team practicing recovering onside kicks. Nothing notable happened in the session, but the team has plenty of options to recover onside kick attempts.

Jon Sauber

Centre Daily Times

(814) 231-6461

Jon Sauber covers Penn State football and men’s basketball for the Centre Daily Times. He earned his B.A. in digital and print journalism from Penn State and his M.A. in sports journalism from IUPUI. His previous stops include jobs at The Indianapolis Star, the NCAA, and Rivals.