Days before season opener, Penn State head coach names starters, talks skill positions & more
Penn State head coach James Franklin and five of his six captains met with the media Monday throughout the day ahead of the Nittany Lions’ season opening matchup with Purdue Thursday night.
Here’s everything you need to know about what they said prior to the game.
Franklin names multiple starters
The Nittany Lions have had a few ongoing position battles this spring and summer that were hotly contested. Among those were middle linebacker, left and right guard, safety, kicker, punter and kickoff specialist.
Franklin named a few of those starters with some caveats.
Tyler Elsdon will start at middle linebacker, but Kobe King will play plenty of reps, which lines up with the guard spots where Hunter Nourzad, Saleem Wormley and Landon Tengwall will all rotate.
Sander Sahaydak and Gabe Nwosu will alternate kickoffs with the potential for a winner to emerge, while Jake Pinegar has won the kicking job when it comes to field goals and Barney Amor will take care of punting.
The lone position battle without a defined starter announced is safety, with Zakee Wheatley, Keaton Ellis and Jaylen Reed all competing to start alongside veteran Ji’Ayir Brown.
Franklin said the way Pinegar won the role was something worth applauding.
“I used him as a example with the team the other day,” he said. “Talking about a guy in today’s day and age with the transfer portal, here he is as a guy that is two-year starter for us, ends up losing his starting role, doesn’t run to the transfer portal at the first sign of adversity, sticks it out, now a leader on our team. He’s had a really good camp. I think he’s going to have a big year for us. I’m really proud of him for a lot of reasons.”
Transfers set to make big impact
Two of Penn State’s biggest transfers this offseason are set to see plenty of playing time immediately for the program. Nourzad and Chop Robinson are both expected to play major roles at guard and defensive end, respectively.
Nourzad’s versatility will allow him to play both guard spots, along with center if current starter Juice Scruggs has to take any snaps off. That’s part of the reason Franklin said he should see the field plenty this fall.
“Right now we look at Hunter being able to play both guards and center,” Franklin said. “We probably won’t ask him to do all those things in game one, but he will play. Our plan is to play him starter reps at both guards. We’d like to be able to do that a little bit more on the offensive line, is be able to get guys at least a series in the game in the first half, hopefully the second half for a couple things. To allow those guys to gain experience, but also give our starters a blow that should hopefully help us in the fourth quarter and late in the season keep guys as fresh as we possibly can. A little bit more of a rotation.”
Robinson is expected to be a contributor at defensive end thanks to his quick first step and ability to rush the passer.
Like Nourzad, Franklin isn’t sure if he’ll start, but is confident he’ll be on the field and have an opportunity to make an impact for the Nittany Lions this fall.
“So with Chop, we obviously had high expectations of who and what he could be for us,” Franklin said. “He’s really come in and adjusted well. I know the coaches have fallen in love with him. His teammates have, as well. He’s just got a good way about him. He’s really brought a lot to our team, and specifically for our defense. So he’ll play a lot. You’ll see him play a lot. Whether it is rotating in, whether it’s starting. We’ll see how that plays out. But he’s going to play a lot of football for us, there’s no doubt about that.”
Skill position depth
The Nittany Lions have been criticized for their lack of running game in the past two seasons, but there’s reason to believe they will be able to turn it around this year. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen enrolled in January as freshmen and have both made their mark on the running back room already thanks to their big play ability.
That was an aspect of running the ball the team sorely lacked in 2021.
“Kaytron, probably has the surprise in camp in terms of his production and big-play ability as well,” Franklin said. “A little bit of a different style than Nick, but both big, strong, powerful backs that can make you miss and break tackles. Both have seemed to do a really good job with understanding the offense, understand defenses and pressures, protections, all those types of things.”
There could be a similar impact by youth at wide receiver, where Penn State will need players to step up. Franklin said the team’s starters — presumably Mitch Tinsley, Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith — will all be “tap” players, meaning they won’t come out until they tap out for a break.
That’s, in part, because Franklin said the unit doesn’t have a current full two-deep of players he can trust.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say we’re there,” he said. “I’d say there’s probably five guys that we feel comfortable putting out there with maybe the sixth guy being right on the edge that we need to see something over these first couple weeks of the season in practice and in games to feel that way. ... But I think we’re in a pretty good place there. We need one more of these young guys to really come on for us.”
Quick Hitters
- Brown said freshman quarterback Drew Allar’s arm talent stands out, saying he can throw the ball “60, 70, 80 yards.”
- Redshirt senior starting quarterback Sean Clifford said Tre Wallace has stood out at wide receiver and has been rotating in with the starters in camp.
- Clifford added that he’s hoping to capitalize on his final season with the program, hoping to make it the “biggest, baddest year” he’s had.
This story was originally published August 30, 2022 at 7:59 AM.
