James Franklin knew he was going to have an opportunity to help build out one of the most important parts of his program during Saturday’s 46-10 win over Ohio. The Penn State head coach said last week he hoped to play true freshman quarterback Drew Allar in the game, a sure sign he knew what most of the world did — the Nittany Lions would win handily.
That chance came against the Bobcats early on, with backups rotating in during the game’s first half with a full-on onslaught of depth playing in the second half. Franklin said his program will need all of its roster to help out in some capacity, and that it’s to be expected that young players will emerge and veterans will see their playing time wane.
“Like I talk about all the time; all of their roles are critical for our success,” Franklin said. “Some guys’ roles are going to increase as the year goes on. Some guys’ roles are going to decrease as the years go on. Some guys are going to kind of stay the same. That’s the balancing act of being able to manage all of that, whether it’s five positions, or whether that’s the team. That’s one of the jobs of the head football coach, right? That’s to manage all of the personalities and egos that we have, and that is players as well as staff. It is not always a fun job, but it’s a big part of what we do and how we do it.”
The goal for the staff is to make sure his players understand that it isn’t just about their individual success. It’s about ensuring the team and program are in position to be successful this year and beyond.
Building depth insures the team against injuries and prepares it for the inevitable departure of star players for greener pastures. Franklin made note that the individual accolades some players yearn for can come more easily with a team-centric focus. However, he knows he and the staff must put the program first and make sure it’s in position to succeed.
“What we try to talk to the guys all the time about is with team success comes individual recognition,” he said. “The reality is the guys that truly commit to the team and put the team first, all those other things come to them, at least that’s what I have found throughout my career. ... Ultimately, we have to do what’s best for the team.”
Good
Olu Fashanu: Penn State might have one of the best offensive tackles in the Big Ten on its roster. In fact, the Nittany Lions might have one of the best in the country. Fashanu is that good. He has prototypical traits at 6-foot-6, 321 pounds with a long wingspan and the feet of a dancing bear. He’s only made three starts in his career — the two this season and the Outback Bowl against Arkansas — but it’s clear there’s first round upside here. Yes, first round of the NFL Draft.
Fashanu doesn’t give any ground in the running game and has the athleticism to get to the second level if he pancakes his initial defender. He stonewalls pass rushers when they’re chasing the quarterback with that ability standing out against Ohio. Bobcat defensive end Vonnie Watkins jumped offside on a play but got back before the snap, only to be tormented by Fashanu with no chance to catch a breath. The Penn State offensive tackle has been dominant for two straight weeks, with a formidable test coming against Auburn next week. Pass that, and the chances of him being a one-year starter increase exponentially.
Drew Allar: This is what you’re here for. Allar was phenomenal in an even larger sample than last week’s against Purdue. He did, however, have an errant throw on a slant to Tre Wallace that would’ve likely gone for a touchdown had he hit the mark. So, yeah, he’s not actually perfect. Outside of that throw, Allar was on the money. He continued dropping dimes on his receivers and leaving defensive backs wondering what they could possibly do.
His 32-yard touchdown pass to Omari Evans was a beautifully lofted deep ball that fell right into the freshman receiver’s hands. His 28-yard score to Khalil Dinkins was more of the same, but came with a little extra juice before the throw. Allar navigated the pocket like a veteran, evading pass rushers and finding space running forward with a rushing lane in front of him. Instead, he pulled back and placed the ball into Dinkins’ arms, allowing him to waltz into the endzone. More than anything, Allar put his weapons in position to succeed while also making the tight window throws he had to when the time came.
Chop Robinson: Penn State’s best pass rusher was at it again this week. He only had two tackles, one of which was for loss, to go with a pass breakup but that didn’t matter. The Bobcats felt Robinson on every dropback. Any time they wanted to pass and he was on the field, the internal clock to get rid of the ball had to cut in half. The sophomore defensive end has unbelievable burst off the edge, with one of the quickest first steps you’ll see out of a sophomore, and uses that to torture opposing offensive tackles.
He doesn’t just rely on speed, either. He sets up tackles just to watch them fail. He’ll feint inside before changing direction, swatting away the flailing hands coming his direction, and throttling your outside shoulder to get by. There need to be improvements in the run game, but even those showed on some level Saturday. Robinson was more sound in his gaps, reading his keys and staying where he needed to be even if it meant he didn’t get the tackle and a teammate did. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz’s aggressiveness has helped the defense out tremendously, but perhaps no player has been impacted more than Robinson.
Cornerback play: You probably didn’t notice Joey Porter Jr., Kalen King, Daequan Hardy or Johnny Dixon much Saturday. That’s a good thing. The Nittany Lions’ top four corners were sticky all game, not giving the Ohio receivers any room to work. Even if they executed perfectly and seemed to have a chance at open grass, the Penn State corners quickly closed that space and put an end to any thoughts of a completion. Porter received most of the praise last week against Purdue, but the reality is that all four corners are currently playing at an incredibly high level.
There isn’t much of a drop-off when Penn State needs one of those four to come off the field and that will be enormous in Big Ten play. There are teams — well, team — that can go very deep into their wide receiver depth chart and cause problems no matter who’s on the field (yes, it’s Ohio State). The Nittany Lions will need Porter, King, Hardy and Dixon to be at the top of their game when those matchups come along. Right now, that’s right where they are.
Penn State defensive end Chop Robinson tackles Ohio’s Nolan McCormick during the game on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. Abby Drey adrey@centredaily.com
Bad
Sean Clifford: I hate to do this again but Clifford’s game has to go somewhere because he’s going to be the story more often than not. For the second week in a row, Clifford was not necessarily bad. In fact, his numbers — 19-of-27 for 213 yards and a touchdown — might even indicate he was good. But as is always the case with quarterback play, there’s more to the game than the box score can show. He hit on a few good throws, but there was still far too much negative against a bad defense and even some of the good came with caveats.
Clifford missed the mark, but was bailed out by his weapons a few times, including one ridiculous catch by Parker Washington in the middle of the field and another by Mitch Tinsley in the endzone. Had the Ohio safety involved in Tinsley’s touchdown been the slightest bit aware of where the pass was or where Tinsley was, the receiver would have been in harm’s way. As in, probably getting a targeting call. Clifford has to continue working on being more on-time and more accurate, but it’s been over five years now. He’s an above average and inconsistent quarterback capable of winning games if he comes up big at the right time.
Trick play discipline: I’m nit-picking, but what did you expect? Penn State was mostly great Saturday afternoon. However, the aggressiveness Manny Diaz has emphasized bit them on two occasions — both on the same drive. The first was on a hook and ladder, where Ohio completed a pass on a curl route, with another player flying by to catch a pitch and pick up big yards. Penn State stormed the ball and was left susceptible to the pitch.
Then, Ohio ran a reverse wide receiver pass where the defense aggressively pursued the ball but left the quarterback wide open to catch a pass near the goal line. The fact that it took two trick plays for Ohio to score is a pretty good sign for Penn State, but those types of plays may come in handy for opponents when they scout the Nittany Lions.
Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich talks to quarterback Sean Clifford during the game against Ohio on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. Abby Drey adrey@centredaily.com
Ugly
Anyone else’s chances of starting at quarterback next year: Yeah, I’m using this to talk up Allar more. He really was that good. Allar has already passed up redshirt freshman Christian Veilleux on the depth chart for the backup job after he was originally battling with fellow true freshman Beau Pribula for the third string spot. Clifford is the only player left to pass but history would tell us that’s not likely. The redshirt senior is in the midst of his fourth year as a starter and Franklin rarely strays away from the veteran incumbent.
Allar has the talent to overtake him as QB1, but for now you can at least pencil him in as the starter beyond 2022 with the performances he’s had over the first two games of his college career. Who knows, maybe the evidence will be overwhelming enough that Franklin will buck the precedent he has set throughout his tenure as Penn State’s head coach and we’ll see Allar emerge this year. Right now it’s hard to deny just how good he is and somehow there’s massive growth potential too. It’s only a matter of time until that’s evident to everyone.
This story was originally published September 11, 2022 at 11:10 AM.
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.
