What position has to perform against Ohio State and others? That and more in this week’s mailbag
Our latest mailbag of the season is here and we have the answers to your questions. As a reminder, if you have any questions send them to psu_mailbag@centredaily.com for inclusion in the mailbag in the future. From big picture to small minutiae, we’ll answer your queries about the Penn State football program.
So PSU is 5-0 and going into Michigan a top 10 team. Did you see this coming or are you surprised?
What would you say is the most important position group to Penn State’s success against Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio State (besides QB)?
Do you think our secondary will continue their dominant performance given the level of competition they will soon face?
—Wes
A trifecta of questions from one submission this week will dominate this mailbag, especially considering the pertinence given what’s about to unfold for Penn State.
So PSU is 5-0 and going into Michigan a top 10 team. Did you see this coming or are you surprised?
Let’s go in order here. Yes I am surprised Penn State is 5-0, but not overly surprised. When our staff made our record predictions I went with 9-3 with the caveat that the team wouldn’t actually finish with that record. I thought they would either finish 11-1 or 7-5 and it was really difficult to tell which would happen. Well, they’ve already won two of their five toughest matchups of the season and I’m picking them to win the third this weekend and probably the fourth the week after. The main element of surprise for me is how Penn State got here.
I thought it would take a change in philosophy or a major alteration in plans at a key position — it’s quarterback, I’m talking about quarterback. Instead the team is mostly just more talented and deeper. James Franklin has credited the team’s balanced approach for offensive improvement but I don’t know that I see the same improvement he does. Regardless, he has his team at 5-0 right now. Whether that sustains remains to be seen but the program is in position to reach a New Year’s Six bowl game for the first time since the 2019 season — Sean Clifford’s first as starter.
What would you say is the most important position group to Penn State’s success against Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio State (besides QB)?
As for the most important position group, I think it’s the defensive line and it’s for very different reasons when comparing the first two games with the third game.
Against Michigan and Minnesota that group will need to hold up against more physical offensive lines that want to shove them downfield and open gaping holes for their running backs. The team’s defensive tackles will be stressed more in those games with PJ Mustipher taking on a great importance because he’s one of the only capable tackles on the roster when it comes to eating up space. He can occupy blocks and give his teammates chances to make plays against the run over the next two weeks.
Ohio State is a very different story. Mustipher and Hakeem Beamon will be big at tackle, but Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac will be even more important on the edges. The Nittany Lions will need to create pressure on the Buckeyes and quarterback C.J. Stroud in order to have success and force him into mistakes. The group is versatile enough to have success in both types of games and will have to be if they want any chance at coming out of the next three games unscathed.
Do you think our secondary will continue their dominant performance given the level of competition they will soon face?
I would be surprised if the secondary didn’t keep this up. Joey Porter Jr. has as much upside at the position as any corner in the country and should be a first round pick this season but Kalen King has been just as good — and at times better — across the field from him. They’re both true No. 1 corners that are capable of shutting down their opponents. Daequan Hardy hasn’t had his best season from the slot, but is still a good starter and the increase in opposing talent is unlikely to affect the secondary on the outside.
The story is mostly the same in the middle of the secondary. Ji’Ayir Brown is one of the best safeties in the country and has answered almost every question asked about potential pitfalls in his game this season. His only flaw is that he isn’t an elite athlete but his elite football IQ and instincts more than make up for that minor issue. Zakee Wheatley has been excellent when given an opportunity and I tend to think he’ll only see his reps increase as the opposing talent increases and the team needs more versatility out of the safety alongside Brown. Bottom line is this group is going to be one of the best in the country the rest of the way, regardless of the opponent.
Send in your questions
That’s it for this week’s mailbag. Don’t forget to email us at psu_mailbag@centredaily.com to get your questions answered. We’ll have you covered this Saturday for Penn State’s game against Northwestern, so be sure to head to CentreDaily.com for all of the coverage you need.
