Why Penn State players think the College Football Playoff is on the table in 2023
The 2022 season hasn’t concluded yet, but there’s plenty of reason for Penn State fans to be excited in the future. Some of the better players on the roster are also some of the youngest and there’s a lot of returning talent that had a big role this season in helping the program get back to double digit wins.
Veteran center Juice Scruggs is not one of those players returning — he declared for the 2023 NFL Draft — but his hopes are high for what the Nittany Lions can do next year. He wants to close out the season with a win and launch what he thinks will be a successful season.
“It would just be momentum for next year,” Scruggs said. “As you guys see, we’ve got some great young talent. That would just be momentum for them to just go forward. Me personally, I think they’re gonna reach the playoffs next year.”
The praise from Scruggs comes from what a win would do for next season. He wants to try to earn one final victory in his Penn State career, and believes that could give the program even more momentum as it heads into what could be a big season in 2023.
One of the potential key players on next year’s team — tight end Theo Johnson — said he hasn’t made a decision yet on whether or not he will enter the 2023 NFL Draft. Johnson has the physical profile teams covet at the next level and came on strong to end the season. He said he’ll make the decision when he does based on how he needs to improve, among other things, but spoke about the importance of the upcoming offseason if he does come back.
“I think the big thing is shifting the mentality,” Johnson said. “To just, you’ve got to put everything into this. You always try and have that mindset in the offseason, but really knowing that it could really lie on you. Everything you do has to align with everything that you say you want to do. You say you want to win a national championship, so all of your habits and things that you’re doing have to align with what you say you want to do.”
Johnson could be an important piece of the puzzle next year, and agreed that the team has playoff upside. He sees the potential in the group, but knows that those things will not come easy.
If he does return, he already wants to help be a leader for the offense next season, and wants to make sure that he and the likely starting quarterback — freshman Drew Allar — are ready to go and on the same page.
“I think getting throwing sessions and extra things like that is going to be good just to build chemistry,” Johnson said. “And not just with him, with all the receivers and the tight ends being on the same page. That’s definitely going to be huge for us this year, working with him in the offseason.”
Wide receiver Mitch Tinsley had that type of relationship with current starting quarterback Sean Clifford and joined the chorus of players who think the upside is high for the 2023 season.
Tinsley only spent one season at Penn State but thinks the young talent and returning talent should be able to make an impact.
He and Scruggs both praised their own position groups and the players coming back for next season. Tinsley said he thinks the young players at receiver are ready to step up and help fill the shoes emptied by himself and departing receiver Parker Washington, while Scruggs said the line is ready to build off this season.
“I think we’re in great hands for sure,” he said. “... We’re just gonna build off this year.”
Running game mentality shift
The fact that the group has something to build off of says a lot about how much it has improved this season compared to last season. The Nittany Lions have become a balanced offense that can run the ball as well as any team in the country. Part of that is the infusion of young and talented running backs like Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, but part of it is the shift the line has made.
The unit has become a more physical group this season. Formations like the T-formation — with the quarterback under center, two running backs and a tight end in the backfield — have created a culture of physicality that the team’s offense takes pride in.
“Our offensive mentality, where guys are doing jobs that they don’t always do all the time, but they’re going to do it to the best of their ability because we’re playing for each other and not for ourselves,” tight end Tyler Warren said. “That formation speaks a lot about that we do what the team is asking for us, and not necessarily what our normal job would be. I think that shows our mentality well.”
It helps that tight ends like Warren and Johnson have also taken steps forward as blockers.
Johnson gave credit to Penn State tight ends coach Ty Howle for that growth and said the culture of the room now gives the players reason to want to be more physical and more tenacious when they have to block.
“I think it really starts with Coach Howle and how he’s coached us since we came in and kind of making our room competitive when it comes to that,” Johnson said. “We have finishing awards and stuff like that for the tight end room and the o-line as well. So when you implement some of those things, it kind of incentivizes you to be a little more aggressive and maybe try and go a little harder all the way to the whistle when it comes to the run game.”
The physicality stretches across the offense and includes the line that now prides itself on its force in the running game.
Johnson said that emphasis began in the offseason and is a major reason why the entire Penn State offense took a step forward this season when it comes to running the ball.
“I think a big thing is how much it was emphasized this offseason,” he said. “The big thing that the coaches were saying was you gotta be able to run the ball when everyone in the stadium knows you’re running the ball. And I think that with some of our short yardage packages, we’ve been able to do that at will this year. So just how much that was emphasized and worked during practice, we really had no choice to get it right.”
Quick hitters
- James Franklin said Wednesday that the team could lessen the workload for players who are leaving for the draft, potentially opening the door for more young players to play.
- Franklin said Allar’s chances of playing in the Rose Bowl will look more like the second half of the year. The team used him in blowouts down the stretch after intentionally getting him reps in earlier games this season.
