Three takeaways from Penn State football’s Tuesday night fall practice
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Freshmen Kemajou, Dixson and Coleman drew early praise from James Franklin.
- Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles trusts three linebackers but seeks depth before opener.
- Transfer receivers Ross, Peña and Hudson could elevate the passing game’s output.
Penn State opened a portion of its practice Tuesday evening, with several coaches and players speaking to the media following the practice’s conclusion, including head coach James Franklin, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and defensive tackle Zane Durant.
Here are three takeaways from the practice and availabilities.
Freshmen defenders are impressing
Getting on the field as a freshman is not easy, especially for a team with legitimate national title aspirations, but there are three first-year players standing out to Franklin.
“The guys that probably jump out the most right now are (Yvan) Kemajou, Daryus Dixson and then the third one is Chaz (Coleman),” Franklin said. “... Those guys, I think there’s been a lot of discussions about, a lot of positive buzz about them.”
Those three could make an impact this fall, with Kemajou and Coleman fighting for reps at a position where the team needs young players to step up. Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zuriah Fisher are penciled in as starters at defensive end, but beyond those two it’s fair to question how the reps will be split up.
Kemajou has stood out to Durant as someone who’s taken his work seriously thus far. And having that intentionality is a part of how defensive linemen get on the field early.
“D-line, when you come in, usually guys are passive, but you gotta have a sense of urgency,” Durant said. “Your effort has gotta be on point, and physicality has gotta be on point. The technique and stuff is gonna point you in the right direction. But the base foundation of physicality and effort, those are two things that you got to have to try to play early or want to contribute to this team.”
Linebacker is a work in progress
Penn State has three linebackers it can feel comfortable with at this point in Tony Rojas, Amare Campbell and Dom DeLuca. But beyond that?
“Nobody I can count on yet,” Knowles said. “We’ve got those three, I can count on and trust those guys. But then there’s competition.”
And Knowles doesn’t like having that small of a group of players he can count on.
“I’ve done it,” Knowles said about only having three linebackers. “But I’m not comfortable with it.”
The Nittany Lions have those three players at the top and a large group competing, with Knowles mentioning Keon Wylie, Anthony Speca and Alex Tatsch as players who could step up. But regardless of who steps up, there should be less of a need than usual for Penn State because Knowles primarily only plays two linebackers.
That other spot will go to a fifth defensive back — likely Zion Tracy, with Kenny Woseley being his closest competition — but it’s still important to watch which fourth linebacker can step up to complete Penn State’s two-deep on the depth chart by the end of fall camp.
Wide receiver room taking a step forward
Penn State’s wide receivers continued to impress Tuesday evening. The Nittany Lions’ three transfer additions — Devonte Ross, Trebor Peña and Kyron Hudson — are less than three weeks away from their potential debuts against Nevada, and all three look like they would’ve been the best receiver on last year’s team. Ross and Peña both move with high-end quickness in and out of breaks and should be able to consistently separate for the offense, while Hudson looks even better than advertised from a physicality and athleticism standpoint.
Mix that in with a group of young receivers that includes an increasingly impressive freshman in Koby Howard and redshirt freshman Tyseer Denmark, and suddenly the ceiling for the group is even higher than anticipated. That’s not to say the team will have one of the best groups in the conference, but it does stand to reason that they’ll be a net positive this season rather than a severe negative like they were in 2024.
