Penn State coach James Franklin gives update on position battles ahead of season opener
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Penn State named Antoine Belgrave-Shorter starting safety alongside Zakee Wheatley.
- Transfer and freshman receivers earned backup roles behind Hudson and Peña.
- Franklin delayed naming right guard and backup quarterback before opener week.
Penn State has a high-level starter in safety Zakee Wheatley, but has been working through the offseason to find who will be next to him to open games. And at his first weekly press conference of the regular season, Penn State head coach James Franklin named an unexpected starter at the position.
“Right now (Antoine) Belgrave-Shorter is the starter across from Zakee, but those other two safeties we plan on playing a lot,” Franklin said Monday afternoon. “We feel like we got four safeties we can win with. Belgrave is probably a guy that there wasn’t a lot of conversations (about) going on outside the Lasch Building, but led us in interceptions and turnovers in training camp. Been very, very consistent about how he’s gone about his business. So he has earned that spot.”
Belgrave-Shorter was in a competition with several other safeties, with players like King Mack and Dejuan Lane vying for the starting spot. Mack returned to Penn State as a transfer this winter after spending his first year with the program and leaving for Alabama, while Lane got reps with the first team last season after then-starting safety K.J. Winston went down with an injury.
While Belgrave-Shorter winning the job may have been a surprise, he seemed to be a more viable option after defensive coordinator Jim Knowles mentioned him during a post-practice media availability during fall camp when he was asked about Mack and Lane.
“I think a guy who’s been on the rise is Belgrave-Shorter,” Knowles said. “We’re going to play the best guy. You play two safeties, you’re gonna play the best two. I think all three of those guys are in competition for that second spot.”
He’s joining a secondary that will feature A.J. Harris and Elliot Washington II at corner, with Wheatley alongside him at safety — with a fifth defensive back that will play a different role this year.
Knowles uses that spot as a chess piece in his defense, asking the nickel cornerback to do more than just cover slot receivers. It’s a spot that, according to Franklin, will be occupied by Zion Tracy, Kenny Woseley Jr. and Kolin Dinkins.
Those players are expected to play a major role this season, with Tracy leading the way.
“[Tracy] did some really good things from a coverage standpoint,” Franklin said. “Did some really good things from a return standpoint. But he’s a young, developing player. He’s getting better and better and continues to do that both in the run game and in the pass game.”
Wide receiver depth
The Nittany Lions have fewer questions at the top of the depth chart on offense, where most of the starters are set in place. That includes wide receiver, where the team’s incoming transfer wide receivers have made enough of an impact to earn starting roles. Kyron Hudson and Trebor Peña are set to start and could potentially be on the field without much rotating in unless they need a breather. The same was expected to be said for Devonte Ross, but Franklin said he’s been dealing with “bumps and bruises” this offseason and will rotate with Liam Clifford.
Those four have established themselves as the top receivers on the depth chart, but Penn State still needs two players to step up in order to have a full two-deep at the position. And right now, those spots belong to redshirt freshman Tyseer Denmark and true freshman Koby Howard.
Franklin listed Howard after Hudson and Denmark after Peña, indicating they will be their respective backups with Hudson likely starting on the outside with Peña in the slot.
Howard backing up Hudson is a good indication that he will likely not redshirt this year — although Franklin said he wants to see more from him on special teams before he makes that call. He and Denmark are likely to spell Hudson and Peña when they need it to start the season, but Ross could join that group once he gets up to speed.
“We’ll probably rotate him a little bit more just because he hasn’t had the full training camp and hasn’t had the full summer, but he’s ready to go and has looked really good the last week or so,” Franklin said.
Quick hitters
- Franklin did not name a starter at right guard, but it would be a surprise if it’s not Anthony Donkoh, who has been competing with T.J. Shanahan and Cooper Cousins for the job. All three should see plenty of reps this season for the Nittany Lions.
- The Penn State head coach did not name a starting linebacker next to Tony Rojas, either, but did say that Amare Campbell and Dom DeLuca will wear the green dot on their helmet, with Campbell wearing it when both are on the field. The dot goes on the helmet that has in-helmet communication with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. It would make sense that Campbell would be the starter, while DeLuca backs him and Rojas up as a swing player.
- Franklin said he plans to tell the backup quarterbacks who has won the No. 2 job on Monday and wanted to have that conversation before publicly announcing it. Ethan Grunkemeyer and Jaxon Smolik were competing this summer, with the former having an edge late in fall camp.
- Two freshmen were listed as “green light” players who won’t redshirt this season — defensive end Chaz Coleman and cornerback Daryus Dixson.
This story was originally published August 25, 2025 at 3:26 PM.
