STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — James Franklin will meet with the media Monday, marking the start of spring practice at Penn State. It’s still unclear whether there will be a Blue-White Game and, if there is, when it will be or who could attend, but the return of spring ball after missing the entirety of it in 2020 will surely be a welcomed sight for the Nittany Lions.
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After the usual roster attrition this winter and Penn State’s new, more proactive approach to the transfer portal in play, what does the roster look like? Here’s my ranking of the position groups, taking into account the freshmen who enrolled early and are on campus this spring, the successes and struggles of returning players, and the questions surrounding the installation of the new offense under Mike Yurcich.
1. Running back
Where Noah Cain is at with his return from a season-ending injury sustained during last year’s opener and whether he’ll be participating this spring will be asked about Monday. Among Cain, Devyn Ford, Keyvone Lee, Caziah Holmes and Baylor transfer John Lovett, Penn State returns five players with game experience. When everyone is available, this is one of the team’s deepest groups. Will we ever see it at full strength? Last year showed why the rotation needs to be as deep as it is.
What Cain did as a freshman, particularly at Iowa, showed how high his potential is as a powerful runner, but injuries have held him back. Ford becoming more than a change-of-pace option remains important, while Lee showed a lot of promise last season. Fifteen spring practices will be really important for this unit, especially because it is the first spring for Lee and Holmes. With a long-term investment in those two, where does the senior Lovett fit in? He had nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage in his four years at Baylor and joins a crowded competition.
2. Cornerback
Penn State used a lot of corners the past two years. With Tariq Castro-Fields, Joey Porter Jr., Keaton Ellis, Marquis Wilson, Daequan Hardy and Joseph Johnson III all back, there’s a lot to like here. Plus, the Nittany Lions added South Carolina transfer Johnny Dixon and a pair of January enrollees in Kalen King and Jeffrey Davis Jr.
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Castro-Fields took advantage of the additional year of eligibility to return after an injury-plagued 2020. There weren’t many opportunities to see what this group looked like with everyone healthy last season, as it seemed like whenever one player returned, another would go down. Porter made a huge jump from Year 1 to Year 2, as he redshirted in 2019 but jumped ahead of classmates Ellis and Wilson by the time the season started. Is there someone else who makes a jump like that this year? The secondary needs to be better than it was last year, and the hope is for Castro-Fields to become the shutdown corner Penn State was hoping he’d rebound to be last season. If not, Porter could develop into that guy.
3. Wide receiver
What a difference a year makes with this group.
Jahan Dotson’s decision to return paired with Parker Washington’s emergence puts the receiving corps in a promising position. Dotson is among the top returning receivers in the country after leading the Big Ten with 884 yards and eight touchdowns. Getting Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith involved last year came with some natural growing pains that always accompany two true freshmen playing significant roles, but one of the silver linings of last season was how much experience they gained. Washington, who finished second on the team with 36 receptions for 489 yards and six touchdowns, was a bright spot whose catch radius impressed right away. Lambert-Smith’s blocking improved down the stretch too.
Dotson insists the freshmen are on the fast track to success.
“I keep saying this, but, like, you guys honestly haven’t seen the half of it,” Dotson said. “One thing with me my freshman year was just kind of getting used to things. Like, I wasn’t really able to show my full ability because I was kind of still getting used to it and still, like, kind of dipping my feet in the water. And now that they’ve done that, now they got that under their belt, I feel like it’s just gonna explode.”
The priority is developing depth. None of the team’s three 2021 receiver signees are here this spring. Malick Meiga and Jaden Dottin have an opportunity to compete with veterans Cam Sullivan-Brown, Daniel George and Norval Black, who were bypassed by the freshmen last year.
WR Parker Washington, QB Sean Clifford and WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith. (Vincent Carchietta / USA Today)
4. Tight end
Brenton Strange and Theo Johnson were thrust into bigger roles after Pat Freiermuth’s season ended abruptly with a labrum injury. Both responded in a big way and showed there’s no reason to worry about much drop-off here. While Freiermuth is training for the NFL Draft and tight ends coach Tyler Bowen now works for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the room is crowded enough under new coach Ty Howle that Zack Kuntz, the oldest of the tight ends, entered the transfer portal this winter after Strange and Johnson cemented themselves as the top two options last season.
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Strange has long garnered praise behind the scenes, and Johnson’s high-profile recruitment makes for a fascinating pairing. Johnson’s Canadian high school had him working as a receiver, so his first spring will likely include even more blocking work, an area at which he improved later in the season.
5. Linebacker
Starters Brandon Smith, Ellis Brooks and Jesse Luketa all return, but Lance Dixon, an important player for his depth and versatility, announced plans to transfer to West Virginia. With seven scholarship players here this spring — including Charlie Katshir, who missed the majority of last season due to injury — this unit is split among the three entrenched starters, one player coming off an injury and four players who have little or no collegiate experience.
A lot rides on the development of the starters, as Brent Pry didn’t hold back his criticism of his group’s struggles last season, particularly early when tackling wasn’t up to his standard. Curtis Jacobs, Tyler Elsdon and and January enrollee Kobe King should have plenty of opportunities to push for time.
6. Offensive line
It’s still difficult to rank this group too high, given the inconsistency of the past several years, so let’s slot them here — though the play of both returning tackles might be good enough to warrant a higher ranking.
The best bet for the first team this spring is LT Rasheed Walker, LG Des Holmes/Sal Wormley, C Mike Miranda, RG Juice Scruggs and RT Caedan Wallace. It would seem likely that Miranda shifts from guard to center to replace Michal Menet. Scruggs could factor in at either guard spot. Eric Wilson, the graduate transfer from Harvard, doesn’t arrive until May. Anthony Whigan can help along the interior, too.
There is intrigue here with younger players like Nick Dawkins, Jimmy Christ and Olu Fashanu, all the way down to a pair of January enrollees in Landon Tengwall and Nate Bruce. There are 15 scholarship offensive linemen this spring, and seven will experience their first spring practice. The rotations here and the development make this one of the more fascinating groups just because so many younger players should have valuable reps.
7. Quarterback
Penn State’s 2021 ceiling depends on what kind of play it gets from its starting quarterback. For the time being, it’s anyone’s guess how the installation of Yurcich’s offense will go and how Sean Clifford rebounds after taking a step back last season.
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If Clifford looks like the 2019 quarterback who took his team to the Cotton Bowl or improves upon that, then this group could climb on this list. If he’s turnover-prone or struggles with the new offense, that paves the way for questions about whether Ta’Quan Roberson or freshman Christian Veilleux — or a transfer — can challenge him.
There are so many variables in play with this position group, and part of this ranking is taking into account the limited game experience for the backups after Will Levis’ transfer to Kentucky. Three quarterbacks are on scholarship. Veilleux has been on campus for two months, and Roberson didn’t see meaningful time as the third option last year. There’s a lot of ground to make up. The messaging surrounding this position and how Franklin frames it this spring is of the utmost importance. There’s plenty of interest in seeing more from Roberson, and though getting first-team reps won’t be a given, it might be wise for Penn State to give him some opportunities to get a better idea of where he’s at.
8. Defensive tackle
It’s PJ Mustipher and … at this point, it’s anyone’s guess. Hakeem Beamon showed promise last season. The addition of Duke graduate transfer Derrick Tangelo should provide a boost. Fred Hansard has a lot of experience too. Penn State also signed three tackles — Coziah Izzard, Fatorma Mulbah and Cole Brevard — in 2020, and it remains to be seen who’s ready to contribute from that group. The development of those three should take center stage this spring along with Joseph Darkwa, who is a class ahead of them.
The group checks in this low on the list because it needs to find a second starter and sort out its depth. If the young talent and players such as Dvon Ellies can make an impact, the Nittany Lions will be fine here.
9. Safety
Jaquan Brisker is back for the extra year of eligibility, one of two Penn State players to do so. Should he play like he did down the stretch last season, Penn State could have a ball-hawking safety to build around in the secondary. Penn State continues to stress creating takeaways, but the defense had just four interceptions last year and no player had more than one. Brisker had one and could’ve had a few more. Jonathan Sutherland hadn’t been able to land a starting job in previous years and will have a chance to do so again. With just five scholarship safeties here this spring, new safeties coach Anthony Poindexter’s group needs to figure out what kind of depth it has. The development of Enzo Jennings, Tyler Rudolph and Ji’Ayir Brown will be important.
The additions of Jaylen Reed and Zakee Wheatley will be a boost long-term, but neither is on campus this spring.
10. Defensive end
With starters Jayson Oweh and Shaka Toney gone, all eyes will be on Adisa Isaac and Temple graduate transfer Arnold Ebiketie. The good news is there’s no player on the roster who hasn’t started a game that teammates have raved about more than the 6-foot-4, 254-pound Isaac. He’s long been pegged to be that next standout defensive end in a long line of successful ones. Now, he just needs to go and do it.
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Penn State’s addition of Ebiketie after his breakout season was important, as he brings starting experience and a veteran presence to a position that lacks it. Penn State has eight scholarship players here this spring with Zuriah Fisher moving to end. There’s breakout potential for Nick Tarburton, who dealt with multiple injuries in previous seasons but impressed strength coach Dwight Galt this offseason. With Smith Vilbert, Bryce Mostella, Amin Vanover and January enrollee Rodney McGraw also in the mix, the three-deep will need to be sorted out, and there should be plenty of opportunities for them to prove where they belong. Davon Townley, the key late addition to the freshman class, won’t arrive until later.
(Top photo of Keyvone Lee: Rick Osentoski / USA Today)
Audrey Snyder has covered Penn State since 2012 for various outlets, including The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Patriot-News and DKPittsburghSports. Snyder is an active member of the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM) and is the professional adviser for Penn State’s student chapter. Follow Audrey on Twitter @audsnyder4
