Penn State Football Preview

Will life go on without Saquon?

Running Back Saquon Barkley leaves the program as one of the most polarizing players in Nittany Lion football history.  Barkley was the highest selected Running Back to be taken in the NFL Draft since 2006, where Reggie Bush was also taken 2nd.  Saquon impacted the team in so many facets of the game and will be tough to replace.  Luckily, they return a veteran Quarterback in Trace McSorley, who has been very underrated by various media outlets.

Note: Players in bold are returning starters

QB Trace McSorley

Quarterbacks

I have Penn State's Quarterback unit as the top in the nation.  I am not saying Trace McSorley is the top QB in the nation, but the combination of McSorley and the talented Tommy Stevens is a lethal duo.  The loss of OC Joe Moorhead to Mississippi State will be felt, but former QB Coach Ricky Rahne has been promoted to take over as OC.  I think this will be a seamless transition as the same system will be in place and McSorley could be a Heisman darkhouse if he continues to improve.  A noteworthy stat on Tommy Stevens, according to Pro Football Focus, in 110 snaps Stevens graded out as the second most efficient player behind Saquon Barkley last season.  I will call for Stevens to make an impact all over the field getting more reps at Running Back, Wide Receiver, and Tight End.

1. Trace McSorley (SR) 284/427 3570 Yds 28 TD 10 INT, 144 Att 491 Yds 11 TD

2. Tommy Stevens (JR) 14/27 158 Yds 3 TD 0 INT, 27 Att 190 Yds 4 TD, 12 Rec 60 Yds, 2 TD

3. Sean Clifford (rFR)

4. Jake Zembiec (SO)

5. Will Levis (FR) - #35 Pro Style QB

Running Backs

RB Miles Sanders

With Saquon Barkley off to the NFL, this group will be downgraded to some extent.  Insert Miles Sanders to take over starting duties.  Sanders was a highly touted five-star recruit out of high school and actually has a very similar style to Barkley.  He is physically strong and a great route runner.  Incoming freshman Ricky Slade was the Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year.  At 5'9" 185 lbs, Slade is a bit undersized but can be a great change of pace back and play a part in the passing game.  Senior Mark Allen is also small at 5'6", but has game experience and I could see him being the backup until Slade gets acclimated to the college game.  Adding depth is Journey Brown who was redshirted last year and has great speed and has a knack for breaking tackles.  The group will obviously be down a notch without Barkley, but Sanders is the real deal and I call for him to be a 1,000+ yard rusher.

1. Miles Sanders (JR) 31 Att 191 Yds 2 TD, 6 Rec 30 Yds

2. Mark Allen (SR) 9 Att 38 Yds 

3. Ricky Slade (FR) - #3 RB

4. Journey Brown (rFR)

5. Johnathan Thomas (SR)

Wide Receivers

WR Juwan Johnson

The receiving core loses top option DaeSean Hamilton as well as Saaed Blacknall.  Hamilton lead the unit with 857 receiving yards on 53 catches and 9 touchdowns.  He will be sorely missed as he left PSU as the all-time leader in receptions.  Junior Juwan Johnson is back and had 54 catches as he emerged as a reliable threat down the stretch and will become the top guy this season.  He struggled averaging only 54 yards per game through the first nine games, only to breakout for 178 yards per game in the last four games.  He will carry that momentum into the '18 season.  Senior DeAndre Thompkins has top-end speed and is a deep threat that can play all three receiving positions.  Incoming freshman Justin Shorter stands 6'4" like Johnson and is extremely highly-touted coming out of high school.  This group has some veteran leadership that could come close to last season's numbers depending on how quickly Shorter develops.  

1. Juwan Johnson (JR) 54 Rec 701 Yds 1 TD

2. DeAndre Thompkins (SR) 28 Rec 443 Yds 3 TD

3. Justin Shorter (FR) - #6 WR

4. Brandon Polk (JR) 10 Rec 130 Yds 1 TD

5. KJ Hamler (rFR)

6. Jahan Dotson (FR) - #19 WR

7. Cameron Sullivan-Brown (rFR)

8. Daniel George (FR) - #46 WR

Tight Ends

Mike Gesicki had a team high 57 receptions last season and was a 1st Team All-Big Ten selection.  He is going to be sorely missed by McSorley as Gesicki was a safety valve that was looked to often.  Junior Jonathan Holland will replace Gesicki as the starting Tight End.  Holland only had three catches all of last season, but he isn't known as a receiving Tight End.  Holland is a much more physical blocker than Gesicki and will really help in the run game.  Don't expect anywhere close to the same numbers offensively as Gesicki put up, but the blocking will greatly improve.

1. Jonathan Holland (JR) 3 Rec 16 Yds

2. Nick Bowers (JR) 1 Rec 15 Yds 1 TD

3. Danny Dalton (SO) 

4. Pat Freiermuth (FR) - #7 TE  

Offensive Line

Last season the O-Line was the best Coach Franklin has had coming into the season only having to replace one starter.  The unit had to deal with injuries to Ryan Bates (3 games), Brendan Mahon (1 game), and Chasz Wright (1 game).  Bates still earned 3rd Team All-Big Ten in his injury shortened season and the unit only lose Mahon and a backup.  Franklin in interviews has said this unit will be the best he's had and I have to agree as they return 83 starts as a unit.  

Left Tackle

1. Ryan Bates (JR) - 14 ST (10 LG, 4 LT) '16, Started first 8 '17 before injury

2. Des Holmes (rFR)

3. Rasheed Walker (FR) - #15 OT

4. Sterling Jenkins (JR)

LT Ryan Bates

Left Guard

1. Steven Gonzalez (JR) - 13 ST (12 LG, 1 RG) last year

2. Zach Simpson (JR)

3. Bryce Effner (FR) - #79 OG

Center

1. Connor McGovern (JR) - 13 ST last year

2. Mike Miranda (rFR)

3. Frederick Scruggs (FR) - #22 C

Right Guard

1. Michal Menet (SO) - Appeared in 12 games last year

2. CJ Thorpe (rFR)

3. Charlie Shuman (SR)

Right Tackle

1. Chasz Wright (SR) - 9 ST, appeared in 12 games last year

2. Will Fries (SO) - 9 ST (5 LT, 3 RT, 1 LG) in 13 games last year

3. Alex Gellerstedt (SO)

4. Nana Asiedu (FR) - #11 OT

Defensive Line

DE Shareef Miller

The D-Line loses both of its starting Defensive Tackles in Parker Cothren and Curtis Cothran.  Even losing both of its starting tackles, they return eight out their top 11 on the line and are very deep once again.  Defensive Ends Shareef Miller and Ryan Buchholz are both back with Miller earning 3rd Team All-Big Ten honors last season.  Kevin Givens will take over a starting job at Defensive Tackle and has experience with five starts last year.  

 Defensive End

1. Shareef Miller (JR) 37 TKL 5 SK 6 TFL

2. Ryan Buchholz (JR) 18 TKL 2 SK 0.5 TFL

3. Yetur Gross-Matos (SO) 17 TKL 1.5 SK 0.5 TFL

4. Shane Simmons (SO) 15 TKL, 1 SK, 4.5 TFL

5. Shaka Toney (SO) 20 TKL, 4 SK, 2.5 TFL

6. Daniel Joseph (SO) 11 TKL, 3 SK, 3 TFL

7. Torrence Brown (SR) 8 TKL, 1 TFL

Nose Guard

1. Robert Windsor (JR) 19 TKL, 2 SK, 0.5 TFL

2. Antonio Shelton (SO) 6 TKL, 2.5 TFL, 1 SK

3 Corey Bolds (rFR)

Defensive Tackle

1. Kevin Givens (JR) 23 TKL, 3.5 SK, 0.5 TFL

2. Ellison Jordan (SO) 9 TKL, 0.5 SK, 0.5 TFL

3. Fred Hansard (rFR)

4. Damion Barber (rFR)

Linebackers

WLB Koa Farmer

In the past 11 years, Penn State has produced nine Linebackers drafted to the NFL.  "Linebacker U" loses the top three on the unit, but always seems to reload.  Jason Cabinda is a huge loss as the leading tackler from last season and a great team leader.  The team will also be missing Brandon Smith (#3 in tackles) and Manny Bowen (#5 in tackles).  The unit will undoubtedly be not as strong, but they have recruited extremely well.  Freshman Micah Parsons (#1 OLB) has been the rave of the Spring so far.  I actually think he won't start right away, but will get some major reps and eventually have a vice grip on the starting job.  Senior Koa Farmer will lead this inexperienced group as he started when Manny Bowen was suspended from the team last season.  Manny Bowen is actually still enrolled at Penn State, but there are no assurances that the team will welcome him back after dismissing him from the team last season.  The linebacking core will be a big question mark for this defense, but I believe with the coaching staff at "Linebacker U" the group will play over their head.

Weakside Linebacker

1. Koa Farmer (SR) 48 TKL, 1 SK, 4.5 TFL

2. Jarvis Miller (JR) 10 TKL, 1 SK, 1 TFL

3. Brailyn Franklin (rFR)

Middle Linebacker

1. Ellis Brooks (rFR)

2. Jan Johnson (JR) 12 TKL

3. Jake Cooper (SR) 11 TKL

4. Jesse Luketa (FR) - #43 ILB

Strongside Linebacker

1. Cam Brown (JR) 31 TKL, 0.5 SK, 1 TFL

2. Micah Parsons (FR) - #1 OLB

3. Brelin Faison-Walden (rFR)

Defensive Backs

CB John Reid

The defensive secondary for Penn State is very interesting.  Last season, the team's #1 Cornerback John Reid went down in April with an ACL injury and missed all of last season.  Marcus Allen led the secondary in tackles with 72, yet didn't even start a game.  The team loses Allen as well as Cornerbacks Christian Campbell and Grant Haley.  They also lose SS Troy Apke.  The team returns CB Amani Oruwariye who lead the team with 4 interceptions en route to a 2nd Team All-Big Ten selection.  With Reid and Oruwariye as the starting Cornerbacks, this pairing could provide the stability this secondary needs.  Safety is a glaring hole in the defense, but FS Nick Scott did provide 33 tackles last season and SS Lamont Wade provided 31 tackles.

Cornerback

1. John Reid (SR) - Medical Redshirt last season

2. Amani Oruwariye (SR) 28 TKL, 8 PBU, 4 INT

3. Tariq Castro-Fields (SO) 10 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 INT

4. Donovan Johnson (rFR)

5. DJ Brown (rFR)

6. Zech McPhearson (SO) 11 TKL

7. Jabari Butler (JR)

Strong Safety

1. Lamont Wade (SO) 31 TKL, 3 PBU

2. Garrett Taylor (JR) 12 TKL, 1 INT

3. Ayron Monroe (JR) 18 TKL, 1.5 TKL, 0.5 TFL, 1 PBU

4. Drew Hartlaub (rFR)

Free Safety

1. Nick Scott (SR) 33 TKL, 1.5 TFL

2. Jonathan Sutherland (rFR)

3. John Petrishen (JR) 3 TKL, 1 TFL

Special Teams

Place Kicker

1. Jake Pinegar (FR) - #21 K

2. Rafael Checa (FR) - #93 K

Punter

1. Blake Gillikin (JR) 52 Punts 43.2 Avg - 2nd Team All-Big Ten

2. Cade Pollard (FR) - Preferred Walk-on

Overall Outlook

Penn State has been a force in the Big Ten East over the last two seasons.  Two years ago they shocked everyone by winning the Big Ten and last season they were only 4 points away from an unbeaten season (losses to Ohio State by 1 and Michigan State by 3).  Penn State is 20-1 at home over the last three season.  Beaver Stadium as been a fortress for the Nittany Lions and if they take care of business at home this season, they will most likely have the inside route to another Big Ten East title.  The essential cake walk non-conference schedule gives the team at worst eight wins with a ceiling of 11 wins for the regular season.  The season will come down to the four big games on the schedule with three being at home.  Home games against Ohio State (Sep 29), Michigan State (Oct 13), and Wisconsin (Nov 10) will decide how the team fairs.  The lone tough road matchup is a trip to the Big House to face Michigan (Nov 3), where Michigan is coming into the game off a bye.  I have Penn State defeating Michigan State, but losing to Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin.  A 9-3 record would be a solid year, but I won't count Penn State out from pulling an upset or two at home.