Penn State mailbag: Should Nittany Lions be ranked? Most important positions? (2024)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — This might’ve been my favorite round of Penn State football questions in my four-plus years at The Athletic. We’re all clearly fired up and have lots of football on our minds as the Nittany Lions’ Sept. 1 opener at Purdue nears.

If I didn’t get to your question here, I answered a bunch more in the discussion post calling for questions. Let’s get to it

If you had to assign Penn State a ranking based upon what you’ve seen so far and what you know about this team, what would it be, what are the biggest factors that go into your ranking and why? — Scott S.

We will have our own staff Top 25 coming out at The Athletic later this preseason. Spoiler alert: I put Penn State at No. 25.

The Nittany Lions are unranked in the preseason coaches poll, and the AP Top 25 will be released Monday. Once we get past the first 15 teams or so, it’s a crapshoot. Penn State’s start to last season and then everything after the Sean Clifford injury made it feel like two completely different seasons. This defense should again be very good, and I, like the rest of you, have no idea what to expect from the offense. I think the offensive line will be better, but will it be drastically improved? Maybe not, as they could be relying on three first-time full-time starters (Landon Tengwall at left guard, Sal Wormley or Cornel transfer Hunter Nourzad at right guard and Olu Fashanu at left tackle).

Running back Nick Singleton physically looks every bit the part of a big-time running back in the making, but can he handle everything else that’ll be asked of him? I don’t know. That’s the fun in all of this. Preseason rankings are messy and full of so much projecting, but what I kept coming back to is this: Penn State still has a lot of talent on this roster. Will that talent translate into results?

It seems as though we’re seeing an abundance of decommits from this ’23 recruiting class with the recent loss of TJ Parker. Where do you see this class going from here? — Sean K.

It’s been a roller coaster of a month on the recruiting trail. Anytime a class loses a top-100 player like Parker, it has to sting. Of course, I was surprised when Parker, from Phenix City, Ala., committed in the first place. A visit in the summer left a strong impression, and with hindsight, it seems he was wrapped up in the moment and jumped too quickly into the commitment. This is why James Franklin wants recruits to be certain before they commit, but we all know they’re teenagers and recruitments, coaching staffs and various factors are frequently changing.

But since this question was submitted on Tuesday, Penn State has bounced back with a pair of key commitments, including three-star quarterback JaxonSmolik on Friday — a nice recovery after losing Marcus Stokes to Florida, as the Nittany Lions go from one Elite 11 participant to another. I wrote about Smolik’s Cinderella story recruitment before he decommitted from Tulane and announced Penn State as his new destination.

Four-star wide receiver Carmelo Taylor is now committed too, giving the Nittany Lions a fast deep threat in the making. They need to add a defensive lineman or two now, and they never can have enough offensive linemen, right? This still likely ends up as a top-15 class, headlined by a pair of touted and needed offensive lineman in five-star Alex Birchmeier and four-star J’ven Williams. As for 2024, they need to keep going with offensive linemen. It has to remain a priority.

Is Manny Diaz a one-year DC or do you see him staying a while? — Brian R.

Since Diaz arrived in the winter, there have been nothing but rave reviews about him from the players. At practice, his intensity is noticeable. He wears cleats and sprints from drill to drill. He’s giving non-stop feedback and commentary and players really seem to have bought into what he’s doing.

One thing he said that’s nice about not being a head coach is that he gets to spend so much time actually coaching the linebackers. Now, if the desire to become a head coach is still there (seemingly it is) and if the defense plays how it’s capable of this year, then, yes, he very well could be gone in a season or two if the right head coaching gig opens. Still, he looks like a perfect fit for this defense at this point in time as the Nittany Lions transition away from Brent Pry.

What are realistic expectations for Drew Allar this season? — Joe T.

The development of the freshman quarterback will be one of the most important storylines this season. But in all likelihood, most of that will happen behind closed doors on the practice field. Baring unforeseen circ*mstances, this will be a redshirt year for Allar. As soon as Sean Clifford returned, it became clear Penn State would head in this direction. Clifford is the starter, no questions asked.

Whether or not Allar or Beau Pribula can supplant Christian Veilleux for the No. 2 spot is interesting. Veilleux appears to have a good grip on it and ran the second-team offense during a two-point try during the media viewing window this week. The expectation is that Allar can quickly develop this season in progressing with his reads and his understanding of the offense, and then we’ll see where things stand in the spring when the race to replace Clifford really gets going.

I’ll certainly be watching warmups closely this year to see if there are any changes in the No. 2 job. I asked offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich at media day for his early impressions of Allar, and he praised the quarterback’s ability to see the field and quickly get through his progressions. Maybe we’ll see Allar in mop-up time at some point this year, but for the time being, Veilleux is still the first option behind Clifford.

We all hear about the QBs all the time, let’s forget them for a minute. What other position group will have the biggest impact on PSU reaching a goal of double-digit wins this year? — Sam A.

If Penn State reaches double-digit wins this year, it means the offensive line is greatly improved and the linebacking corps isn’t a liability. Those are the two most concerning positions.

The O-line is likely going to feature three new starters, and the camp competition at middle linebacker continues unfolding between Tyler Elsdon and Kobe King. Elsdon worked with the first-team defense for one two-point during the media’s viewing window this week, but that was merely one rep and there’s still plenty of preseason to unfold. Regardless of who wins the starting spot, they’ll need both to play and to play well.

And I’ll throw this out there too because typically we never discuss this until things go wrong: Penn State will be relying on a new punter this year after losing fourth-round pick Jordan Stout, and kickers Jake Pinegar and Sander Sahaydak are in a preseason competition too.

On Jan. 2, 2023, what will the story be about Penn State’s 2022 season? — Jordan S.

We always like to look ahead as sports fans, right? I think in January we’ll be looking ahead to a quarterback competition, and based how that goes at the end of spring ball, we’ll see who is still around.

As for the season itself, I think we’ll be talking and writing about some of the promising young players who have a chance to make an impact this season. Singleton figures to be one of those players, and so is his classmate Kaytron Allen. Fashanu and Tengwall have a chance to start showing everyone else they can be the kinds of players they were recruited here to be. Chop Robinson could become a huge part of the pass rush, and others like Kalen King, Zakee Wheatley and Jaylen Reed are emerging. I think by January we’ll be talking about a team that wins eight or so games but laid the foundation with these young players for the 2023 season.

This storyline has been played out a bit, but at this point, what would be your statistical predictions for the year for the three prospective starting running backs: Keyvone Lee, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen? — Sean M.

Singleton and Allen are very much in the mix and pushing for the job. If Lee holds on to his starting job, it’ll be a testament to his development because it will not be easy with what’s behind him. At some point this season, I predict Singleton will become the lead back. His breakaway speed was something Ja’Juan Seider salivated over during Singleton’s recruitment, and it’s something the backfield lacked last season. The Nittany Lions had only eight runs of 20-plus yards in 2021 — only four FBS teams had fewer.

You put me on the spot, so here it is: I’ll say Singleton ends up with 130 carries for roughly 850 yards. Lee, who will break the slump and be the first back to get over 100 yards rushing in a game since he last did so in 2020 vs. Michigan, checks in around 110 carries for 650 yards, Allen registers 60 carries for 275 yards (with some valuable touchdowns around the goal line), and Devyn Ford adds 20 for 130 yards (also being the kick returner). They’ll need Clifford to be effective with his legs too. So, that’s 320 carries for 1,905 yards from the running backs. For comparison, last year the top four backs had 280 carries for 1,118 yards.

Do you think we will see a change in getting underclassmen in games earlier in the year due to pressures of losing players to the transfer portal? — Kurt S.

Yes, I do think we’ll see a change. One of the more interesting comments Franklin said this preseason was that at the staff retreat in Harrisburg, they emphasized what he phrased as not being led by ego. By this he meant keeping the team’s strengths and best interest at the forefront, regardless of what he, a coordinator or an assistant wants to do. They lost their way last season, notably at Michigan State, where they were hell-bent on running the ball when the pass game was working against one of the worst pass defenses in the country. That would violate this mantra. So too would Penn State sticking with starters late into games that were already in hand — a theme during Franklin’s tenure — when the best interest of the team is to not worry about preserving a shutout or an ego stroke, but rather getting younger players valuable game reps.

To me, this means getting the backup quarterback valuable minutes so when he’s thrown on the field a situation like 2021 Iowa doesn’t resurface. Ultimately, it’s on the head coach to decide when these changes occur. There’s a delicate balance between being sure of winning a game and gaining valuable experience when possible. Penn State has to do better in this area. The transfer portal only magnifies this, as players want to see the field early and can do so in up to four games and preserve a redshirt.

I asked Yurcich if the portal impacts the pressure of getting, say, a backup quarterback into a game.

“You have to constantly remind yourself just what is in the best interest of the team,” Yurcich said. “I think that’s an easy way to cut through a lot of the complications that exist in college football right now. If you just do what’s best for the team, I think you’re going to be in good shape with your decision-making personnel.”

(Top photo: Matthew O’Haren / 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