There are three ways for freshman college football players to see the field:
- They replace an injured player
- They get into a game that is well in-hand (or well out-of-hand)
- They prove that they deserve to be there instead of an upperclassman
Penn State’s Class of 2022 continued to use those various entry points to Saturday’s 45-14 romp over a mostly hapless Indiana team, which illustrated both the hope for the Nittany Lions’ future and what makes their present a bit vexing.
The Nittany Lions’ offensive line was beaten up entering the game, with Olu Fashanu and Landon Tengwall left behind in State College with injuries. True freshman Drew Shelton started in place of Fashanu — a role he could find himself in on a more-permanent basis if Olu leaves for the NFL Draft — and accorded himself nicely, as did not-freshman-but-first-year-Nittany Lion JB Nelson, who replaced an injured Hunter Nourzad at guard on the first possession.