Frankly, Your Guess is as Good as Ours…

Are We Sure Noah Cain Will Be ‘Good To Go’ Sept. 4?

Fingers crossed it’s just a coincidence and we’re proven to be idiots (first time for everything, right?), but we’re 94.7 percent sure Noah Cain didn’t participate in winter workouts, meaning he’ll be sidelined for the entirety of spring practice. How did we arrive at such a precise number? Well, we just made it up…but there’s valid reason for concern about Cain’s status. 

Stealing a page from my kindergarten teacher Mrs. Collier’s playbook, Penn State position coaches doled out ‘Special Student of the Day’ Gold Stars on social media throughout winter workouts. Here’s one posted from PSU RB Coach Ja’Juan Seider’s Twitter account praising Devyn Ford’s effort while reminding us the federal eviction moratorium ends March 31:

Winter workout #4 #LawnBoyz of the day went @TsunamiFord. He brought that 🔥🔥🔥🔥today. #RentIsDue pic.twitter.com/HfB1Mpu7vf

— JaJuan Seider (@coachseider) February 25, 2021

Gold Star for Ford.

Gold Star for Keyvone Lee.

Three Gold Stars for Grad Transfer John Lovett.

But no Gold Star for Cain : ( 

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Winter Workouts are in Full Swing and Official Spring Practice Starts Two Weeks From Today. Assuming Plans Proceed Without Any Hiccups (No Jinx) Here’s a Handful of Nittany Lions Who Might Make the Most of This Return to Routine

While news of failed NFL coordinators turned toothless offensive analysts (seriously, who cares?) made headlines last week, a pretty darn important nugget somehow slipped through the cracks:

SPRING FOOTBALL IS BACK!

On Feb. 23, Sean Fitz of 247 Sports/Fight On State and Ryan Snyder of Rivals/BWI both reported that Penn State’s 2021 spring practice schedule is set to commence on March 15 and (knock on wood) will consist of the usual 15 organized sessions. As of this time, it’s uncertain whether the traditional Blue-White game will be one of those 15 practices, but considering BTN is starved for content I’d bravely wager this site’s entire revenue since inception – yep, all $24 of it – that Penn State has some sort of formal offense vs. defense scrimmage. 

Any takers?

As you ponder whether to nibble at that high-stakes cheese, we stepped back and took a big picture view of the Penn State roster to see which players might benefit MOST from a somewhat normal spring football calendar.

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Following a Breakout 2020, Penn State’s Top Pass Catcher Can’t Hide Under The Radar Now That He’s the Focal Point of an Offense Known for Piling Up Points and Video-Game Statistics

Love to say ‘We Told You So’…so WE TOLD YOU SO!

As the last drops of Penn State’s 2020 season circled the drain vs. Illinois, a swarm of Keyboard Kiper’s – many of them Friends of the Blog — stormed Twitter to say goodbye to Nittany Lions WR Jahan Dotson following his 6-reception, 189-yard, 2-touchdown cap to a 52-reception, 884-yard, 8-touchdown campaign. To them, Dotson was as good as gone. So long Penn State. Hello, paycheck football. 

Because we’re not popular enough to make enemies (God, it’s gonna be SWEET once we are, though. Sitting there in a big, oversized chair petting an evil cat like the faceless bad guy from Inspector Gadget), we won’t screenshot those Tweets.

Instead, we’ll have our DD take the high road and repost our rum-fueled response to those Tweets from DISPENSING THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS: ILLINOIS POSTGAME

I’ll gladly die alone on my ‘Jahan Dotson needs to stay’ hill if necessary, dang it. What’s the rush? Why leave an advantageous situation (returning QB, returning OC) to become a 3rd or 4th Round NFL Draft pick and find yourself locked in a terrible (comparatively) less-than-a-million-dollars-a-year contract for 4 seasons? …If Dotson builds off what he did in 2020, I don’t think it’s inconceivable No. 5 sneaks in the end of the 1st Round.

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Word of Advice for the Harvard Newbie: Don’t Tell Us How Wood Drastically Underestimates the Impact of Social Distinctions Predicated Upon Wealth, Especially Inherited Wealth. We Know You Got it From Vickers, ‘Work in Essex County,’ Page 98. Yeah, We Read That, Too. 

When assessing new Penn State offensive guard Eric Wilson – the latest (last?) of James Franklin’s Transfer Portal pickups – we got some good news and we got some bad news for you. 

Which do you want first?

The good news? OK, that’s an unorthodox choice, but whatever.

Good News: After spending the weekend scouting two Harvard games from 2019, we feel confident proclaiming Wilson (the Crimson’s starting left guard) is a better run/pass blocker than he is a PSA spokesperson. 

Sigh…where do we even begin? 

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The Photo in the Dictionary Next to the Definition of ‘Game-Time Decision’ For Most of 2020, the Veteran Penn State Cornerback Surprisingly Put the NFL on Hold For One More Season of Saturdays Instead of Sundays 

So what can Tariq Castro-Fields do next season to boost his NFL Draft stock?

Well, I’m going to write approximately 1,000 words and kill a bunch of digital trees, but to answer that question just as well, really, two words would suffice: STAY HEALTHY.

In a season that COVID already abbreviated, TCF’s 2020 campaign shrunk further to more of a cameo. After flashing in man coverage vs. Indiana, and then being largely avoided vs. Ohio State, Castro-Fields suffered some sort of upper body injury (I think) midway through the 3rd Quarter of the Maryland debacle when assisting on a tackle. It’s tough to map out what exactly occurred during the play because TCF (top of the screen) gets obstructed from view and the BTN AV Club Intern working the camera doesn’t follow the ball.

After resting on the ground long enough for the director to run a graphics package showcasing Maryland’s offensive accolades, TCF got up and walked off the field without assistance. 

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Despite Earning High Honors From Several Reputable Sources, Penn State’s Returning Safety Must Find More Ways to Change Games and Make Plays in 2021

Close your eyes. 

No, seriously close them. Promise we’re not going to do any weird stuff. Trust us, we outgrew the Sharpie-on-the-face/fingers-in-warm-water sophomoric prank phase months ago…alright, fine, weeks ago. Point is we outgrew it.  

Just close your eyes. OK, are they closed? You sure? Liar. You can’t read with closed eyes. Our bad, though. Hmmm, guess we didn’t really think this exercise through.

Anyway, what we tried (and failed) to get you to do was envision certain Penn State players’ signature moments from 2020. Like, if we said Jahan Dotson, many would probably replay his sweet one-handed grab/stab over Ohio State’s Shaun Wade…or perhaps you’d pick his punt return TD vs. Sparty…or maybe the two short tosses Dotson turned into 6 points in the season finale.  

Penn State defensive end Shaka Toney had his man-possessed two-sack flurry on what SHOULD have been Indiana’s final drive. That’s his moment. Redshirt freshman tight end Brenton Strange pulled off that cool Superman/grass in the facemask TD. Sean Clifford has a healthy mix of moments – good and bad.  

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Probably the Most ‘NFL Ready’ Among Those Who Pushed Going Pro Back a Year, the Penn State Junior OT Could Have the Chance to Shake the Commissioner’s Hand in April 2022 

For Rasheed Walker, it’s 1st Round or Bust.

Not “Bust” in the sense that if he doesn’t hear Roger Goodell call his name on Day 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft he’s a bum or something, but rather “Bust” in the context that of the 4 Penn State returnees, Walker is the player with a clearly-defined financial objective this fall. So anything less than coming off the board in the first 32 picks would be a disappointment. 

Because, really, Walker was the ONLY Penn State draft-eligible player posed with a truly difficult stay-or-go decision – bail early and likely get selected in the 3rd Round (maaaaybe late 2nd), or press pause on the pros and chase the very REAL possibility of being the first Nittany Lions O-lineman to go in the 1st Round since 2007?

Not an easy choice…which explains why Walker waited so long to announce his intentions. 

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Oh look! It’s a Duke Defender Capable of Shutting Down Offenses Without Slapping The Floor First. How Refreshing.

As your phonetics/pronunciation Blog of Record, let’s clear up any confusion: it’s Tangelo like Michelangelo – say it fast, don’t pause –not Tangelo as in Pauly D’s favorite pastime/goopy dessert.

For those of you who are better auditory learners vs. visual learners, go to Duke’s official 2020 roster, scroll down, and click the little ear icon. Got it? Cool.

So now that we’ve moved beyond how to properly say his name, why don’t we figure out what to make of this under-the-radar high school recruit turned productive Power 5 starting defensive tackle. To do that, we scouted the 2020 Duke-Syracuse game (Tangelo’s best game according to PFF) and the 2020 Duke-Notre Dame opener (Tangelo’s lowest-graded game according to PFF).

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With TCF Sticking Around, Cornerback Isn’t a Position of Need for the Nittany Lions, but the South Carolina Transfer Possesses Traits That Can’t Be Ignored

John(ny) Dixon – I’ve seen fluctuating accounts of what he likes to be called, John or Johnny, so he’ll forever be John(ny) on this blog – is the answer to a question we no longer have to ask.

Who’s going to take over/provide depth when Tariq Castro-Fields leaves for the NFL?

Dixon, the sophomore corner from Tampa, entered the Transfer Portal two days before Christmas – part of the mass exodus of Gamecocks after the 2020 season mercifully ended – and picked Penn State (a program that recruited him out of high school) presumably expecting TCF’s departure would free up an opportunity for immediate playing time. 

But that didn’t happen.

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