The Blue-White Game is easy to take for granted. It has some of the perks of a game that counts – tailgating, a chance to yell at players (or coaches … or officials), a look at incredible athletes making plays mortals could only dream about, and uh, tailgating – without the possibility of a crushing defeat. Everybody plays, no one gets (actually) sacked, LaVar stops by to chat. It’s a great time for all ages.

At the same time, Penn State’s annual spring game, back in Beaver Stadium for the first time in three years on Saturday, is also the very definition of empty calories. That’s partially because no coach in his right mind wants to give any future opponent any hint of a playbook wrinkle, or risk anyone on his two-deep to injury, and partially because there are no bowl ramifications (at least not any that I’m aware of).

And yet, there are some things to watch for that can provide clues about the type of team the Nittany Lions have in any given year. You want to see proficiency. Guys don’t need to pancake a linebacker or making a diving interception, but you want to see them in the right spots and playing sound, fundamental football. You want to see the returning starters be a little bigger, stronger and more decisive than they were the previous November, sure, but you also want the likely backups to show that they’re capable of handling shotgun snaps filling in for an injured starter and not have the air go out of the entire unit.

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Any quarterback worth his salt knows how to see the whole field. So it should not have been much of a surprise that Penn State’s Sean Clifford – who has been reading defenses for nearly 40 games over the past four years – has been keeping his eye on perhaps the most significant development in collegiate athletics. Clifford recently announced a company he formed, Limitless NIL, that will help his fellow student athletes navigate the still-being-charted waters of name, image, and likeness.

In addition to providing each of its clients with sound financial advice from partner agency Beacon Pointe, the Limitless team also says on its website that it will work with athletes to pair them “with companies that align with (their) brand.” One such example is that of Penn State safety Ji’Ayir “Tig” Brown, who will have his own “Tig Pie” at State College’s Snap Custom Pizza.

That got us thinking about a few hypothetical (but not entirely unrealistic) athlete-sponsor fits that would simply be too good to pass up. You’re welcome, Nittany Lions.

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There will be a lot of Penn State players on the field and coaches on the sideline with a lot to prove this fall.

Perhaps none more than Mike Yurcich.

A year ago, just as many Penn State fans (if not several more) worried that State College would be a mere pit stop for Yurcich en route to a major head coaching job as those who worried that he might not be able to tighten up what had been a talented but inconsistent Nittany Lion offense in 2020. After an encouraging start to the season during which Penn State was carried most often by its defense, the wheels wobbled and spun off, the team dropping six of its final eight contests. Coaches and players from offense, defense and special teams shared responsibility for that, but the offense was undoubtedly the biggest disappointment, with some ugly stats that matched the failed eye test.

Penn State finished 80th or worse in the nation in rushing offense (118th), total offense (82nd), red-zone offense (97th) and scoring offense (90th) last season, stats that harkened back to the early sanction days.

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In the Span of 12 Months, the Penn State Pass Rusher Went From Surefire Starter/Budding Star on the Edge to Almost an Afterthought Coming Back From Injury This Spring. It’s About Time We Get Reacquainted, Don’tcha Think?

Sponsor: For The Blogy’s Spring Practice coverage is sponsored by FANATICS. Need new Nittany Lions gear for the Blue-White Game in three weeks? Look no further than our collection of Penn State jerseys, T-shirts, and more right HERE.

Background

At 6-foot-4 and 244 pounds, returning Penn State pass rusher Adisa Isaac is a classic “tweener” — tall but short-armed, lean even for a 4-3 DE. Probably projects in the NFL as a 3-4 OLB (I happen to know the Steelers’ Alex Highsmith is 6’4/242) so Isaac may eventually need to get comfortable playing backwards (in coverage) on roughly 10-20% of his snaps at the next level. Assuming Manny Diaz’s defensive system doesn’t deviate too far from what we saw from Brent Pry the past 6 seasons, Isaac won’t have many opportunities to show that facet of his game this season or next.

As a senior in high school, Isaac was the consensus No. 1 recruit out of the state of New York in 2018. He recorded 25 sacks (that’s twenty, and then five more) during his final season at the prep level, shattering both school and league records.

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Wherever his long and eventful coaching career may take him, James Franklin owes Bill O’Brien a debt of gratitude.

Not for deciding on New Year’s Eve 2013 to leave Penn State for the Houston Texans. Not for leaving the program in pretty damn good stead, all things considered, after the punitive measures the NCAA had laid on it 17 months before that.

No, Franklin should thank O’Brien for the simple fact that no one wants to be the guy AFTER The Guy, and that O’Brien’s brief but memorable tenure allowed Franklin to avoid having to directly follow the winningest Division I-A coach of all time.

Even if O’Brien couldn’t quite help him escape the inevitable comparisons to Joe Paterno altogether.

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Editor’s Note: Every Monday Evening From Now Until the End of Spring Ball, FTB Unpacks All the Interesting/Unique/Quirky Play Calls We Saw During Mike Yurcich’s 1^st Season as the Nittany Lions’ OC

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Shoehorned in the southwest corner of Beaver Stadium – a space that prior to 2000-2001 renovations was nothing more than a poorly-guarded corral of riding lawn mowers — the Penn State All-Sports Museum is a must-stop for any Nittany Lions fan looking to kill a few hours on a Football Weekend Friday.

This place has got everything: large pictures of James Franklin, small pictures of Bill O’Brien, a weighted dummy for lifting in the wrestling section to remind you how weak you are next to a scale (for some reason) to remind you how fat you are, a bench chair from Rene Portland’s embarrassing blowout loss in the 2000 Women’s Final Four, bowl trophies, useless trivia, John Cappelletti’s Heisman, and enough interactive touchscreens to keep Clorox stock (NYSE: CLX) viable in a volatile market.

Oh, almost forgot…the All-Sports Museum also contains former Penn State coach Rip Engle’s offensive playbook from the 1950s, a cool nugget current OC Mike Yurcich shared with beat reporters on a Zoom press conference last October. The way Yurcich spun the anecdote made it sound like museum curators let him thumb through Engle’s playbook, because inside of it he was shocked to find a shovel pass concept from 70 years ago that 100 percent mirrored his own.

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It’s March 27 and Penn State is just about a full week into spring practice.

Too early to write about the quarterbacks?

Naaaaahhhhh.

We’ll start this piece with a caveat: It is very likely, given how tough it is for a true freshman quarterback to get up to Division I speed, James Franklin’s lengthy history of favoring the incumbent, and Sean Clifford’s enormity of experience as the incumbent, that Clifford will start every game and play the vast majority of the reps this season should he, the good Lord willing and Spring Creek don’t rise, stay healthy.

That said, let’s talk through a few scenarios that are less likely but – as are most things in college football – quite possible, and explore the pros and cons of Penn State rolling with a known or an unknown at the game’s most important position this fall.

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