It’s Valentine’s Day, and Penn State football fans are in search of a new love – under center.

The recent departures of Will Levis and Micah Bowens leave the Nittany Lions with three scholarship quarterbacks – senior Sean Clifford, redshirt sophomore Ta’Quan Roberson and freshman Christian Veilleux. However bullish you are on Clifford’s chances of returning to his 2019 form or surpassing it in Mike Yurcich’s system, there is room there for an experienced transfer to either back up Clifford as Roberson and Veilleux develop or to claim the starting job outright.

As the staff mulls its options in the portal, including Tyler Shough, who announced his decision to transfer from Oregon on Friday, they would be wise to value certain traits over others – both those any transfer already possesses and those the coaches think they can develop.

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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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So the final results are in for Penn State’s Class of 2021. And they’re … not great, at least not by recent standards. The Nittany Lions’ 16 signees gave them the 21st-best class in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings, representing the program’s lowest ranking since 2014, when James Franklin wrapped up the 24th-ranked class in just his fourth week on the job.

When you consider not so much the circumstances but just how many different people were involved in assembling that class, though, it becomes a little more impressive.

This past week, tight ends coach Tyler Bowen took a job with the Jacksonville Jaguars, becoming the 13th Penn State assistant to leave the program – willingly or otherwise – since the end of the 2015 season. His replacement, former Nittany Lion offensive lineman Ty Howle, became the program’s sixth new assistant coach since the end of the 2019 season. Of the eight assistant coaches who came with Franklin to State College from Vanderbilt in 2014, only Brent Pry remains (as does Terry Smith, who was not with them at Vanderbilt but joined the Penn State staff that year).

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Our Counter to the Ridiculous Hype and Conjecture of National Signing Day, We ‘Wished Upon a 3-Star’ and Assembled a Squad of Penn State Players That Outperformed Their Modest Recruiting Profile.  

Note: For those who missed our All-3-Star and Under Offense unveiling, click HERE. 

Concept: Fair warning to all you ‘Star Chasers’ who spend mid-December and early-February decoding emoji-laced social media messages from blue-chip prep prospects…this article isn’t for you. No, this two-part series — Penn State’s All-3 Star and Under Team – is sweet nectar for the Eye Rollers and Cloud Yellers out there who scoff at Carrot Top-inspired, prop-filled televised announcement ceremonies and the exalted status bestowed upon kids who won’t step on a college football field for seven months AT THE EARLIEST. Yes, the players on this team are the exception not the rule, but their careers do remind us that none of us truly know what the heck’s in store for signees once they hit Happy Valley.

Criteria: Candidates had to be rated a 3-Star prospect or less by ONE – not all – of the major recruiting services (Scout, Rivals, 247). Because these databases only go back to 2001 this is a 21st Century Team by default, so don’t blow us up wondering why we left 1950s unheralded Ampipe High linebacker Sergei “Soot Lung” Mesarzos off the list. Your whining is just gonna get lost among the sea of boner-pill-slinging bots encamped in our comments section, anyway. So give us and your angry fingers a break.

Special consideration was given to 2-Star, 1-Star and Walk-on prospects whose Penn State football resumes compared similarly to that of a 3-Star prospect. No consideration was given to what these guys did/are doing in the NFL. Like most All-American/All-Conference teams, we went 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 5 OL (no specific position) on offense and 2 DE, 2 DT, 3 LB, 2 CB, 2 S on defense.  

The Starting Defense:

Click to Enlarge

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Our Counter to the Ridiculous Hype and Conjecture of National Signing Day, We ‘Wished Upon a 3-Star’ and Assembled a Squad of Penn State Players That Outperformed Their Modest Recruiting Profile  

Concept: Fair warning to all you ‘Star Chasers’ who spend mid-December and early-February decoding emoji-laced social media messages from blue-chip prep prospects…this article isn’t for you. No, this two-part series — Penn State’s All-3 Star and Under Team – is sweet nectar for the Eye Rollers and Cloud Yellers out there who scoff at Carrot Top-inspired, prop-filled televised announcement ceremonies and the exalted status bestowed upon kids who won’t step on a college football field for seven months AT THE EARLIEST. Yes, the players on this team are the exception not the rule, but their careers do remind us that none of us truly know what the heck’s in store for signees once they hit Happy Valley.

Criteria: Candidates had to be rated a 3-Star prospect or less by ONE – not all – of the major recruiting services (Scout, Rivals, 247). Because these databases only go back to 2001 this is a 21st Century Team by default, so don’t blow us up wondering why we left 1950s unheralded Ampipe High linebacker Sergei “Soot Lung” Mesarzos off the list. Your whining is just gonna get lost among the sea of boner-pill-slinging bots encamped in our comments section, anyway. So give us and your angry fingers a break.

Special consideration was given to 2-Star, 1-Star and Walk-on prospects whose Penn State football resumes compared similarly to that of a 3-Star prospect. No consideration was given to what these guys did/are doing in the NFL. Like most All-American/All-Conference teams, we went 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 5 OL (no specific position) on offense and 2 DE, 2 DT, 3 LB, 2 CB, 2 S on defense.  

The Starting Offense:

Click to Enlarge

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Penn State hosted No. 14 Wisconsin on Saturday and did what it has done for much of its basketball season – gave as good as it got against a quality Big Ten opponent. 

Then the Nittany Lions did what they haven’t often done – finished the job. And they did so mostly on the defensive end, which should be their emphasis going forward if they are going to have any shot at the NCAA Tournament.

Yes, the offense should be commended for this one, Myreon Jones (20 points), Izaiah Brockington (18) and John Harrar (17) in particular. The Nittany Lions put up 81 points on a good Badger defense, four more points than any Big Ten team had scored against that bunch previously this season.

But it was relentless, aggressive, smothering team defense, led by Harrar and tenacious point guard Jamari Wheeler, that allowed the Lions to take control of the game in the second half and hold on when the offense, as it has often done late in games this season, lost some rhythm.

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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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