Ranking Penn State’s Position Units

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Don’t call last year a disappointment. The Nittany Lions didn’t lose a game by more than four points – if you overlook the scoop-and-score from the OSU game and consider the Opt-out Bowl an outlier. Twelve student-athletes graduated to NFL rosters, eight by way of the draft. Most importantly: 15 current and former Penn State players received diplomas this past May.

Is it possible to lose half your defense to the NFL one year and have a better team the season after? Ok, that’s a loaded question; I’ll scrape off some of the sour cream and bacon bits. I’ve graded and ranked each position group of Penn State’s 2022 roster. After doing so, one thing is clear: James Franklin’s team will have a very different identity come the first of September.

Scale: F – Unacceptable, D – Below-the-line, C – Average, B – Good, A – Great

Linebackers

Returning: Jonathan Sutherland (r-Sr+), Curtis Jacobs (So), Charlie Katshir (r-Sr), Cody Romano (r-Sr), Robbie Dwyer (r-Jr), Tyler Elsdon (So)

Debuting: Kobe King (r-Fr), Abdul Carter (Fr), Jamari Buddin (r-Fr)

King was manning the first-team MIKE in spring practices but he gets “debuting” status because he logged less than 100 snaps in 2021. Carter is a top-30 LB recruit with blazing track-down speed and a textbook wrap-up finish; Penn State doesn’t give out that 11 jersey to just anyone.

Jacobs flipped from the SAM to the WILL for the Outback Bowl and liked the fit, while Sutherland rolled down from safety to fill Jacobs’ hole on the strongside. If depth becomes an issue, don’t be surprised if Manny Diaz borrows from Penn State’s DE pool; most of those guys have shown they don’t need to put a hand on the ground to get after it.

GRADE: C-

Offensive Line

Returning: Landon Tengwall (r-Fr), Juice Scruggs (r-Sr), Sal Wormley (r-Jr), Caedan Wallace (r-Jr), Bryce Effner (r-Sr), Nick Dawkins (So)

Entering The Chat: Olu Fashanu (So), Hunter Nourzad (transfer-Cornell, r-Sr), JB Nelson (transfer-Lackawanna, r-So), Drew Shelton (Fr)

Fashanu earned an 87.5 pass blocking grade from PFF for the bowl game in which he got the start at LT; pencil him in at Rasheed Walker’s vacated spot. Nelson – another Lackawanna transfer – is a long, athletic tackle who could be an option at RT if Wallace continues to flounder. Shelton is a consensus four-star player, top-15 OT and top-3 recruit from Pennsylvania, but at 6-5/275 he’ll need to tack on some mass before he can stand up to B1G competition.

Tengwall-Scruggs-Wormley were the interior starters in spring practices. Nourzad was a RT at Cornell but his length (or lack thereof) suggests a kick inside is in his future; he’ll push for a starting OG spot. Tengwall logged snaps at three different positions last year and Effner at four. The unit was obviously assembled with versatility in mind but a jack-of-all-trades is a master of none.

GRADE: C

 Specialists

Returning: Jake Pinegar (r-Sr), Barney Amor (r-Sr)

Kicking Off Their Careers (get it?): Gabriel Nwosu (r-Fr), Alex Bacchetta (Fr), Sander Sahaydak (r-Fr)

Jordan Stout – a punter by trade – became the distance leg in 2020 and evolved into a complete one-man-band last season when he loaded full-time placekicker on his already crowded plate. And while it’s a little cloudy who will take his place at all three spots, it’s certain it won’t be one guy.

Jake Pinegar (37/51 career FGs, 28/33 inside 40) should have every opportunity to reclaim placekicking duties, even though Sander Sahaydak might have a stronger leg.

The punter spot figures to be more of a battle. Amore redshirted last year after transferring from Colgate. Look out for true freshman Bacchetta, though. One of the top high school punters in the nation last year, this might be his job to lose. Remember, Blake Gillikin punted from Day 1 as a true freshman. Nwosu is perhaps the most intriguing player on this entire roster; 6-6/278 is a lot of man for a punter or kickoff specialist.

GRADE: C+

Secondary

 Returning: Ji’Ayir Brown (Sr+), Joey Porter Jr (r-Jr), Daequan Hardy (r-Jr), Kalen King (So), Keaton Ellis (Jr), Jaden Seider (r-Jr), Jaylen Reed (So), Johnny Dixon (Jr)

Initiating: Jeffrey Davis Jr (r-Fr), Zakee Wheatley (r-Fr)

JPJ is a wonderful tackling corner, which should surprise nobody who watched his father play the game. Kalen – twin brother of Kobe King – had a strong freshman campaign despite giving up the game-winning TD in that Michigan contest. Hardy lacks the size to match up with top receivers on the outside but he’s got the shiftiness and quick feet to excel in the slot.

Brown is a fantastic center fielder; we’re all excited to see Tig back. Ellis and Reed are the presumed favorites for the other safety spot. Wheatley has “elite ball skills” according to CB coach Terry Smith. Jaden is the son of [running backs coach] Ja’Juan Seider; there are a lot of bloodlines on this team.

GRADE: B-

 Tight Ends

Returning: Brenton Strange (r-Jr), Theo Johnson (So), Tyler Warren (So)

Teeing off: Evan Clark (r-Fr), Khalil Dinkins (r-Fr), Jerry Cross (Fr)

Penn State seems to consistently churn out NFL TE talent: Jesse James (6’7, 251), Mike Gesicki (6’6, 249), Pat Freiermuth (6’5, 258)… Theo Johnson (6’6, 256) is cut from that same cloth, although he may not (yet) have the clamps those guys had.

Brenton Strange, on the other hand, does. Tyler Warren is a legit third option but I think I speak for all of us when I say we’ve seen enough of that wildcat keeper at the goalline. This is a solid, well-rounded group.

GRADE: B

Running Backs

Returning: Keyvone Lee (So), Devyn Ford (Jr), Caziah Holmes (r-So)

Premiering: Nick Singleton (Fr), Kaytron Allen (Fr)

Singleton is a five-star recruit, the top high school RB in the nation, and the best player from Pennsylvania last year (per On3). The high school track-star racked up 44 TDs as a senior and 22 as a junior — if nothing else you have to respect the symmetry. He reportedly already squats 500 pounds; he’ll bring an exciting dimension to Penn State’s ground game that’s been missing since a certain someone (and his quads) was drafted by the Giants 4.5 years ago.

Singleton’s signing is worth a full letter in and of itself, but Allen — a four-star IMG Academy alum, to his own credit — shouldn’t be overlooked. Keyvone Lee is poised for a huge bounce-back year (I have another blog post coming on him later this moth) and Ford is always looking for a fan to stick his face into. My biggest concern with this unit is getting all those guys touches.

GRADE: B+

 Defensive Line

Returning: Dvon Ellies (r-Jr), PJ Mustipher (Sr+), Coziah Izzard (r-So), Adisa Isaac (r-Jr), Nick Tarburton (r-Sr), Smith Vilbert (r-Jr)

Incoming: Demeioun Robinson (transfer-Maryland, So), Dani Dennis-Sutton (Fr), Zane Durant (Fr), Jordan van den Berg (r-Fr)

I know I said we were treating the Outback Bowl as the Out-Lier Bowl, but Penn State gave up over 350 rushing yards to Arkansas that sunny afternoon in Tampa. PJ’s return will be a tent-pole in the middle. Durant is trending toward significant contributions as a freshman.

As for the outside guys, Tarburton and Vilbert combined for 4 sacks in the bowl game. Isaac was getting first-round hype as a sophomore before missing all of last year with a torn Achilles. Robinson is a highly-touted transfer. Those are four DOGS with only two bones to go around.

GRADE: A-

 Quarterbacks

Returning: Sean Clifford (r-Sr+), Christian Veilleux (r-Fr)

New to the Huddle: Drew Allar (Fr), Beau Pribula (Fr)

Clifford is in his mid-30’s (I’m pretty sure) playing against mostly 19- and 20-year-olds; I beg of you not to sleep on that experience mismatch. We still don’t know exactly what happened to him in that Iowa game, which suggests it was something he continued to deal with as the season started to slip away. If that injury didn’t happen the Nittany Lions would have been (at worst) a one-loss team, almost certainly playoff-bound.

CV has a heck of an arm and he’s out to prove he’s an equal threat with his legs. When the best recruit in the nation is sitting at third on your depth chart, these are good problems to have. I only dock a half-grade on the off chance I’m wrong about Clifford.

GRADE: A

Wide Receivers

Returning: Parker Washington (So), KeAndre Lambert Smith (So), Malick Meiga (So), Mason Stahl (r-So)

Introducing: Mitchell Tinsley (transfer-W. Kentucky, Sr+), Jake Spencer (Colgate, So), Liam Clifford (r-Fr), Kaden Saunders (Fr)

Tinsley’s roommate [Sean Clifford] described him as “electric.” His stats suggest the same. In 2021, Tinsley ranked 2nd among FBS underclassmen in TDs (14), 3rd in yards (1,403) and 7th in YAC (539). Among ALL FBS receivers he had the third-lowest drop rate, behind only [former Western Kentucky teammate] Jerreth Sterns and our own Jahan Dotson. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he’ll have a chance to be a first-rounder next April.

Since Dotson came up organically, I’d like to remind you he isn’t the only Nittany Lion with one-handed catches on his résumé. Parker Washington is one of the most exciting WRs in college football, particularly out of the slot. With Lambert-Smith (83-yard TD, pair of 42-yard scores last season) and Meiga (6’4, 4.3-40) taking the top off defenses, Washington will absolutely feast underneath.

GRADE: A