Sunday Column: Fine Line(s) Between Winning and Losing For This Penn State Team
It’s often said – usually by football people – that football is the ultimate team sport, that the success or failure of any given play is determined not by performance of the two or three players who actually touched the pigskin but by the performances of all 11 players working in unison, and how well they did against the 11 players working in unison to stop them.
So while the importance of the quarterback position has never been more prominent at all levels of the game, and while college teams typically need at least a few explosive plays from the quote-unquote skill guys each week, the teams who enjoy the most consistent success at the highest levels are the teams who get the most consistently productive performances from the most anonymous players on the field – the offensive and defensive linemen.
As far as Penn State is concerned as the 2021 season rapidly approaches, all eyes are on and all opinions are about No. 14. And yes, Sean Clifford must be more consistent and take better care of the football if the Nittany Lions are to have any kind of season to write home about. But Clifford has plenty of weapons to throw to and just as many behind him to carry the rock, plus a new offensive coordinator and system that promises to take some pressure off him and put it on the opposing defense.
A strong, steady offensive line is a prerequisite for any good offense but might be even more important for this particular Penn State team. If the line plays well and Clifford puts it all together, there’s no reason to think the Nittany Lions can’t post 40-plus points per game, as Mike Yurcich-led offenses have done in four of the last six seasons. If Clifford struggles, outstanding line play would at least allow Noah Cain, Keyvone Lee and the rest of a stacked backfield to keep the chains moving and give the passing game more opportunities to connect.
On paper at least, Penn State appears to be in good stead. Left tackle Rasheed Walker enters his third year as a starter and is likely to be an NFL player at some point; he could arguably be one already but decided to return for another season and continue to develop under Phil Trautwein. Right tackle Caedan Wallace was quietly impressive in seven starts as a redshirt freshman last fall and should continue to develop. Mike Miranda, who was a second-team all-conference selection at left guard, will slide to center to replace Michal Menet. Juice Scruggs made strides in one of the better comeback stories you’ll hear in college football, or any sport, with a solid 2020 debut. Couple that with a strong spring and Scruggs is a likely starter at one guard spot, leaving veterans such as Des Holmes, Anthony Whigan and Bryce Effner and Harvard transfer Eric Wilson competing for the fifth starting position, or at least a spot in a platoon there.
There probably isn’t an All-American in that bunch but it’s still a strong collection of talent, and a collection that has now had a full offseason to absorb Trautwein’s coaching and learn Yurcich’s offense. The best offensive lines play well as a group, not merely as individuals. The ingredients are there, and the challenging early schedule will likely reveal how good the whole pie will be.
Things are a little different on Penn State’s other line in terms of both the level of experience returning and the role it should play within the overall defense.
Gone are defensive ends Odafe Oweh, Shaka Toney and Shane Simmons, with Adisa Isaac also likely to miss the entire season with an injury. The Nittany Lions will need transfers Arnold Ebiketie and Derrick Tangelo to come up big and for veterans like P.J. Mustipher and Nick Tarburton to take on larger roles. The good news is, as usual, Penn State has decent if not incredible depth at both end and tackle, even with the above departures. The bad news is that much of that depth is untested and the schedule won’t allow for the group’s younger players to develop slowly.
At present, it does not seem to be a defensive line capable of carrying a defense – but it shouldn’t have to. Penn State has enough playmakers in the back seven – Brandon Smith, Jaquan Brisker and Tariq Castro-Fields for starters – to be a dynamic defense even if it’s not dominant at scrimmage. And yet, just as the line has the potential to take the offense from good to great, the defensive front has the most transformative potential of all the units on the defense. We’ll give John Scott the same incomplete grade as Trautwein due to the unusual circumstances of 2020, their first year at Penn State; this fall should tell us a lot more about both assistant coaches.
The ceiling and floor for the current offensive and defensive lines aren’t clear yet. What is clear is that, during the last several seasons, those units have played collectively well but haven’t been able to rule the day against Penn State’s toughest opponents, most notably those with nut stickers on their helmets. If the Nittany Lions are going to navigate the initial three-week stretch that includes Wisconsin and Auburn, never mind their trip to Columbus in late October, they’ll need to be not just good but exceptional up front – regardless of what the quarterback does.
