Sunday Column: Game flow once again nowhere to be found during Blue-White scrimmage, but gamers? Yeah, there were a few of those

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Saturday’s Blue-White Game was a terrific opportunity for Penn State fans watching from the stands and on television to learn about the schemes of new coordinators Andy Kotelnicki and Tom Allen, which will likely play a key role in the team’s level of success this autumn.

Of course, James Franklin had no intention of giving future opponents any sort of hint about those schemes, so this game, like so many spring scrimmages before it, was more of an organized workout than any sort of competition, especially considering a bulk of likely starters were out nursing injuries and, you know, you’re not allowed to touch the quarterbacks.

But even if Saturday wasn’t helpful from an Xs and Os standpoint, it was useful to see which players looked like they belonged. And the Nittany Lions had more than a few of them on both sides of the ball.

Drew Allar, working behind what probably won’t be the starting offensive line and against what will certainly not be the starting defense, looked by turns sharp, so-so, and mildly suspect. Most of the plays that slotted into that last category were deep balls, and he and fellow QBs Beau Pribula and Ethan Grunkemeyer get passes for that considering the wind was gusting in the 30-40 miles per hour range. While his overall numbers weren’t great, Allar generally looked comfortable and confident slinging the rock, with many of his throws finding Tre Wallace, who mixed some quality playmaking in with an ominous drop.

Those who expected to see a well-oiled passing machine just months after last season were likely disappointed, but this is a work in progress, especially with KeAndre Lambert-Smith apparently now out of the picture. The bottom line is that Allar showed both his considerable physical tools and, a few double-clutches aside, a decisiveness and certainty of where to go with the football that wasn’t always there in 2023.

While veterans Nick Singleton (in uniform) and Kaytron Allen (not in uniform) watched from the sideline, understudies Cam Wallace, Quinton Martin and London Montgomery showcased the depth and talent of the running back room. Wallace averaged 5 yards per carry and broke numerous tackles, Martin had a pair of touchdown runs and displayed power, speed and vision, while Montgomery, though lacking perhaps the ideal weight for the position, showed some wiggle we haven’t seen from the position in a while. Though getting ample production out of the receiver unit remains the top priority for this offense, making the best use of its backfield talent is going to be a key as well.

Defensively, a unit that is losing a ton of playmakers to the pros appears to have had few issues replacing them. The Abdul Carter to Edge Rusher experiment seems like it could wind up being less “Will he be able to handle a new position?” than “Will anyone in the Big Ten be able to block him?” Tony Rojas said he is now up to 240 pounds and is carrying that weight well. Transfer corner A.J. Harris looked physical and aggressive, safety King Mack flashed potential with starter KJ Winston resting. Sophomore slot corner Kolin Dinkins might have been the breakout player of the afternoon, with a pick-six (erased by a touch sack) and several other quality plays made.

Many of these players were not household names in 2023 and likely won’t be, should the overall health of the starters hold up, in 2024, either. That’s a testament to the depth the Nittany Lions have been striving to develop across the board. It also underscores an important point about what will determine Penn State’s ceiling this season.

Though we can, and should, talk a lot about how Kotelnicki and Allen will be able to coach up the players and draw up the plays that maximize their talents and neutralize the opponents’, drives and games and seasons come down to who makes the most plays. Filling your roster with playmakers remains the best way to win college football games, or any sort of football games. Starters are going to get hurt, and the sport is unforgiving to those who have to replace them at a moment’s notice. Penn State has recruited and played a lot of guys with playmaker potential the last few years, but it needs to convert a few more of them into actual playmakers, on the first and second and maybe even third teams, if it’s going to get out of good-but-not-great purgatory.

Watching any of the plays from Saturday’s game is not going to answer the question of whether or not that’s going to happen this fall. But there was just enough of the Nittany Lions’ collective talent on display during many of those plays to take away some optimism from a day in which displaying as little as possible was the goal.