Coming off an unthinkable season (for some) that saw James
Franklin and company beat Wisconsin to capture the Big Ten Championship, Penn
State looks to have an even better 2017 campaign and get somewhere they haven’t
been since 1986, the National Championship. Penn State has been recruiting
better than ever and winning has a lot to do with that. This season could
catapult that recruiting train even further. If you look at the roster top to
bottom it could be the most talented team Happy Valley has ever seen. That
talent might be largely based on potential, and if this team can reach its
potential in 2017, James Franklin could be holding the National Championship
trophy high above his head in Atlanta.
Let’s take a look at some of that talent on offense.
Offense:
Quarterback: It’s
amazing to think that Penn State has gone from Christian Hackenberg, a 5-star
recruit and someone who many believed could be a Heisman Trophy caliber player,
to Trace McSorely who is a Heisman
Trophy caliber player. He’s a gun slinger who has plenty of faith in his
receivers to go out and make plays. He’s not the best quarterback prospect in
the country, but he’s perfect for Penn State and the offense he run. Coming off
an All-Big Ten season that saw him throw for a Penn State record 3,360 yards
and 25 touchdowns, McSorely looks to build off that for a better 2017 season. Although
he hopefully won’t have to do it often, he can also tuck it and run compiling
365 rushing yards last season that included a 26-yard season-saving run against
Minnesota at the end of regulation to setup Tyler Davis for the game tying
field goal. The hype surrounding this team is largely based off running back
Saquon Barkley but like most teams, they go as their quarterback goes.
(McSorley is a
redshirt junior)
Other Guys: Tommy
Stevens. Stevens will get some touches this season potentially in the ‘wildcat’
formation.
(Roarlionsroar.com) |
Running Back: Saquon
Barkley. This kid is really special and people are taking notice. There were
moments last season that left you thinking how great this kid could actually
be. His run against USC in the Rose Bowl was one of those moments. He’s
a special talent that doesn’t come around that often and Penn State fans have
been lucky enough to see him for two full seasons so far. In those two season
he has rushed for over 2,5that season. Oh, he also ran a 4.33 40-yard dash.
00 yards and 25 touchdowns. This season could be just as special as those two season combined. His offensive line is a year better, he’s had another year with offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, and another offseason in the weight room which he really doesn’t need. As I mentioned, Barkley is a special talent, and if Penn State is going to have a special season they will need their Heisman candidate to have
00 yards and 25 touchdowns. This season could be just as special as those two season combined. His offensive line is a year better, he’s had another year with offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, and another offseason in the weight room which he really doesn’t need. As I mentioned, Barkley is a special talent, and if Penn State is going to have a special season they will need their Heisman candidate to have
(Barkley is a junior)
Other Guys: Miles
Sanders. Andre Robinson. Mark Allen. Penn State has four running backs who all
can make plays. And they are all different. We all know about Barkley but these
other guys are impressive in their own right. Sanders is the best of the bunch
having the same type of ability Barkley does and is expected to have a breakout
season. Robinson and Allen are a combination of Barkley, Robinson has the power
and Allen has the shiftiness and speed. Expect all of these names to be called
at some point this season.
Wide Receiver: Usually
losing someone like Chris Godwin to the NFL would be a big loss, and while it
is still a big loss, Penn State has the talent at receiver to make up for the
loss of production. Penn State fans might not know all of the names that will
see the field but they will surely know them after a few games. DaeSean
Hamilton is the veteran of the group as he heads into his final season.
Hamilton has seen his production drop over the last couple of seasons but this
season he could be called upon to be a go-to target for Trace McSorley. Along
side Hamilton will be senior Saeed Blacknall. Blacknall missed Penn State’s
Rose Bowl loss due to disciplinary reasons but looks to be a major factor for
Joe Moorhead’s offense. He had his biggest game in the Big Ten Championship
against Wisconsin where he had 6 catches for 155-yards and 2 touchdowns. The
biggest question for the receivers is who will be the third and fourth options;
many expect it to be combination of redshirt juniors Juwan Johnson and Irvin
Charles. Both stand at 6’4”. Senior DeAndre Thompkins had an up and down season
and looks to bounce back in a big way.
Other Guys: Keep
an eye on Brandon Polk. He’s the speedster of the group and missed last season
due to injury but could provide a spark for the offense.
Tight Ends: Perhaps
one of the biggest moves in the offseason was that Mike Gesicki was coming back
for his senior season. Many believed he would likely return but reassurance was
nice. The reason why the announcement was so big is because if Gesicki can better
his numbers from last season (48 catches, 679 yards and 5 touchdowns), Penn
State’s offense will be that much better. He is another big target at 6’6, and
had the bounce back season of all bounce back seasons in 2016 and proved to be
one of the top tight ends not only in the Big Ten but the entire country.
Other Guys: Not
many people know about the guys who are behind Gesicki, which is partially
because the offense doesn’t allow for a lot of multiple tight end sets.
Nonetheless there are guys behind him; Jonathan Holland, Nick Bowers, Tom
Pancoast, Danny Dalton.
Offensive Line: This
has been the most important group on the field for Penn State over the last
three seasons. After giving up 83 sacks over two seasons the unit only gave up
24 sacks in 2016. Expect that number to drop even lower this season. The thing
that has held Penn State back was the loss of scholarships which resulted in
the inability to build depth at some positions such as offensive line, which
led to true freshman and redshirt freshman who might not have expected to see
the field for multiple seasons get playing time right away. The offensive line
is finally “deep” with guys who have had valuable playing time early in their
careers and fans shouldn’t be as worried about this year’s unit as they have
been before. They lose Brian Gaia to graduation but they return multiple
starters from 2016 such as Andrew Nelson who is coming off a season-ending knee
injury and he should be ready to go come the start of the season. The names to
keep an eye on as the summer rolls around and fall camp starts are the young guys;
Steven Gonzalez, Connor McGovern, Michael Menet, Will Fries, Sterling Jenkins. Mike
Miranda is a true freshman who has gotten some praise from coaches and is also
someone to watch.
Other Guys: Chasz
Wright, Ryan Bates, Brendan Mahon. All three of those guys will be fighting for
starting spots.
I said at the beginning that I’m basing a lot of what I say
on the potential of this team. Defense is no different. It’s an athletic
defense that will have to cause a lot more turnovers and they’ll get a lot more
practice going up against good offenses as they go up against their own every
day.
Defensive Line: Replacing
guys like Evan Schwann and Garrett Sickels is never easy but alas, Penn State
finally has the depth at the position. There are plenty of names that will see
some playing time but not everyone knows all of those names. You know the names
Torrence Brown, Kevin Givens, Parker Conthren, and Curtis Conthran, but there
are some young names that should have the chance to make a big impact. Shane
Simmons is someone fans should keep an eye on. Simmons was a 5-star recruit
coming out of high school but redshirted last season so he could add some
weight and just focus on getting reps in practice. He’s bulked up to around 245-250lbs
and still has the explosiveness that made him a highly touted recruit. Should
he see the field as many believe he will he could be a force for the defense. Shareef
Miller is another guy to watch. He got some time last season totaling 2 sacks
and 5.5 tackles for loss but fans should expect him to add onto that production
this season in a big way. I mentioned the name Kevin Givens as he has gotten
the attention from nearly everyone for his offseason workouts and the progress
he has made. I’m not saying this is going to be Penn State’s best defensive line
ever, but again, with the thought of potential, this has the potential to be
one of the best.
Other Guys: Ryan
Buchholz, Shaka Toney, Antonio Shelton, Tyrell Chavis.
Linebackers: This
is always the fun position to talk about. It’s been the programs best position
over the years and it always seems like someone steps up and puts their name on
the ‘Linebacker-U’ list. Brandon Bell did so last year along with Jason
Cabinda. Cabinda is back for a senior year in which he looks to etch his name
right at the top of the best linebackers to dawn the Blue and White. He’s the
veteran of the group that will have young guys who will make their name known. Cam
Brown and Manny Bown both saw time last year but this season like some of the
other positions will call upon them to make more plays. Koa Farmer is finally
at a position where it appears he will stay at and has gotten praise from Cabinda
so expect him to have that breakout season fans have been waiting for.
Other Guys: Jarvis
Miller, Jan Johnson, Brandon Smith, Johnathan Thomas.
Defensive Back: This
is another position that has the potential to be special. It could be the most
talented group Penn State has seen in quite some time. Marcus Allen is the
leader of the group and is the emotional leader of the Nittany Lions defense. Allen
was also the teams leading tackler with 110 on the season. He also came up with
the biggest play of the season with his blocked field goal in the final minutes
against Ohio State. The secondary however suffer a big loss when junior John
Reid went down in practice with a knee injury and will miss the 2017 season.
While that is a big loss it’s a loss that will allow one of Penn State’s
biggest recruits in recent memory, 5-star Lamont Wade, the opportunity to make
an immediate impact. Another name to keep an eye on is senior Christian
Campbell who will also look to help replace Reid.
Other Guys: Nick
Scott and Troy Apke are going to be a couple names Penn State fans will be
interested in. Scott is a running back turned safety but hasn’t seen much
playing time, look for him to have his name called as a potential starter.
Last year on special teams Penn State fans were able to say,
“finally!”, finally the team had a reliable punter and kicker combination in Blake
Gillikin and Tyler Davis. A true freshman last season, Gillikin averaged 42
yards per punt. The senior Davis was outstanding making 22 of 24 field goals
(both misses were blocked) and making 62 of 62 extra points.
The next step is to have a returner who can change field
position. Over the years it’s been something that the program has lacked; since
2008, Penn State hasn’t been ranked higher than 40th in punt return
yardage and while they were 10th in kickoff return yardage in 2008,
they haven’t been higher than 38th since 2011. Last season Miles
Sanders played a key role on kickoff returns averaging 20.8 yards per return,
but no touchdowns. The last time Penn State had a kickoff returned for a
touchdown was 2011 (Chaz Powell). A punt return? Derrick Williams in 2007. Fans
hope that changes this season with a wide range of players who could do so.
Sanders could have a breakout season at the running back position, but could
also handle kickoff returns. Receiver DeAndre Thompkins had some mishaps on
punt returns and was inconsistent but is someone who could provide a spark.
Another candidate might be receiver Brandon Polk who was redshirted last season
due to an injury. Regardless of who is the doing the returning, Penn State fans
should hope someone can take one to the house.
There is a lot of excitement surround the 2017 version of
Penn State football and rightfully so. Both sides of the ball have the potential to carry this team to a
conference title and beyond. They have two Heisman caliber players on offense
and an All-American caliber duo at linebacker and safety leading the way on
defense. The fan base should be excited for this season because it could be the
best season Penn State has ever had. And that’s saying something.
BTW, the last time
Clemson won a national title, Penn State won it the following season.
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