What's new with Lions headed into Pitt week?

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Juwan Johnson strolled through the Beaver Stadium tunnel during pregame warmups Saturday morning, then went through drills, alone with this headphones, in the rain.

Most of his teammates would eventually trickle out to join him, but in a season debut where the redshirt sophomore will continue to be called upon to help bolster this explosive Penn State offense, Johnson visibly wasn't tense.

"I kind of stepped on the field, and it just sort of happened for me," the 6-foot-4, 226-pound receiver said. "Honestly, I wasn't anxious at all, and I wasn't nervous or anything. I kind of just played."



Johnson finished with four catches for 84 yards, including explosive gains of 16, 28 and 33 yards in the 52-0 rout of Akron. He dived across the middle to haul in a Trace McSorley pass and was the go-to target on the Lions' 4th and 2 play late in the second quarter. Johnson came back to the ball for a gain of seven yards, further proving the Lions' and the quarterback's trust in the player who was raved about all spring and all camp.

Being considered as one of the weapons on this offense is a label Johnson called "humbling" adding that he never tried to figure out how exactly he'd fit into the big-picture look of this offense the past two season, rather stayed focused on getting better day by day. Opportunities will be spread around in this offense, but if Johnson's season debut was any indication he can be that big target who won't be afraid to take a hit.

"I would like to consider myself a tough kid," he said. "We can't afford me going across the middle and getting hit and not catching the ball so I had to take one or the other. I made the choice of catching the ball and just getting hit."

Johnson had a drop early in the game, a play he said he should've made regardless of whether it was pouring rain or not. Making sure that doesn't happen again is something he'll continue to work on in the lead up to this week's game against Pitt.

"Every team is going to pack the box against Saquon [Barkley]," Johnson said. "You already know 26 in the backfield they're going to pack the box and the wide receivers and tight ends have to make the plays. That's what we have to do."

EXPLOSIVE PLAY TRACKER

"The stat that I’m most impressed about, is our defense holding their team to one explosive play, which I think you guys know the pass of 15 yards or the rush of 12 yards is how we do it," James Franklin said after Saturday's win.

The Zips' lone explosive gain -- a rush of 13 yards -- came on the second to last play of the game.

Penn State's receptions of 16-plus yards (9)
• Trace McSorley to Juwan Johnson, + 16 yards
• McSorley to DaeSean Hamilton, + 29 yards
• McSorley to Saquon Barkley, + 17 yards
• McSorley to Johnson, + 28 yards
• McSorley to Gesicki, + 35 yards (all plays above were in the first half)
• McSorley to Hamilton, + 19 yards
• McSorley to Johnson, + 33 yards
• McSorley to Barkley, + 43 yards
• Tommy Stevens to Hamilton, + 26 yards

Penn State's rushes of 12-plus yards (5)
• McSorley, +15 yards
• Barkley, + 80 yards
• Barkley, + 30 yards (all plays above were in the first half)
• Barkley, + 25 yards
• Miles Sanders, + 16 yards

WHAT'S GOING ON?

Safety Ayron Monroe was dressed but didn't play at all against Akron. Franklin makes it a point not to discuss injuries so it leaves the door open to whether Monroe is hurt -- although he did dress and go through warmups -- or if there is something else there like a disciplinary action. I'll be sure to ask about Monroe this week.

Defensive end Shareef Miller, who exited after playing the first series, took to Twitter after the game and said that he's fine and plans to play this week against Pitt. Miller started opposite Torrence Brown and was replaced by Ryan Buchholz after hobbling off the field. Buchholz also was a bright spot in the opener and showed that he will be a big part of that rotation up front.

Reserve running back Mark Allen was in street clothes for Saturday's win so we'll see if he's available or not this week. Allen could also be a factor on special teams where he worked as a punt returner in camp and is No. 2 at that spot on the depth chart, but given DeAndre Thompkins' success against the Zips don't look for that role to change.

WHO WAS ON THE SECOND TEAM O-LINE?

LT: Will Fries
LG: Steven Gonzalez (also the starter)
C: Zach Simpson
RG: Michal Menet
RT: Alex Gellerstedt

For what it's worth, part of this jives with the Nittany Lions' Week 1 depth chart. Fries backing up Ryan Bates, Simpson backing up Connor McGovern and Menet backing up Mahon are all as the depth chart listed. Now, this is why the depth chart is never the be all end all.

The Lions kept Gonzalez in at left guard rather than throwing his backup, Mike Miranda. Clearly, the Lions would like to preserve the true freshman's redshirt so while he's the backup to Gonzalez, unless the starter goes down it looks like Miranda won't be given the green light to play.

Also, Gellerstedt, listed as the third player at right tackle by playing in the opener, reaffirms what I wrote last week, which is that Andrew Nelson, listed as the co-starter with Wright, isn't ready to return to the field from last year's knee injury. Nelson repped with the third unit in warmups as well, likely signaling that his return is still at least a few weeks away.

The Lions are using Simpson more and more and you'll see below that he's a big part of their special teams as well. That's getting some good mileage out of a walk on.

WHO IS ON SPECIAL TEAMS?

Opening kick coverage: Tyler Davis (kicker), Marcus Allen, Lamont Wade, Amani Oruwariye, Cam Brown, Tariq Castro-Fields, Juwan Johnson, Nick Scott, Brandon Smith, Irv Charles, Jarvis Miller.

Players also used on kick coverage at other points in the game: Alex Barbir (kicker), Manny Bowen, Josh McPhearson, Garrett Taylor, Saeed Blacknall

Kick return: Miles Sanders/Saquon Barkley (returners), Zech McPhearson, Nick Scott, Tariq Castro-Fields, Saeed Blacknall, Zach Simpson, Cam Brown, Jason Cabinda, Jon Holland, Colin Castagna

Punt coverage: Blake Gillikin (punter), Kyle Vasey (snapper), Parker Cothren, Curtis Cothran, Colin Castagna, Nick Scott, Brandon Smith, Christian Campbell, Grant Haley, Garrett Taylor, Tom Pancoast

Punt return: DeAndre Thompkins (returner), Tariq Castro-Fields, Jarvis Miller, Nick Scott, Garrett Taylor, Troy Apke, Zech McPhearson, Amani Oruwariye, Cam Brown, Brandon Smith, Irv Charles.

Other players also used on punt return: Apke (returner), Andre Robinson, Lamont Wade, John Petrishen,

Field goal: Tyler Davis (kicker), Billy Fessler (holder), Kyle Vasey (snapper), Tom Pancoast, Zach Simpson, Alex Gellerstedt, Steven Gonzalez, Chasz Wright, Will Fries, Colin Castagna, Jon Holland.

THREE UP

• Manny Bowen: The Lions' starting linebacker was all over the place in the first half, especially in the first quarter. While the tackling was shaky on the Lions' opening drive, Bowen was a bright spot. He's not a young guy anymore and the Lions will need him to continue playing at a high level because the linebacking depth is still a little slim.

• Amani Oruwariye: Franklin came out and said after the game Penn State's defense could be classified as a 4-2-5 because of all the nickel they're going to play this season and getting Oruwariye on the field is a big reason why. The redshirt junior elevated to snag an impressive interception and also tallied a pass break up. He got off to a hot start in last year's opener as well with a pick 6 so now we'll see if he can maintain.

• Juwan Johnson: Is it fair to put the guy who was the breakout player in the spring on this list? Well, I think so after how impressive Johnson looked hauling in his four catches for 84 yards. And, this list wouldn't be complete without Thompkins, whose punt return jumpstarted the afternoon.

THREE DOWN

• Ayron Monroe: After not beating out Apke for the starting job this summer, Monroe didn't make an appearance in the game. Safeties coach Tim Banks said on a conference call last week that they were pleased with what Monroe did in camp and that Apke was simply more consistent. So why was Monroe bypassed for the third-string safety on Saturday?

• Tyler Davis: The Lions' kicker has been Mr. Reliable during his Penn State career, but adding kickoff duties to his plate didn't look to go as well as planned on Saturday. The Lions also used redshirt freshman Alex Barbir, who booted his first kick out of bounds. The conditions were far from ideal, but that area is one to keep an eye on. Davis also missed a 39-yard field goal, but later hit one for 47 yards.

• DaeSean Hamilton: The senior wide receiver finished with three catches for 74 yards, including a long of 29, but struggled to consistently catch the football. He had a drop on the opening drive with a lot of room ahead of him. This is supposed to be a bounce-back year for Hamilton so we'll see how he puts the shaky start behind him.

QUICK HITS

• Barkley was named the Big Ten's Co-Offensive Player of the Week. Barkley posted 246 all-purpose yards in the Lions' 52-0 win against Akron. He shared this week's award with Ohio State's J.T. Barrett.

• With the launch of DK Sports Radio on Tuesday, you'll be able to listen to my conversation with Matt Gajtka that we recorded today about what to take away from the Lions' opener. Gajtka and I will have our half hour Penn State football show available on Thursday.

• Franklin meets with the media Tuesday at 12:30 p.m., his first media session of the week. And no, there is not a media blackout around here. Franklin will talk with reporters Tuesday and Wednesday night after practice as usual and Penn State will have six players and assistant coach Matt Limegrover available to meet with reporters at various points throughout the week.