STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Sitting at 6-0, the No. 3 Nittany Lions will put their momentum and win streak on hold as they soak in the bye week.
It's far from a week off as the Lions made their corrections on Sunday, have their usual off day Monday and then will self-scout and analyze how to improve their weaknesses moving forward. Some players will head home for the weekend before Michigan comes to town and the Big Ten slate picks up in a hurry.
What does Penn State need to accomplish during this bye week? Here's my list:
1. Figure out the best scenario at right tackle
The options: Continue to use some combination of Will Fries and Chasz Wright in hopes that one of them pans out, or shuffle the other pieces.
Wright was slowed by an injury since Iowa week and Fries, a redshirt freshman, was supposed to be someone who would add depth this year, not start. At this point, I think Andrew Nelson’s availability is as much of an unknown as anything. Franklin said Nelson would take on a bigger role as the season progressed, but what we’ve seen thus far, coupled with Nelson not making the travel roster to Northwestern, suggests he’s not in the picture right now.
If the Fries/Wright combination continues being as problematic as it’s been – and if keeping a tight end in to help as opposed to leaving the tackle out on an island isn’t the route the Lions want to go – then they could get a little creative with guard Brendan Mahon. Maybe. It certainly could be worth a thought during the bye week and I’d imagine the Lions have already given this a long, hard look.
“I think there are certain guys, and Brendan is this way – he relishes the idea of being able to play at a high level and be that guy,” offensive line coach Matt Limegrover said during his most recent availability last month. “He really likes the idea that, heaven forbid, if something happens, I can look at him and go, ‘Hey, I know you’ve been playing right guard but bump out there and play left tackle,’ and he can do it at a high level. There are certain guys that that’s kind of in their DNA as well to say, 'Not only am I doing well, but I’m doing it at a bunch of spots and I’m that go-to guy for coaches if he gets into a bind,' and I think it’s nice when you have guys like that.”
The Lions surrendered 10 sacks in the past two games, pointing to more problems than just the right tackle spot and inconsistency in the Lions’ ground game despite having Saquon Barkley in the backfield.
Mahon said time and time again he’s comfortable moving around, and he’s done so during his time at Penn State. He has tackle experience at both left and right, but if he should go to right tackle, then who plays right guard? Limegrover said the senior prides himself on providing that position flexibility, but if Mahon’s best position is guard, I’m not so sure taking him away from his best spot fixes anything.
“A guy like Brendan Mahon or even Ryan Bates, the versatility those guys have -- they can play guard, they can play tackle,” Limegrover said in September. “Connor McGovern can bump to guard if he has to. He’s played there. There are some other things we can do and obviously Michal Menet is in that mix and it’s a nice position to have those younger guys and be able to say, ‘You’re going to get this work, but we don’t necessarily have to play you.’ ”
They can’t move McGovern, their center who played guard last season. Bates locked up the most valuable spot at left tackle and Menet, by the sounds of it, isn’t ready to take on a bigger role anywhere on this line for the time being. Sterling Jenkins didn’t make the travel roster, so certainly that’s not an option. Freshman Mike Miranda enrolled in January and impressed during spring ball, but he's in line for a redshirt year that the Lions want to preserve. Perhaps his status as a redshirt could change, but that's still an awful lot to ask of a true freshman.
So, most likely it means they either move Mahon or work with the two options they’ve been using.
2. Seriously, what’s wrong with the field goal unit?
Penn State’s new snapper, holder and protection unit has been a glaring weakness through six games. Two kicks have been blocked and Tyler Davis is 6-of-13 on field goals. One week it’s the protection, another it’s the snap and another it’s the kicker. Franklin said last week that it was correctable, but as the problem remains, something has to give.
The Lions used the same personnel since after the Iowa game, one where they wanted to get Fries and Menet experience because Wright was hurt, and it burned them when Fries forgot to block his man. Linebacker Jan Johnson is the team’s second option as a long snapper behind Kyle Vasey, who has handled the duties this season.
Johnson warmed up with some snaps against the Wildcats, but the Lions haven’t made any changes. They’re apparently locked in on holder Billy Fessler, which allows punter Blake Gillikin to stay out of the fold there, but either way Charles Huff has to have some sort of solution so the Lions’ execution improves.
3. Get a jump on the next two
The Lions’ two biggest games are coming up with the White Out clash against Michigan -- still with a start time to be determined -- and then the road trip to the Horseshoe. That makes this bye week well-timed in that regard, but don’t think the Lions will spend all of this extra week preparing for Jim Harbaugh to come to town.
They don’t operate this way. They will instead self-scout to figure out what they need to improve and also work on some developmental scrimmages for the young players and those who are redshirting. Typically, the Lions cut the practice week short for the key players and allow them to go home on Friday.
However, keep in mind the Lions practice on Sunday, so how much time away will the players actually get? Well, assuming they have class on Friday – and the bye week is as much about making sure everyone is caught up academically as it is about resting bumps and bruises -- it gives the players maybe Friday night and all of Saturday at home before turning around for the Sunday afternoon workout.
“I do plan on going home, probably go to my high school game,” Barkley said. “My nephew’s birthday is this weekend so I’ll probably go hang out with my nephew a little bit.”
4. Hit the trail
For Penn State’s offensive, defensive and special teams coordinators, the bye week is the one weekend where they don’t have to worry about Friday night meetings at the team hotel and therefore can get out on the recruiting trail.
While the Lions’ 2018 class is just about at capacity with 23 verbal pledges, the staff will likely continue working ahead to the 2019 group, getting out and seeing some of the team’s targets. The White Out game always brings the largest recruiting guest list of the season, so behind the scenes there will be a lot of preparations going into making sure that list is lined up and arrangements are all in place.