STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The push to signing day, also now known as the December 20 early signing period, is on and with Penn State hosting an official visit weekend for 14 of the Nittany Lions' 20 verbal pledges this weekend, now is a good chance to look ahead.
With running back Andre Robinson and kicker Alex Barbir having their releases granted earlier this week, coupled with verbal pledge Antwan Reed announcing his decommitment from Penn State on Thursday, where does the scholarship picture stand? First off, as always, it's an inexact science when looking at scholarships. Coaches hate talking about it and while walk-ons will sometimes be awarded a scholarship, the bigger issue is the unpredictable nature of player movement.
For example, should quarterback Will Levis sign, as expected, and Tommy Stevens and the rest of the quarterbacks stay put that would give the Lions five quarterbacks on scholarship. Should Saquon Barkley depart for the NFL Draft, where the junior is a projected first-round pick, then the Lions would gain one extra spot. Every year there are surprise transfers and/or early departures.
Penn State is still in the running for some marquee prospects down the stretch ahead of the early signing period that starts on December 20 and while this class was once busting at the seams, now with 20 verbal pledges they'll have to still be selective, but this isn't the case of Penn State not having a few spots left for elite prospects. There always are spots cleared whether through transfer, departure or career-ending injury, as we've seen play out in the last few years. If there wasn't room they wouldn't have Micah Parsons, Tyreke Smith and Rasheed Walker on campus this weekend. Space isn't as much of an issue now as it looked like it was going to be earlier this cycle.
So, subtracting the Lions' senior class -- and Barkley too for the purpose of this calculation -- and adding in the Lions' 20 verbal pledges, I have Penn State at 86 scholarships, one over the limit. Now, do not panic. There is always movement, which is why this 2018 class certainly is not full. Here's the breakdown of how I got to this point:
OFFENSE: 41
DEFENSE: 43
SPECIAL TEAMS: 2
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QUARTERBACK (5)
• Trace McSorley
• Tommy Stevens
• Jake Zembiec
• Sean Clifford
• *Will Levis; Verbal pledge
Analysis: I'd be surprised if Penn State heads into next season with five quarterbacks on scholarship. While I don't see a benefit for Stevens to transfer right after the bowl game -- assuming he'd be eligible for a graduate transfer after spring semester -- then it'd make no sense to leave in January as opposed to May when he'd be able to go anywhere without having to sit out a year. Given that Clifford beat out Zembiec for the No. 3 spot before both ended up hurt this season, I wouldn't be shocked if the logjam ahead of him and with Clifford behind him could make Zembiec look elsewhere. Again, that's just a thought.
RUNNING BACK (5)
• Mark Allen
• Johnathan Thomas
• Saquon Barkley
• Miles Sanders
• Journey Brown
• *Ricky Slade; Verbal pledge
Analysis: In all likelihood you may not know Thomas or realize he's a running back. He's a special teams contributor and up until this point his role hasn't been more than that. Sanders will be the lead back next year in what's expected to be the start of the post-Barkley era and Allen, who will be a fifth-year senior next season, can help provide a change of pace.
How'd Brown's redshirt season go? By the sounds of it, pretty well. Charles Huff was complimentary of the freshman speedster throughout the course of the season, saying that Brown's track speed translated once the pads came on. Barkley mentioned Brown several times, as well, and even a few of Penn State's defenders highlighted Brown as a scout-team standout this season, adding that his speed helped prepare them for many of the backs they faced.
WIDE RECEIVER (11)
• DaeSean Hamilton
• Saeed Blacknall
• De’Andre Thompkins
• Brandon Polk
• Juwan Johnson
• Irv Charles
• Dae’lun Darien
• KJ Hamler
• Cameron Sullivan-Brown
• Mac Hippenhammer
• *Justin Shorter; Verbal pledge
• *Shaquon Anderson-Butts; Verbal pledge
• *Daniel George; Verbal pledge
Analysis: Life after Chris Godwin went as expected with Barkley catching more passes, tight end Mike Gesicki getting in on the action and Hamilton returning to old form. Thompkins continued to be a big-play spark yet again while Johnson got better as the season went along, making the case for someone who figures to be a big part of this offense moving forward.
The trio of freshman receivers took redshirts and with three receivers slated to join them -- including Shorter, who could be someone who makes an impact early on -- the Lions are pretty deep here. Keep in mind Hamler enrolled last January, so he has been here nearly a year already and his speed continued to impress teammates in practices this season.
TIGHT END (5)
• Mike Gesicki
• Nick Bowers
• Jonathan Holland
• Danny Dalton
• *Zack Kuntz; Verbal pledge
• *Pat Freiermuth;Verbal pledge
Analysis: Bowers was supposed to be in line for a breakout, at least that's what his head coach mentioned back in July at Big Ten media days. Penn State will need Bowers to stay healthy next season, which has been the problem thus far. With two tight ends coming through the pipeline they have good depth here, but losing such a big part of the passing game in Gesicki will put a lot of focus on this group in the offseason.
OFFENSIVE LINE (15)
• Andrew Nelson
• Brendan Mahon
• Chasz Wright
• Sterling Jenkins
• Steven Gonzalez
• Ryan Bates
• Connor McGovern
• Alex Gellerstedt
• Will Fries
• Michal Menet
• Michael Miranda
• CJ Thorpe
• Robert Martin
• Des Holmes
• *Bryce Effner; Verbal pledge
• *Frederick 'Juice' Scruggs; Verbal pledge
• *Nana Asiedu; Verbal pledge
Analysis: The Lions were able to preserve Miranda's redshirt and every report about Thorpe and Holmes that the coaching staff provided included some mention of their impressive physicality. That's worth passing along since this line was ripped for not having that finisher's mentality and mean streak a few different times this season. The experience that this group returns is huge, and by Nelson missing so much time this season and last they were forced to try and figure out other solutions which will make this offseason a little easier on them since they're only replacing one starter in Mahon.
Franklin mentioned toward the end of the season on his radio show that he thinks McGovern, the center, could play any spot on the line. I'm not sure we'll see any changes there after McGovern played guard as a freshman, but they do have flexibility with all of these players, which is how they recruit them, too. They have to be able to play at least two positions.
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DEFENSIVE TACKLE (8)
• Parker Cothren
• Curtis Cothran
• Tyrell Chavis
• Kevin Givens
• Robert Windsor
• Ellison Jordan
• Antonio Shelton
• Fred Hansard
• Corey Bolds
• *PJ Mustipher; Verbal pledge
• *Aeneas Hawkins; Verbal pledge
Analysis: The Nittany Lions haven't had the type of big-time defensive tackles in recent years that they churned out year in and year out not all that long ago. The Jared Odrick, Devon Still, Jordan Hill pipeline seems to have dried up a bit and someone from this group will have to have a breakout year next season. Givens could be that guy after he played both inside and outside this year as injuries decimated the defensive ends.
DEFENSIVE END (9)
• Torrence Brown
• Ryan Buchholz
• Shareef Miller
• Shane Simmons
• Shaka Toney
• Daniel Joseph
• Yetur Gross-Matos
• Damion Barber
• *Judge Culpepper; Verbal pledge
Analysis: Penn State will return all of their ends next season, though it's unclear what the future holds for Brown, who sustained a gruesome-looking lower body injury that ended his season. Teammates spoke several times about wanting to play out this season for him and how the game was taken away from Brown, something they don't typically say unless the injury is pretty significant. That will be something to keep an eye on in the coming months.
Until then, Buchholz played a little bit late in the Maryland game, his first action since getting hurt against Ohio State, so he should be ready to go for the Fiesta Bowl.
LINEBACKER (11)
• Brandon Smith
• Jason Cabinda
• Koa Farmer
• Manny Bowen
• Jarvis Miller
• Jake Cooper
• Cam Brown
• Brelin-Faison Walden
• Ellis Brooks
• Brailyn Franklin
• *Charlie Katshir; Verbal pledge
• *Jesse Luketa; Verbal pledge
• *Nick Tarburton; Verbal pledge
Analysis: It's unclear if Bowen, who was suspended for the final three games of the regular season for a violation of team rules, is part of the Lions' bowl plans or not. That'll certainly be a talking point at the team's on campus bowl media day next Friday. Bowen missed the Rose Bowl last year for a violation of team rules so, at this point, Bowen's availability -- not only for this game but also for next season -- seems up in the air. Whatever happens with Bowen greatly impacts the rest of this group. That's why the Lions started moving Brown around in practice, working both the Sam and the Will once Bowen was suspended.
Brooks was able to take a redshirt this season and his leadership skills, something teammates raved about even with him being a freshman, made for someone who wasn't afraid to ask questions and take command of the defense. That could very well make him the middle linebacker of the future and, given Cooper's limited reps this season, Brooks might be a name to get pretty familiar with in the coming months.
CORNERBACK (9)
• Grant Haley
• Christian Campbell
• Amani Oruwariye
• John Reid
• Zech McPhearson
• Lamont Wade
• Tariq Castro-Fields
• Donovan Johnson
• D.J. Brown
• *Jordan Miner; Verbal pledge
• *Trent Gordon; Verbal pledge
Analysis: One last go around for Haley and Campbell awaits in Arizona, but after that this group shouldn't miss a beat next season. Getting Reid back healthy after he missed this season due to injury is a huge boost and after how Oruwariye played this year, coupled with the development of both true freshmen who played in Wade and Castro-Fields, this should be among the deepest positions on the team.
Taking four corners in last year's class is why they're all set with just two this year. Adding Miner and Gordon to a position that hasn't been shy about playing young players will only make this group even deeper. With the benefit of hindsight, landing Castro-Fields on signing day last year as the last pledge in the class might've been one of the top two or three gets in that 2017 class.
SAFETY (6)
• Marcus Allen
• Troy Apke
• Nick Scott
• Ayron Monroe
• John Petrishen
• Garrett Taylor
• Jonathan Sutherland
• *Isaiah Humphries; Verbal pledge
Analysis: This is one spot where the Lions could try to add another safety in the lead up to signing day. With Isheem Young's arrest last weekend, it leaves the Lions with one safety in the 2018 class, and with two starters departing and so far not much production from Petrishen and not too much beyond special teams production from Taylor, this is a thin group. Scott and Monroe have experience, with Scott earning the start when Apke had to sit out the first half against Maryland while Sutherland, by teammates' accounts, was a force in the developmental scrimmages. The physical Sutherland will take on an increased role next season and could be a good one in years to come.
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SPECIALISTS (2)
• Blake Gillikin (P)
• *Jake Pinegar (K); Verbal pledge
Analysis: One scholarship per position is how this thing was going to work out from the get-go. Franklin said earlier during his Penn State tenure that one really has to make sure they are correct when evaluating scholarship kickers and punters, because with one misstep it's not like they can simply move the specialist to some other position to still make use of the scholarship.
Once Pinegar gave his verbal pledge in the summer, it made it clear that something was up with Alex Barbir, who the staff also invested a scholarship in. Barbir tweeted out a statement Thursday night about his transfer and in it said he's unsure if he will continue playing football, wherever he ends up. The Lions have two walk-on kickers who will have to challenge Pinegar as they all work to replace senior Tyler Davis who has one game left. Look for kickoff and field goal duties to go back to being split next year as well, something Franklin likes to do to lessen their load, especially when working in first-year starters.