STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State assigned jersey numbers to the four freshmen May enrollees on Monday, getting one part of their collegiate transition out of the way.
PJ Mustipher, Judge Culpepper, Will Levis and Pat Freiermuth enrolled during the weekend, giving them a six week head start on the rest of their 2018 classmates. While they're the first May arrivals during James Franklin's tenure at Penn State, and he is optimistic it will turn into a trend, the benefits could pay off for these freshmen within the next few months.
With the Nittany Lions needing more depth along the interior of the defensive line Mustipher, who will wear No. 93 and Culpepper, who will wear No. 88, will get a chance to try and work into the picture there this summer. Penn State played one true freshman defensive lineman last year when defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos burned his redshirt, but whether or not Mustipher and Culpepper are needed will, in part, be determined by the progress of those in front of them.
Behind projected starters Rob Windsor and Kevin Givens, there's Antonio Shelton, Ellison Jordan, Fred Hansard, Corey Bolds and Damion Barber all vying for playing time. Aeneas Hawkins will join that group this summer when he arrives on campus with the rest of the freshman class.
"There's a good group there and I tell you, the signees, we couldn’t be more excited about those guys," defensive coordinator Brent Pry said at the conclusion of spring ball. "Judge Cuplepper, Aeneas Hawkins, PJ, those three are gonna come in and compete and that’ll push the guys. ... To be honest with you we got a large group of guys who are going to be competing to give us depth at the tackle position."
Penn State listed Mustipher at 6-4, 300 pounds while Culpepper is listed at 6-4, 275.
As for the other side of the ball, Levis, the quarterback signee who will wear No. 17, is the most obvious choice for a potential redshirt. With Trace McSorley, Tommy Stevens, Sean Clifford and Jake Zembiec all firmly entrenched, Levis still has a good opportunity to start learning the offense. Making the most of the time he has to learn from McSorley certainly won't hurt either. Penn State listed Levis at 6-3, 220.
As for Freiermuth, Penn State's uncertainty at tight end could mean an opportunity for him. It was Danny Dalton who helped himself most out of that position group during spring ball as Jon Holland and Nick Bowers, when fully available, will factor in as well. Zack Kuntz was one of six January enrollees who, like Freiermuth, will have an advantage because of being around the team for a longer period of time. Freiermuth, who will wear No. 87, is listed at 6-5, 250.
"There’s significant value in it because it’s a lot to get adjusted to in a short period of time," Franklin said last week of the May enrollees. "That’s why I always say basketball, baseball and some of these spring sports, you get to come on campus and you get to adjust academically, you get to adjust socially and then wait to the spring to adjust athletically in terms of games, where with football it all pretty much hits you at once."