ALTOONA, Pa. -- The Penn State football team hit the field Friday for the start of training camp, where the Nittany Lions hope to continue the momentum they built at the end of the 2020 season.
That momentum included four straight wins to finish last season after losing the first five games, and continuing to build on the nation's top-ranked 2022 recruiting class. While the future looks brighter, it's all about the present now, and a date with Wisconsin to begin the season is only a few weeks away.
Entering the 2021 version of camp, there will be quite a few storylines to watch:
QUARTERBACKS
There is no bigger question mark leading into camp than the quarterback position. Sean Clifford is the presumed starter heading into his third year leading the offense, although it's the third offense in as many years for him.
Year 1 for Clifford found Penn State winning the Cotton Bowl over Memphis and throwing for 23 touchdowns and 2,654 yards during an 11-win season. Last year, however, Clifford threw nine interceptions and only 16 touchdowns in nine games. The inconsistency Clifford showed led to him being benched at one point in favor of Will Levis, who is now at Kentucky.
Now, Clifford doesn't have Levis breathing down his neck and the players behind him on the depth chart have little experience (Ta'Quan Roberson) or none (Christian Veilleaux). Head coach James Franklin was blunt all spring about Penn State being active in the transfer portal searching for a quarterback, but the Nittany Lions were unable to find the right fit.
They need Clifford to be consistent. Too many times last year, Clifford rushed plays or made incorrect reads after the play broke down. If he is able to replicate the play he showed in 2019, or just come close, Penn State will be in good shape. Should Clifford return to his 2020 form, well, the Nittany Lions could be in a world of trouble.
• RUNNING BACK DEPTH
Penn State returns the top three running backs on the depth chart from last season in Keyvone Lee, Caziah Holmes and Devyn Ford. The Nittany Lions also get Noah Cain back, while newcomer John Lovett enters the room.
There are only so many carries to go around. Lovett was brought in for a reason, so the expectation is that he will play in some way, shape or form. Cain and Lee are the top backs, with Lee taking the reins last year when Cain was sidelined with a lower-body injury.
Although Cain didn't do anything to lose his position, the emergence of Lee complicates things quite a bit. Holmes and Ford seem like the odd men out in this situation, based on the numbers.
Ford has the talent to be a feature back in the Big 10, but that talent has yet to translate to the field during his time at Penn State. The Nittany Lions are in a far better situation than they were last year, depth-wise, at running back, but it's going to be interesting to see how the backs are rotated and utilized, especially as the season progresses.
• POSITION BATTLES ON OFFENSE
While the running backs have crazy depth, the wide receivers are looking for a third guy to complement Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington. Last year, it was KeAndre Lambert-Smith who filled that role and that could easily happen again in 2021.
The other options are Daniel George and Cam Sullivan-Brown, with athlete Marquis Wilson also in the mix. George and Sullivan-Brown were passed rather easily by Lambert-Smith and have been underwhelming for the Nittany Lions. George has amassed 295 yards and a touchdown in his three seasons, and 95 of those yards came on one play in 2018. Sullivan has 119 yards and no touchdowns in his three years. For perspective, last year in only nine games Lambert-Smith hauled in passes for 138 yards.
Under new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, the Nittany Lions are expected to air it out quite a bit, so having a solid trio of receivers is imperative. While it would be no surprise if Lambert-Smith assumed the third receiver role once again, Penn State undoubtedly will need more from George and Sullivan-Brown to get the offense to truly click.
• LUKETA AT DEFENSIVE END?
With Shaka Toney and Odafe Oweh off to the NFL, Penn State is light at defensive end. That depth will be tested even more, with reports out of University Park that Adisa Isaac will be out for the season after suffering an injury earlier this week.
Isaac was expected to compete for the open defensive end spots and had a legitimate chance at coming out of camp a starter. Now, the competition seems to between Temple transfer Arnold Ebiketie, who had an excellent spring, Nick Tarburton, Smith Vilbert and Jesse Luketa.
Yes, that same Jesse Luketa who is a linebacker. The plan all along has been to get Luketa into a position where he can play both defensive end and linebacker. Whether it works or not remains to be seen, but having that type of versatility at a position where many aren't as experienced is never a bad thing.
Luketa demonstrates the characteristics of being a solid 3-4 edge player and with his strength and rush ability, it makes sense for him to get his hand in the dirt a little bit to keep opposing offenses on their toes.
The biggest thing for Penn State is staying healthy through camp. If the Nittany Lions can do that, things should pick up right where they left off in December.