ALTOONA, Pa. -- Game week is finally upon Penn State which means a depth chart is sure to be released some time this week in advance of the season-opening game at Wisconsin which kicks of at Noon from Madison, Wisc. on Saturday.
This season is squarely placed on the shoulders of the quarterback position and Sean Clifford. Can he take the next step under new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich? Who will back him up and see the field should things go astray early? Those answers should come soon as should a lot of others this week.
Everything is still up in the air as far as how things will shake out with the roster and the depth chart. Some positions were set in stone entering camp while others are up in the air pending the result of camp battles and camp performances. James Franklin routinely releases his depth chart prior to his Tuesday press conference, but until then let's speculate what it will look like on the offensive side of the ball:
Quarterback:
• Sean Clifford (Redshirt-Senior): Clifford gets the nod because of his experience and will be entering the season as a third-year starter. Clearly his first year in 2019 was his best and last year was well, not good at all. The offense goes as this position goes and if he falters early this could be a long year. Christian Veilleux (Freshman) gets the nod from me as the backup because I think he's the better overall quarterback at this point. He and Ta'Quan Roberson (Redshirt-Sophomore) are both inexperienced with Roberson getting a slight edge because he played minimally last season.
Veilleux seems to be the real deal and was able to enroll early which got him valuable reps this spring and summer, though there aren't a lot of reps to go around for guys second and third on the depth chart. Another reason he got an edge is because he and Roberson are starting from the same spot as far as learning the new offense is going.
Running back:
• Noah Cain (Junior) - Keyvone Lee (Sophomore): Cain and Lee are the 1A and 1B as far as the starting backs are concerned. Yurcich has said previously he's more than willing to use up to three and sometimes even four running backs in a rotation depending on what the situation or opponent allows. With the emergence of Lee last season as a true freshman, he deserves to be back atop the depth chart again after taking over once Cain and Devyn Ford (Junior) got hurt.
A healthy Cain also deserves to be at the top simply because he didn't do anything to not warrant that with his injury coming in the first game of the season last year. After those two, it becomes a toss-up, but in a good way. John Lovett (Fifth-year senior) comes to Penn State from Baylor and the Nittany Lions' staff isn't going to go out and get a back like Lovett for him to just sit the bench so the expectation would be for him to play in the rotation in some way, shape or form.
After Lovett, my pick is Caziah Holmes (Sophomore) who also burst on the season last year without any fanfare, but did an admirable job backing up Lee. He's ahead of Ford because, simply, the production hasn't matched up to the talent or potential yet and until that happens he's on the outside looking in for the moment.
Tight end:
• Brenton Strange (Redshirt-Sophomore) and Theo Johnson (Sophomore) got a lot of valuable experience last season following the injury to Pat Freiermuth who is now in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That experience adds to the depth of the tight end position with Strange being the starter and Johnson being right there with him as the backup.
Following those two, it seems as though Tyler Warren (Redshirt-Freshman), who appeared in two games last season, will be the guy. This has the potential to be the deepest, most athletic tight end room for a Penn State program that has produced Freiermuth as well as Mike Gesicki.
Wide receiver:
• Jahan Dotson (Senior) is far and away the No. 1 receiver after his break-out campaign in 2020. Dotson returned to the Nittany Lions looking for hardware this season and that could very well happen if the stars align in the right way for the offense this season. Following Dotson is another player who had a great 2020 season in Parker Washington (Sophomore) who burst on to the Big 10 scene as a true freshman.
Dotson and Washington were the lone bright spots in an otherwise dismal five-game losing streak to start the season. After Dotson and Washington is where the depth gets tested. Last year, KeAndre Lambert Smith (Sophomore) started five games with Daniel George (Redshirt-Junior) starting for two games as well.
Lambert-Smith looks to be the front-runner for the third wideout spot out of camp. His performance last season and even in the spring has proved his a better option than even some of the more experienced guys on the team. This is finally a team that has depth at the receiver position and consistency in their position coach as well.
George is a guy who could work himself into the two-deep rotation at receiver as could Cam Sullivan-Brown (Redshirt-Senior) though with Sullivan-Brown, he was passed up by the younger guys in Washington, George and Lambert-Smith last season. Liam Clifford is another guy to watch as he's got a connection with his brother Sean already and could see significant playing time early in the season as well.
Another player to keep an eye on this fall is athlete Marquis Wilson (Junior) who's playing on both sides of the football. His athleticism is there and he started off on the equal footing with the other receivers in learning the offense.
Offensive line:
• Left Tackle: Rasheed Walker (Redshirt-Junior) is a future first round pick who came back looking to make an even bigger mark on the Penn State program and barring something unforeseen will assuredly do so. Behind Walker though it gets shaky as there's not a lot of experience on the roster to protect Clifford's blindside.
Golden Israel-Achumba (Redshirt-Freshman) is someone who I think could back up Walker in a pinch if something went wrong. The size, 6-foot-4, 334 pounds makes him an ideal candidate at tackle and he could have a productive future there after Walker heads to the NFL.
• Left Guard: Eric Wilson (Senior) is who I have winning the battle for starting left guard, a battle that hasn't quite been finalized through camp. Wilson, a Harvard transfer, is someone the staff thinks highly of and could push Anthony Whigan (Redshirt-Senior) for the starting spot and I believe he might do just that when it's all said and done.
Based off last season, left guard is the only position up for grabs along the offensive front and it'll be interesting to see how the initial depth chart reflects that.
• Center: Mike Miranda (Redshirt-Senior) slides into the center role following the graduation of Michal Menet. Miranda started nine games at left guard last season and should transition well at center as he's got the most playing experience in the group. Behind Miranda though, is Juice Scruggs (Redshirt-Junior) who was supposed to be the center of the future, but was derailed because of a bad back.
• Right Guard: Scruggs is my pick for starting right guard, even though I have him as the back up center. He finally returned to the field in 2020 and appeared in seven games for the Nittany Lions last season as he returned from back injuries sustained in a car accident in 2019. Scruggs' return help solidify the depth of the offensive front and was a welcome sight for the program. Behind Scruggs at right guard should be Des Holmes (Redshirt-Senior), who has a multitude of experience, but is just a tick below a healthy Scruggs. Holmes could find himself sliding into a position along the line with an injury though.
• Right Tackle: Caedan Wallace (Redshirt-Sophomore) started seven games at right tackle last season and played in two others so penciling him in as the starter is a rather easy decision. Backing up Wallace should be true freshman Landon Tengwall who had an impressive spring and should push for playing time this fall as a result.
The initial depth chart is always a wild place to start the season as many things can and will change throughout the first week, but also in the weeks to come based on performance and injuries.
