STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- With spring ball wrapped up and Penn State's campus clearing out in the midst of finals week, what's the outlook at every position group?
There were some position changes in the winter that came to light in the spring and depth that was developed during those 15 spring practices. Of course much more still has to happen -- and it will largely play out behind the scenes this summer -- as Penn State inches closer to next season.
Penn State's freshmen will arrive at the end of June and in all likelihood will have about one month until camp starts. With the signees factored in how close is Penn State to the 85 scholarship limit? Well, I'll repeat as always with these numbers that it's an inexact science and far from an official number. All that matters is that they're at 85 by the time fall camp starts. There's always player movement here and everywhere, but for the time being I have them at 87 scholarships.
OFFENSE: 40
DEFENSE: 45
SPECIAL TEAMS: 2
QUARTERBACK (5)
• Trace McSorley
• Tommy Stevens
• Jake Zembiec
• Sean Clifford
• Will Levis
Outlook after spring: Stevens' decision to stay put after flirting with the idea of a transfer was among the biggest storylines of the spring. Penn State keeps their versatile backup quarterback whose role in the 'Lion' position could continue to evolve this summer. Clifford was the beneficiary of additional reps this spring because of Stevens' undisclosed injury, a detail that should bode well for the team when camp starts in late July and Clifford will have important second-team reps under his belt and ideally more experience to show because of it.
RUNNING BACK (5)
• Mark Allen
• Johnathan Thomas
• Miles Sanders
• Journey Brown
• Ricky Slade
Outlook after spring: Sanders is poised to be the top back with Allen and Thomas pushing for carries behind him, among others. Penn State adds Slade this summer and Brown, once a PIAA track star, has been on campus for nearly one year. Of course Saquon Barkley leaving early for the NFL freed up a scholarship here, but if this offensive line continues developing there's reason to believe -- based off how defense's will likely try and limit McSorley's shot plays rather than loading the box like they did last season zeroing in on Barkley -- that the backs could have more room to work this year.
"The worst thing for anybody is to replace a legend. Who wants to replace a legend? But the competitive guys say you know what, I want to kick down that door, I’m not afraid to walk in that shadow," running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider told me. "My coaching philosophy to these guys has been this: ‘Look, you’ve gotta be who you are. Don’t try to be him. You’re already talented enough otherwise you woueln’t be sitting here at Penn State. Just do the routine things and then let your natural abilities take over for you.' "
WIDE RECEIVER (9)
• De’Andre Thompkins
• Brandon Polk
• Juwan Johnson
• KJ Hamler
• Cameron Sullivan-Brown
• Mac Hippenhammer
• Justin Shorter
• Daniel George
• Jahan Dotson
Outlook after spring: Polk moved out of the slot this spring while Thompkins could be working there this fall. Polk moved to the 'Z' this spring -- where Thompkins played last season -- and Hamler, working in the slot, was among the team's standouts during the 15 spring practices.
Thompkins and Johnson will be expected to lead the position group while Hamler and Hippenhammer, the standout of the Blue-White game, will find ways to factor in as well. The trio of freshmen receivers arrive this summer and don't rule out a contributor potentially coming from that highly-touted group as well.
TIGHT END (5)
• Nick Bowers
• Jonathan Holland
• Danny Dalton
• Zack Kuntz
• Pat Freiermuth
Outlook after spring: Dalton looked to help his case this spring to potentially be atop the depth chart when fall camp starts. Bowers and Holland, when healthy, could both help impact this group as Bowers has long been praised for his athleticism but has dealt with injuries all throughout his collegiate career. Kuntz enrolled in January while classmate Freiermuth will join him this summer.
"I think we got good tight ends. I really do," offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne said. "I like the guys that come back and everyone is ready to go. I think we have some guys who will surprise some people so I’m excited about what our tight ends can do and I’m excited about the tight ends that we have coming in as well. ...This offense runs best when we have a great tight end.”
OFFENSIVE LINE (16)
• 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
• Frederick 'Juice' Scruggs
• Nana Asiedu
• Rasheed Walker
Outlook after spring: Menet had his best and healthiest spring to date, which has him likely in line to step into the vacant starting job at right guard. Right guard is the only spot where a starter doesn't return and while that bodes well for this group's outlook this season, so too does the depth that's being created behind the front five.
Wright and Fries both have starting experience at tackle to go along with left tackle Bates, which is a luxury for this team. McGovern could play center or guard and Bates could play tackle or guard as well. James Franklin said Menet could potentially line up anywhere along the interior. Thorpe, Miranda and Holmes will help round out the depth chart with Thorpe's nastiness in the trenches has been a positive for this group.
DEFENSIVE LINE (19)
TACKLES (10)
• Kevin Givens
• Robert Windsor
• Ellison Jordan
• Antonio Shelton
• Fred Hansard
• Corey Bolds
• Damion Barber
• Judge Culpepper
• PJ Mustipher
• Aeneas Hawkins
Outlook after spring: Penn State will need a big year from Givens and they won't shy away from taking advantage of his versatility. Praised by defensive coordinator Brent Pry for his consistency this spring, Givens and Windsor will have to anchor a group that needs depth to continue developing behind it.
"I think he needs to go out there consistently week in and week out and play a first-team All Conference caliber defensive tackle," Pry said of Givens' next step. "That’s what we’re looking for. If we’ve got to put him out there at end in some situations because of the opponent we’re playing potentially he’s ready to do that. I think he’s a guy who his season was a little bit of a roller coaster so we look for consistency and that’s the way he practiced this spring and that’s why he won that [spring] award. He was very consistent in his efforts, in his technique, in his production."
Shelton will be looked to step into a bigger role this season as well, while the trio of redshirt freshmen will have to factor in as well. Given as many linemen as Penn State likes to play during the course of a game, Franklin said this group better have a solid three deep to choose from. Fall camp will be a key time to continue seeing if Barber's physical gains have him poised to help fill a role while Hansard could be one to know up front as well.
"There’s a good group there and I tell you, the signees, we couldn’t be more excited about those guys. Judge Cuplepper, Aeneas Hawkins, PJ [Mustipher] those three are gonna come in and compete and that’ll push the guys," Pry said. "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.”
ENDS (9)
• Torrence Brown
• Ryan Buchholz
• Shareef Miller
• Shane Simmons
• Shaka Toney
• Daniel Joseph
• Yetur Gross-Matos
• Nick Tarburton
• Jayson Oweh
Outlook after spring: The ends should be a strength of this team and Penn State will need them to be while the interior linemen and the linebacking corps gets sorted out.
"We got so many guys who can do different things that they’re really good at," Miller said this spring. "You got Yetur and he can do a lot of great things. He’s real good. You got Shaka Toney with his speed off the edge. You got Shane Simmons who brings speed, power, finesse. You got Buchholz who has the power and he’s fast too and he’s good with his hands and stuff like that. There’s a lot of us. We’re going to be real good this year at defensive end."
Brown sustained a season-ending knee injury last September and ahead of the Fiesta Bowl it was unclear what the timetable looked like for a return for his senior season.
Penn State moved Tarburton, a January enrollee, from linebacker to defensive end this spring, the position group they thought he could end up at and after seeing his body developed quickly realized his greatest potential longterm is at end.
LINEBACKER (11)
• Koa Farmer
• Jarvis Miller
• Jake Cooper
• Cam Brown
• Dae’lun Darien (moved from WR in the winter)
• Brelin-Faison Walden
• Ellis Brooks
• Brailyn Franklin
• Micah Parsons
• Jesse Luketa
• Charlie Katshir
Outlook after spring: The linebacking corps will be sorted out at some point during fall camp and for the time being there are a few combinations Penn State could go with. Parsons settled in at the Will this spring while Brown played primarily at the Mike but did work at the Sam and Will too, he said.
Nothing was going to be solved after spring ball here, but those 15 practices are all part of the body of work.
"Coming out of spring you have a better idea than going into it," Pry said. "But, the summer will be important. Their progress and how they work and what the strength staff is saying and the feedback. ... It’s not just about who is the starter, it’s about who do you think you can put out there and win with and how many reps can you win with them? You formulate your two-deep that way. We’ll do a nice job this offseason of evaluating guys' weaknesses and can they improve on them or do they need to change positions to minimize those liabilities or can they overcome them? Is there someone else who has fewer weaknesses that needs to be in front of them?"
DEFENSIVE BACKS (15)
CORNERBACK (8)
• Amani Oruwariye
• John Reid
• Zech McPhearson
• Tariq Castro-Fields
• Donovan Johnson
• D.J. Brown
• Trent Gordon
• Jordan Miner
Outlook after spring: With Reid back to full health and working opposite Oruwariye the secondary as a whole should be one of the team's strengths. Franklin said McPhearson stood out to him during the spring game after McPhearson seemingly was around the ball all afternoon. Castro-Fields dove in head first during his freshman season, giving him a lot of experienced to build off of.
Penn State feels strongly enough about this group that they moved Wade to safety in the winter, a strong indicator they like where this group is at.
SAFETY (7)
• Nick Scott
• Ayron Monroe
• John Petrishen
• Garrett Taylor
• Lamont Wade
• Jonathan Sutherland
• Isaiah Humphries
Outlook after spring: Scott and Taylor led the position battle during spring ball and look for that to trickle into fall camp where Monroe when healthy should find a way to step into a bigger role while Wade continues getting comfortable with the position change. With only one safety in the 2018 signing class, and Humphries did early enroll, Penn State is still in a good spot here. Penn State was high on Sutherland's progress last year during his freshman year.
"We're gonna find the best two," Pry said. "If that means Nick plays out at strong and somebody else is in the boundary, that’s the same way at linebacker. I tell those guys, it doesn’t matter where you’re playing right now. Learn the position, learn the concepts, learn the traits, but ultimately you can end up somewhere else if you’re one of the top two or three at the position we’re gonna get you on the field.”
SPECIALISTS (2)
• Blake Gillikin (P)
• Jake Pinegar (K)
Outlook after spring: Pinegar arrives this summer and will be pushing for the kicking job right away. Walk-on Carson Landis was the team's kicker during spring ball and Gillikin could end up handling kickoffs, holds and of course punting next season. There will be a lot of eyes on the kicking competition as replacing Tyler Davis could be a challenge.
Still, Penn State invested a scholarship in Pinegar for a reason. Scholarship specialists have made a huge difference for this program, something that seemed far fetched when Penn State was working its way through the sanctions and didn't have the chance to go after scholarship specialists.
