With Penn State's spring practice beginning on Friday [March 18] and with James Franklin having his pre-spring practice press conference on Monday [March 14], there is a lot to talk about relative to Penn State's football program.
On offense there's the QB battle between Trace McSorley, Tommy Stevens and freshman Jake Zembiec, who enrolled at Penn State in January. Can redshirt freshmen Ryan Bates, Steven Gonzalez and Sterling Jenkins really make a difference on the offensive line and battle for serious playing time this fall? Is Saquon Barkley potentially the premier running back in the Big Ten for the upcoming 2016 season? Do Chris Godwin, DaeSean Hamilton, Saeed Blacknall, DeAndre Thompkins, Brandon Polk and with the emergence of redshirt freshmen Irvin Charles and Juwan Johnson potentially comprise the best group of wide receivers in the Big Ten? Will Miles Sanders, who was rated the # 1 all-purpose running back in the class of 2016, be the perfect fit for Joe Moorhead's offense? Finally, how does all this skill talent on offense fit into Coach Moorhead's spread offensive philosophy? These are just some of the topics on offense I'd like questions from our Lions Den members in my chat.
On defense probably the two biggest questions are: Who are the candidates to replace Austin Johnson, Anthony Zettel and Carl Nassib on the defensive line? Will Penn State's possible depth situation at linebacker end up being the Nittany Lions' "Achilles Heal" on defense this fall? Can freshmen like punter, Blake Gillikin, and placekicker, Alex Barber, both from Georgia be the answer on special teams with Penn State's struggling kicking game? Is this the deepest Penn State's ever been in the secondary at both safety and cornerback going into a spring practice session?
Last but not least, besides Sanders can any other freshmen have an impact this fall? What will be the top position battles in spring practice and who are the Nittany Lions' potential breakout players this spring? I could go on forever because this could turn out to be one of the most interesting spring practice sessions at Penn State in close to a decade.
That's why I'm ready to talk some Penn State football starting at 1 PM tomorrow [Wednesday, March 16] afternoon.
On offense there's the QB battle between Trace McSorley, Tommy Stevens and freshman Jake Zembiec, who enrolled at Penn State in January. Can redshirt freshmen Ryan Bates, Steven Gonzalez and Sterling Jenkins really make a difference on the offensive line and battle for serious playing time this fall? Is Saquon Barkley potentially the premier running back in the Big Ten for the upcoming 2016 season? Do Chris Godwin, DaeSean Hamilton, Saeed Blacknall, DeAndre Thompkins, Brandon Polk and with the emergence of redshirt freshmen Irvin Charles and Juwan Johnson potentially comprise the best group of wide receivers in the Big Ten? Will Miles Sanders, who was rated the # 1 all-purpose running back in the class of 2016, be the perfect fit for Joe Moorhead's offense? Finally, how does all this skill talent on offense fit into Coach Moorhead's spread offensive philosophy? These are just some of the topics on offense I'd like questions from our Lions Den members in my chat.
On defense probably the two biggest questions are: Who are the candidates to replace Austin Johnson, Anthony Zettel and Carl Nassib on the defensive line? Will Penn State's possible depth situation at linebacker end up being the Nittany Lions' "Achilles Heal" on defense this fall? Can freshmen like punter, Blake Gillikin, and placekicker, Alex Barber, both from Georgia be the answer on special teams with Penn State's struggling kicking game? Is this the deepest Penn State's ever been in the secondary at both safety and cornerback going into a spring practice session?
Last but not least, besides Sanders can any other freshmen have an impact this fall? What will be the top position battles in spring practice and who are the Nittany Lions' potential breakout players this spring? I could go on forever because this could turn out to be one of the most interesting spring practice sessions at Penn State in close to a decade.
That's why I'm ready to talk some Penn State football starting at 1 PM tomorrow [Wednesday, March 16] afternoon.
