Not everyone plays 5 linemen. And it's about Maryland AND what comes after. If you don't have five, you don't play five. You play 3. That's that. Unless you want Artis in there, and right now he can't even block for extra points. MAYBE They move 92 inside, we'll see.
Donkoh and Ford out for the season
- Thread starter PSUWrestlingFanSince2011
- Start date
That's right. He's gone. So only 3 DT's with a good bit of experience - Ellies, Durant and Izzard. Seems like getting a couple of the younger guys PT vs MD would reasonably be a priority. Artis is the most experienced, in his 3rd yr (RS.So), then Blanding and Mupoyi RS Fr, then the true freshmen Gilliam Cunningham, Cook and Andrews.
Doesn't seem to matter what everyone does. Franklin stated many times he wants 5 DT's ready to play. Yep, it's about what comes after. And for those better teams PSU will need 5 DT's ready to play in case of nicks and/or injuries. Even if things go well and they decide not to play all 5.
I thought so. Greg had referenced him playing and I was questioning if he returned.
Artis will have to play and possibly Gilliam if they are going to keep players fresh. I'll guarantee Maryland wll look to run more knowing PSU's limitations.
Franklin said yesterday in his post practice Q&A session when asked in the first question about the young DT's being ready to play that Blanding and Gilliam are this week competing for the next DT to be in the rotation, but that both Blanding and Gilliam will need to be ready to play.
I'm assuming that they are competing for the 5th DT spot who typically gets a few snaps in each game. Ellies, Durant, Izzard, Artis, plus whoever wins this week's battle for the 5th DT spot.
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Artis has not been mentioned by Franklin in any way whatsoever. The 4th DT position is a two way battle between Blanding and Gilliam. One thing I actually DO like about Franklin is that he puts the best players on the field regardless of seniority. Artis will be at his new spot as 2nd team offensive tackle for field goals.
Artis has been getting snaps since the 2023 season and I believe Franklin assumed everyone in the audience knew that he was the 4th DT now that Beamon is gone and Ford is out. Artis (RS Soph) has been ahead of Blanding (RS Fr) for 2 years and ahead of Gilliam all this season as the staff was trying to redshirt Gilliam. Artis has played, according to the PSU athletic site, in all 11 games (4 total tackles). Whereas Blanding, a year younger than Artis as a RS freshman, shows as having played in just 4 games (1 tackle). Gilliam has not burned his redshirt yet and I don't believe he will if he plays this weekend. PSU stats don't show Gilliam with a tackle this season.
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Zane Durant: 43 (398)
D’Von J-Thomas: 35 (330)
Coziah Izzard: 26 (198)
Alonzo Ford: 9 (184)
Franklin seems to have been talking about having depth DT's ready to play due to injuries as PSU seems to play 4 DT's regularly each game, but 5 or more when there are injuries. when the defense is on the field for high snap counts, or to get some young players experience.
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That's all well and good but Franklin didn't mention Artis. That's fact.Artis has been getting snaps since the 2023 season and I believe Franklin assumed everyone in the audience knew that he was the 4th DT now that Beamon is gone and Ford is out. Artis (RS Soph) has been ahead of Blanding (RS Fr) for 2 years and ahead of Gilliam all this season as the staff was trying to redshirt Gilliam. Artis has played, according to the PSU athletic site, in all 11 games (4 total tackles). Whereas Blanding, a year younger than Artis as a RS freshman, shows as having played in just 4 games (1 tackle). Gilliam has not burned his redshirt yet and I don't believe he will if he plays this weekend. PSU stats don't show Gilliam with a tackle this season.
Snap counts for the Minny game show none of Artis, Blanding or Gilliam getting a snap at DT during that game. Game (season) totalsPenn State Athletics Official Athletics Website
The official sports website for Penn State Athletics. Learn about schedules, rosters, scores, and Penn State Nittany Lion players at gopsusports.com.
Zane Durant: 43 (398)
D’Von J-Thomas: 35 (330)
Coziah Izzard: 26 (198)
Alonzo Ford: 9 (184)
Franklin seems to have been talking about having depth DT's ready to play due to injuries as PSU seems to play 4 DT's regularly each game, but 5 or more when there are injuries. when the defense is on the field for high snap counts, or to get some young players experience.
The question was about Gilliam, and Franklin talked about Gilliam's battel with Blanding, competing to get snaps at DT and to be ready to play when they might be needed, a good question given that PSU lost two DT's from the DT rotation over the last month, Beamon and now Ford. He didn't mention Any of the current DT's that get the majority of the playing time or where either Gilliam or Artis might be in the depth chart. That includes Ellies, Durant, and Izzard as well. Fact. Yep it's all well and good that Artis wasn't mentioned, Durant wasn't mentioned..... which means nothing as it had nothing to do with the question that was asked and answered. That's a fact as well as it seems your collecting facts.
Here's the link to the Wed post practice Q&A. It's the first question.
Anyone that follows PSU football knows that Ellies, Durrant and Izzard are the remaining DT's from the group that made up the base 5 DT rotation and that Artis has been getting occasional snaps the last two years as the first DT not regularly part of the base rotation.
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