Unseasonably warm weather has turned cold in State College, but that didn’t stop the Penn State football program’s spring practice session from heating up this past weekend.
The Nittany Lions were on the practice field Friday and Saturday for their first and second sessions of the 15-practice spring period, concurrent with the Spring Chalk Talk Clinic for a couple hundred Pennsylvania high school coaches and assistants; Friday afternoon’s was held outside, Saturday’s in the cozy confines of Holuba Hall.
Though plenty of practice time remains this spring between now and the Blue-White Game on April 16, a few initial impressions have already started to clarify themselves. So without further ado, let’s get into some of what we’ve been hearing through the weekend as the Nittany Lions gear up for practice No. 3 on Monday afternoon.
1) Because this is the area that everyone seems to be most interested in, the early reviews for the new guys on the offensive coaching staff have been quite positive. Let’s start here with offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead and the installation of a new system for the Nittany Lions this spring before moving on to line coach Matt Limegrover.
I’m going to repeat myself here a few times, and let this be the first: With the introduction of new blood, hope springs eternal. This is almost always true, and so the optimism tied to the first looks at Moorhead and his installation at work should come as absolutely no surprise. None of which is to say that Moorhead or his system are not a marked improvement over Penn State’s recent history. He very well may be. Certainly, the Nittany Lions will have their opportunities to prove as much - but they won’t come for another six months.
Now, all that said, the key words for Moorhead are tempo and formations, as head coach James Franklin indicated Monday afternoon at his pre-spring press conference. Friday and Saturday’s practices indicated as much. The mantra since Moorhead’s arrival has been that the offense will dictate its own pace and mix it up as he sees fit, but the reality here is that for the first time since Bill O’Brien’s departure, the full-throttle tempo will be very, very quick.
And the players themselves seem to have taken to all of it. Words like energy and attitude were frequently used to describe the first two sessions, and onlookers were impressed with an organization and effort that - all things considered - could have been chaotic.
Again, none of this should come as a surprise, but Barkley was impressive, Andre Robinson turned some heads, and Mark Allen especially looked sharp. Wideouts were as advertised. A couple of highlight-reel balls from DaeSean Hamilton and Saeed Blacknall.
2) Really though, names like Barkley, Hamilton and Godwin should be pretty well understood by Penn State’s fan base at this point. Certainly, contributions from Robinson, Allen, Blacknall, Juwan Johnson and Irvin Charles are yet to be defined, but are worthy of continued interest.
If the past two seasons have been an education for anything though, it’s that all the firepower in the world can be blunted when an offensive line is rendered ineffective. So, let’s get right into it:
LT - Paris Palmer - Charlie Shuman
LG - Derek Dowrey - Ryan Bates
C - Brian Gaia - Wendy Laurent - Connor McGovern
RG - Brendan Mahon - Chasz Wright
RT - Andrew Nelson - Chance Sorrell
No real surprises here. Note that Noah Beh and Steven Gonzalez were present and dressed, but appear to have minor dings. Both should be expected to be a factor upon their returns.
This is where things get interesting, though, and we’re going to start with Franklin’s comments on Monday just to kick off the sentiment. He ran through Paris Palmer, Derek Dowrey, Brian Gaia, Brendan Mahon, Andrew Nelson and Wendy Laurent first.
“So you've got those six guys that all have a number of games of experience and reps, and then you've got Coach Limegrover, who has been an offensive coordinator I think for 16 years and been an offensive coordinator in the Big Ten coaching that position. I think the combination of those two things is going to bode very well for us,” said Franklin.
Then later, this.
“I think what I can tell you is those guys that I started out first, those six guys that have played a lot of football, those guys I think now after the experience and the time in the weight room are much further along than where they have been the last two years.
“The question mark now is: That next line, are they ready to truly fight for starting jobs, or our worst-case scenario, are they truly ready to be legitimate two-deep guys. I think that's kind of where we're at. The starting unit, at least the guys that we have penciled in right now, is the starting unit.”
OK.
So, those six are the starting unit to start spring, and every indication through the first two practices was a confirmation of that. No doubt, for the first time in the past couple of years, there is actual confidence about the capabilities of not just the first string, but the second and even parts of the third as well. Meaning, a solid 10, 11, 12 bodies where the dropoff between first and second string isn’t so sharp, and not having to rely on six or seven players to mix and jumble themselves around at a moment’s notice.
But the takeaway here is significant in that the things that have been preached now for two years has not changed. Patience, patience, patience will be required of those younger offensive linemen, and at this specific moment, none of them appear to be in a position to supplant any of the starters.
Can that change? Absolutely, and it’s expected that as they develop, they will fight more and more to become factors and compete to develop some type of rotation as the season wears on. But again, right now there is a combination of the first unit looking improved (more on this in a moment) and the second unit still needing to develop, as there appears to be a pronounced line between the top group and the one behind it.
3) Which brings us to Limegrover.
Lots of positive things being said about this hire from Franklin himself and the observers around the program who have now seen him in action. He is said to have a sharp eye for detail, and is constantly coaching these guys up on a rep-by-rep basis.
And this is where I’ll be blunt. Herb Hand was a pretty well respected offensive line coach, but there is no avoiding the perception that at times (or all the time, depending on who you ask), the focus on scheme and concept was far too complicated and did more harm than good for this group of offensive linemen.
No more.
Fundamentals and technique have become paramount, and are truly different from some of what Hand was teaching. These have been well-received changes. In the run game, more attention has been paid to getting to the second level, and in pass protection the word simplicity has been thrown out there on a few occasions already.
4) Speaking of pass protection, the quarterbacks being protected showed early promise. McSorley was said to be in charge and had a nice command of the offense, while Stevens was not to be discounted from this race. They both did nice things, and there is some optimism for the position moving forward.
It’s been said before and bears repeating here. This is going to be a significant competition. Settle in, because barring unforeseen changes, it looks like a resolution is going to be reserved for at least the summer months as Franklin uses the competition to push each guy to better the other.
****
I know, offense-heavy impressions right out of the gates, but that was the main focal point of my conversations this weekend. Will work on learning more about the defensive side of the ball and its progress this week. Though, Mike Poorman of StateCollege.com did catch up with Franklin on Sunday afternoon at the NFF banquet at the Penn Stater, and had a few quotes about the first couple of practices, including this:
“Defensively, we’re obviously much further ahead,” he said... “We’re not skipping a beat in that perspective. The kids had obviously prepared and the coaches were very, very organized.”
His full story, here.
The Nittany Lions were on the practice field Friday and Saturday for their first and second sessions of the 15-practice spring period, concurrent with the Spring Chalk Talk Clinic for a couple hundred Pennsylvania high school coaches and assistants; Friday afternoon’s was held outside, Saturday’s in the cozy confines of Holuba Hall.
Though plenty of practice time remains this spring between now and the Blue-White Game on April 16, a few initial impressions have already started to clarify themselves. So without further ado, let’s get into some of what we’ve been hearing through the weekend as the Nittany Lions gear up for practice No. 3 on Monday afternoon.
1) Because this is the area that everyone seems to be most interested in, the early reviews for the new guys on the offensive coaching staff have been quite positive. Let’s start here with offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead and the installation of a new system for the Nittany Lions this spring before moving on to line coach Matt Limegrover.
I’m going to repeat myself here a few times, and let this be the first: With the introduction of new blood, hope springs eternal. This is almost always true, and so the optimism tied to the first looks at Moorhead and his installation at work should come as absolutely no surprise. None of which is to say that Moorhead or his system are not a marked improvement over Penn State’s recent history. He very well may be. Certainly, the Nittany Lions will have their opportunities to prove as much - but they won’t come for another six months.
Now, all that said, the key words for Moorhead are tempo and formations, as head coach James Franklin indicated Monday afternoon at his pre-spring press conference. Friday and Saturday’s practices indicated as much. The mantra since Moorhead’s arrival has been that the offense will dictate its own pace and mix it up as he sees fit, but the reality here is that for the first time since Bill O’Brien’s departure, the full-throttle tempo will be very, very quick.
And the players themselves seem to have taken to all of it. Words like energy and attitude were frequently used to describe the first two sessions, and onlookers were impressed with an organization and effort that - all things considered - could have been chaotic.
Again, none of this should come as a surprise, but Barkley was impressive, Andre Robinson turned some heads, and Mark Allen especially looked sharp. Wideouts were as advertised. A couple of highlight-reel balls from DaeSean Hamilton and Saeed Blacknall.
2) Really though, names like Barkley, Hamilton and Godwin should be pretty well understood by Penn State’s fan base at this point. Certainly, contributions from Robinson, Allen, Blacknall, Juwan Johnson and Irvin Charles are yet to be defined, but are worthy of continued interest.
If the past two seasons have been an education for anything though, it’s that all the firepower in the world can be blunted when an offensive line is rendered ineffective. So, let’s get right into it:
LT - Paris Palmer - Charlie Shuman
LG - Derek Dowrey - Ryan Bates
C - Brian Gaia - Wendy Laurent - Connor McGovern
RG - Brendan Mahon - Chasz Wright
RT - Andrew Nelson - Chance Sorrell
No real surprises here. Note that Noah Beh and Steven Gonzalez were present and dressed, but appear to have minor dings. Both should be expected to be a factor upon their returns.
This is where things get interesting, though, and we’re going to start with Franklin’s comments on Monday just to kick off the sentiment. He ran through Paris Palmer, Derek Dowrey, Brian Gaia, Brendan Mahon, Andrew Nelson and Wendy Laurent first.
“So you've got those six guys that all have a number of games of experience and reps, and then you've got Coach Limegrover, who has been an offensive coordinator I think for 16 years and been an offensive coordinator in the Big Ten coaching that position. I think the combination of those two things is going to bode very well for us,” said Franklin.
Then later, this.
“I think what I can tell you is those guys that I started out first, those six guys that have played a lot of football, those guys I think now after the experience and the time in the weight room are much further along than where they have been the last two years.
“The question mark now is: That next line, are they ready to truly fight for starting jobs, or our worst-case scenario, are they truly ready to be legitimate two-deep guys. I think that's kind of where we're at. The starting unit, at least the guys that we have penciled in right now, is the starting unit.”
OK.
So, those six are the starting unit to start spring, and every indication through the first two practices was a confirmation of that. No doubt, for the first time in the past couple of years, there is actual confidence about the capabilities of not just the first string, but the second and even parts of the third as well. Meaning, a solid 10, 11, 12 bodies where the dropoff between first and second string isn’t so sharp, and not having to rely on six or seven players to mix and jumble themselves around at a moment’s notice.
But the takeaway here is significant in that the things that have been preached now for two years has not changed. Patience, patience, patience will be required of those younger offensive linemen, and at this specific moment, none of them appear to be in a position to supplant any of the starters.
Can that change? Absolutely, and it’s expected that as they develop, they will fight more and more to become factors and compete to develop some type of rotation as the season wears on. But again, right now there is a combination of the first unit looking improved (more on this in a moment) and the second unit still needing to develop, as there appears to be a pronounced line between the top group and the one behind it.
3) Which brings us to Limegrover.
Lots of positive things being said about this hire from Franklin himself and the observers around the program who have now seen him in action. He is said to have a sharp eye for detail, and is constantly coaching these guys up on a rep-by-rep basis.
And this is where I’ll be blunt. Herb Hand was a pretty well respected offensive line coach, but there is no avoiding the perception that at times (or all the time, depending on who you ask), the focus on scheme and concept was far too complicated and did more harm than good for this group of offensive linemen.
No more.
Fundamentals and technique have become paramount, and are truly different from some of what Hand was teaching. These have been well-received changes. In the run game, more attention has been paid to getting to the second level, and in pass protection the word simplicity has been thrown out there on a few occasions already.
4) Speaking of pass protection, the quarterbacks being protected showed early promise. McSorley was said to be in charge and had a nice command of the offense, while Stevens was not to be discounted from this race. They both did nice things, and there is some optimism for the position moving forward.
It’s been said before and bears repeating here. This is going to be a significant competition. Settle in, because barring unforeseen changes, it looks like a resolution is going to be reserved for at least the summer months as Franklin uses the competition to push each guy to better the other.
****
I know, offense-heavy impressions right out of the gates, but that was the main focal point of my conversations this weekend. Will work on learning more about the defensive side of the ball and its progress this week. Though, Mike Poorman of StateCollege.com did catch up with Franklin on Sunday afternoon at the NFF banquet at the Penn Stater, and had a few quotes about the first couple of practices, including this:
“Defensively, we’re obviously much further ahead,” he said... “We’re not skipping a beat in that perspective. The kids had obviously prepared and the coaches were very, very organized.”
His full story, here.
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