READ: Penn State Open Practice Notes - 8/12
- All three quarterbacks had their moments on Saturday evening, showing what they could bring to the table. Drew Allar showed arm strength and improved accuracy that is making some call him a dark horse Heisman contender this fall. Beau Pribula's development is coming along well, looking calm and collected for most of the night in the pocket, while Jaxon Smolik, for a true freshman, was impressive. That shouldn't be shocking when it comes to Smolik. James Franklin, during last week's media day, called the freshman signal caller the "surprise of camp".
At the same time, it was also clear that they are all rather young quarterbacks, and while Drew Allar has some experience, for the most part, they're all quite inexperienced. There were some bumps along the way Saturday, and there will be bumps early this season as well for Drew, but at the same time, the potential that oozes out of that quarterback room was also on display as well.
- Notably, offensive lineman Landon Tengwall was nowhere in sight. James Franklin has not announced anything regarding Tengwall, which for now is a good thing but his absence is notable. He was also absent from media days last week. The redshirt sophomore out of Annapolis, Maryland, missed the second half of last season with an injury after starting the first five games of the season for the Nittany Lions. In his absence, JB Nelson stepped in and looked strong in the process.
Penn State, of course, has already lost a pair of defensive linemen for the season in Smith Vilbert and
Alonzo Ford.
- With the extended look at the offense, it was nice to finally be able to see the developed on-the-field relationships between Allar and the receivers. If Saturday was a sign of things to come, KeAndre Lambert-Smith could be in for a big fall; Allar was targeting him quite a bit.
- Not much to take away from the running back room. They all continued to look the part. Nicholas Singleton was punching his way through defenders and staying on his feet despite the wet grass while Kaytron Allen pushed through congestion quite a bit, especially in one instance, to get a tough for an impressive first down on “3rd and 2”. There was one point in the evening that Nick Singleton absolutely torched Dom DeLuca, who stood no chance of nabbing Singleton.
- The pass defense was excellent, and they only allowed a few beautiful passes to get through or by them. Pressure on the quarterbacks was consistent and persistent. The defense was quite a bit ahead of the offense on Saturday, which shouldn't be terribly shocking at this point in camp. Also, this Nittany Lions' defense will be the best the offense sees until September 23.
- The defensive tackle room showed off its depth throughout the evening, which isn't terribly surprising. The Nittany Lions have a strong two deep with Dvon Ellis, Hakeem Beamon, Zane Durant, and Jordan van den Berg. But they still need to find at least a fifth defensive tackle before heading into the season, whether that's Coziah Izzard, Davon Townely, or Kaleb Artis.
- The star of the show on the defensive side of the ball on Saturday night was freshman safety King Mack. Last season, we saw KJ Winston play quite a bit as a true freshman for the Nittany Lions, and Mack is easily working his way toward seeing the field this fall as well. Not only is he flashing at safety, but his speed and athleticism could also make him a weapon in the return games as well.
- Special teams were very solid for the most part. The place-kicking had its fair share of ups and downs. They drilled some deep-field goals throughout the evening but also had some poor misses. They'll need to fix those issues, and playing in the Big Ten, poor weather cannot be an excuse. The punters had a rather good evening and were more consistent.
- All three quarterbacks had their moments on Saturday evening, showing what they could bring to the table. Drew Allar showed arm strength and improved accuracy that is making some call him a dark horse Heisman contender this fall. Beau Pribula's development is coming along well, looking calm and collected for most of the night in the pocket, while Jaxon Smolik, for a true freshman, was impressive. That shouldn't be shocking when it comes to Smolik. James Franklin, during last week's media day, called the freshman signal caller the "surprise of camp".
At the same time, it was also clear that they are all rather young quarterbacks, and while Drew Allar has some experience, for the most part, they're all quite inexperienced. There were some bumps along the way Saturday, and there will be bumps early this season as well for Drew, but at the same time, the potential that oozes out of that quarterback room was also on display as well.
- Notably, offensive lineman Landon Tengwall was nowhere in sight. James Franklin has not announced anything regarding Tengwall, which for now is a good thing but his absence is notable. He was also absent from media days last week. The redshirt sophomore out of Annapolis, Maryland, missed the second half of last season with an injury after starting the first five games of the season for the Nittany Lions. In his absence, JB Nelson stepped in and looked strong in the process.
Penn State, of course, has already lost a pair of defensive linemen for the season in Smith Vilbert and
Alonzo Ford.
- With the extended look at the offense, it was nice to finally be able to see the developed on-the-field relationships between Allar and the receivers. If Saturday was a sign of things to come, KeAndre Lambert-Smith could be in for a big fall; Allar was targeting him quite a bit.
- Not much to take away from the running back room. They all continued to look the part. Nicholas Singleton was punching his way through defenders and staying on his feet despite the wet grass while Kaytron Allen pushed through congestion quite a bit, especially in one instance, to get a tough for an impressive first down on “3rd and 2”. There was one point in the evening that Nick Singleton absolutely torched Dom DeLuca, who stood no chance of nabbing Singleton.
- The pass defense was excellent, and they only allowed a few beautiful passes to get through or by them. Pressure on the quarterbacks was consistent and persistent. The defense was quite a bit ahead of the offense on Saturday, which shouldn't be terribly shocking at this point in camp. Also, this Nittany Lions' defense will be the best the offense sees until September 23.
- The defensive tackle room showed off its depth throughout the evening, which isn't terribly surprising. The Nittany Lions have a strong two deep with Dvon Ellis, Hakeem Beamon, Zane Durant, and Jordan van den Berg. But they still need to find at least a fifth defensive tackle before heading into the season, whether that's Coziah Izzard, Davon Townely, or Kaleb Artis.
- The star of the show on the defensive side of the ball on Saturday night was freshman safety King Mack. Last season, we saw KJ Winston play quite a bit as a true freshman for the Nittany Lions, and Mack is easily working his way toward seeing the field this fall as well. Not only is he flashing at safety, but his speed and athleticism could also make him a weapon in the return games as well.
- Special teams were very solid for the most part. The place-kicking had its fair share of ups and downs. They drilled some deep-field goals throughout the evening but also had some poor misses. They'll need to fix those issues, and playing in the Big Ten, poor weather cannot be an excuse. The punters had a rather good evening and were more consistent.
