Wow...huge improvement for Allar. He was not impressive in the spring game. And what does that mean to CV?
Football Penn State players and HC James Franklin media availability (8/29)
- Thread starter Dylan Callaghan-Croley
- Start date
"I came back to win." - Mustipher on his return to Penn State this season. Says Thursday will have a lot of emotion. "I'll take it all in all, I'll appreciate it."
I don't sense CV transferring tomorrow. Let them battle it out the rest of the fall and into next spring for the starting job and go from there.
"They have a really good quarterback who can make plays. Anytime you have a quarterback who can take the general role of an offense it creates challenges." - Mustipher on Purdue's offense and Aiden O'Connell.
Mustipher says both Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant have done a "tremendous job of putting in the work, asking a ton of questions, and being a sponge." Says that has all translated to the practice field. "They're two talented guys, I know they're going to be able to help us this year for sure."
Agreed, but that depends on how well CV is taking this. We don't know why. Hell, I still don't know why he didn't play against Iowa. I'd love to see him stay. He played well later in the season. And things change. But if I am CV, I may not portal today, but I am certainly looking at my options. hell, Kentucky will be looking for a starter next year!
A big reason for Mustipher coming back and also rehabbing ahead of schedule as Penn State has not met its goals in the last few years.
Mustipher says Cornell transfer Hunter Nourzad has made the transition really well and he's handled the elevated level of talent. Has had some good battles with him throughout the fall.
Mustipher says Clifford's leadership of the offense has taken a step up this season compared to the last few years.
"They're focus is on getting better every single day," Mustipher on the freshmen running backs. Also said they're two of the best backs he's seen during his time at Penn State. Notes that he likes to hit them every now and then even when he's not supposed to be to remind them "this is my A gap.".
Mustipher says Chop Robinson has "true passing rushing abilities" but also that he's very physical and does a good job against the run.
didn't somebody post that he had a knee? I guess that was not correct?
"They've both been amazing. Both made the transition from cornerback to safety, they're extremely confident. They know their assignments. ." Brown on Zakee Wheatley and Keaton Ellis at safety.
" I think they handled extremely well, especially at the linebacker position, you basically have to be the captain of the defense. For them being young guys and being young guys coming into a new system, that's 10 times harder than being a young guy coming into an old system. Early on they struggled with getting concepts but now they're playing like vets." - Brown on Kobe King and Tyler Elsdon at linebacker.
"He showed us all he can do early on. His arm is extremely talented, just seeing him come he can sling the ball 60, 70, 80 yards."
"He was trying a lot of high school things early but now he's dialed in, looking like a professional quarterback. He's throwing the ball extremely well, reading coverages extremely well. He's made a big step from this spring to now."
Brown on Drew Allar.
"He was trying a lot of high school things early but now he's dialed in, looking like a professional quarterback. He's throwing the ball extremely well, reading coverages extremely well. He's made a big step from this spring to now."
Brown on Drew Allar.
"We pride ourselves on takeaways and getting the ball back under Manny" - Brown on playing under Manny Diaz. '
Brown wants to become a more all-around safety this year, be a run stopper, get a sack, and "make plays that most safties don't usually make."
Brown on freshman safety KJ Wilson.
"He just wanted to learn ... he wanted to push himself to the limit, he wanted to be tested. We've been rocking with every day since (he arrived on campus).:
"He's extremely talented, his best trait is his want to, he wants to learn. He wants to put himself in the best position possible to be the best player he could be. You couldn't ask for more out of a freshman. He plays great defense, you may see KJ out there this year as a player for us."
"He just wanted to learn ... he wanted to push himself to the limit, he wanted to be tested. We've been rocking with every day since (he arrived on campus).:
"He's extremely talented, his best trait is his want to, he wants to learn. He wants to put himself in the best position possible to be the best player he could be. You couldn't ask for more out of a freshman. He plays great defense, you may see KJ out there this year as a player for us."
"We have some young guys that are stepping up and looking good. We have some guys who haven't had a role who will have a role come Thursday."
"He has improved a lot from the spring. He didn't have his voice yet. He's really been better throughout camp. He's really learning how to become a leader from Sean. The sky is the limit for him." - Scruggs on Allar.
" The d-line has definitely gone better. The young guys are looking good, there are guys like Hakeem who are gonna show what's he got. You guys are going to see it. They make me better every day." - Scruggs on the defensive line.
Scruggs took the James Franklin route in saying the offensive line will show it on the field on Thursday when asked about the improvements they've made.
Not everyone is Will Levis, and maybe CV may get more playing time than we think.
Not so sure they lost less. Their top 3 receivers will not be in uniform this season. Bell, Wright, and Anthrop is a loss of 200 receptions and 2600 yards receiving. That's alot to replace and they only rushed for 1000 yards as a team.
On defense, losing Karlaftis doesn’t just mean losing his production but also the triple teams he drew. Plus their leading tackler LB Alexander is gone as well.
So while they return a who bunch of starters, those missing were the biggest parts of their production on both sides of the ball and it's not even close.
We lost more total starters sure but that's not the whole story. We also return 3 injured starters that were unavailable and brought in some ready to start newcomers.
I submit that if you are playing at that level, getting up at 5am, going through your reps, sacrificing your body, you THINK you are that good.
I read that JF mentioned the back-up QB position is fluid. Perhaps it will be so, but how do you get a 3rd team QB enough reps in practice and then maybe some game reps if there is blow out situation. Previously, CJF has been reluctant to play the back-up QB. We shall see. The wild card is - dare I say- injuries.
Fair enough. Purdue had a lot of high-quality Xfers including the B1Gs top kick return player of the year last year (a WR).
I'm not 100% on this, but I thought he got caught with weed and was in trouble early. Probably would have stayed in trouble longer if not for the Iowa debacle.
Thank you for doing this. Greatly appreciated!
Yeah they are a tough road opener draw but do you notice a trend? Wisconsin was a very tough draw, before that Indiana was due to returning a ton of players that year, and it just seems to always be that we get the team from the west that is the most seasoned as our opener, on the road.
I believe we've started the B1G season on the road in 12 of the last 13 years. Not kidding.
I still don’t know why he didn’t play vs Illinois.Agreed, but that depends on how well CV is taking this. We don't know why. Hell, I still don't know why he didn't play against Iowa. I'd love to see him stay. He played well later in the season. And things change. But if I am CV, I may not portal today, but I am certainly looking at my options. hell, Kentucky will be looking for a starter next year!
Yes I agree we MUST take care of Purdue and it would be nice if we could win by 10 or more but that is probably not happening. Nevertheless, we need the W to start separating ourselves from the chasers of O$U and scUM and get back to their level or at least certainly scUM's. Catching O$U where we beat them 50% of the time may just be too far fetched. Sparty this year will also be huge. It would be great to get to 10 wins and a NY6 bowl but a lot of work ahead to accomplish that starting on Thursday.
