Good evening folks -
Just back from Penn State’s partially opened midweek practice at Holuba Hall as Ida continues to dump rain on the State College area since last night and into today. Heading back up for interviews with Franklin and Sean Clifford here shortly.
The Nittany Lion program opened its doors for about 20 minutes this afternoon as they continue their preparations for Saturday’s noon kick against Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium (11 a.m. CST, FOX).
Let’s get right into the news, notes, and observations from what we saw this afternoon:
1) Penn State head coach James Franklin said Tuesday at his weekly press conference that the program wouldn’t be releasing a depth chart in its game notes at all this season, following the lead of many other programs around the Big Ten.
He also said that local media covering the program know what the depth chart actually is.
So in that vein, it feels safe to make some assumptions that the most recent appearances during the program’s open practices will likely carry over to what makes its way onto the field Saturday in Madison.
2) Ji’Ayir Brown looks like he’ll start opposite Jaquan Brisker at safety.
That’s a battle that we’ve had our eye on this preseason as, at one point early in camp, Keaton Ellis appeared poised to make a run at the starting position.
However, as we relayed last week, Ellis wasn’t around for the program’s night practice at Beaver Stadium. Well, he was back this afternoon practicing in pads with the rest of the safeties, but it was Brown who appeared with the first-team defense at that free safety position. And more important, it was Jonathan Sutherland and Jaylen Reed with the second team.
The question is where that puts
We’ll see what happens, but at this point in the week, I have to wonder if Ellis is going to be available this weekend.
3) More news on the defensive side of the ball, which is where I spent the majority of my time this afternoon.
No surprises with Joey Porter Jr. and Tariq Castro-Fields as the first out at corner. Same for Daequan Hardy, who we reported earlier this summer as having the edge to win that starting slot corner spot.
However, the second group looked like Kalen King - again, no surprise - and Zakee Wheatley, with Johnny Dixon manning nickel duties. That all aligns, but Wheatley comes as a little bit of a surprise - not that there wasn’t buzz for him, there was, but that's definitely an ascent for him.
4) Along the defensive line, again, no real surprises in Nick Tarburton and Arnold Ebiketie on the ends and P.J. Mustipher paired with Derrick Tangelo. So, that maybe answers that at least on the Tangelo/Hakeem Beamon front.
What became clearer this week, however, is that the depth rotation at defensive end is looking more and more like Jesse Luketa, Smith Vilbert, and Zuriah Fisher. And, at tackle, Fatorma Mulbah looks like that second nose with Hakeem Beamon as the 3-technique, but we’re also seeing Coziah Izzard, Dvon Ellies, and Amin Vanover rotating in there. DT depth is definitely going to be interesting to see on Saturday at Camp Randall. No sign of Fred Hansard, but I wasn't particularly scanning the scene to find him.
One note here regarding Beamon, just because I know there have been questions about his size. This was what Mustipher had to say about him during a session with the media this afternoon, acknowledging that the redshirt sophomore is lighter than typical at the position but, also, that he’s been there all preseason and has been effective in the role.
“Hakeem has been inside all camp. He's done a great job with that,” Mustipher said. “He is a little light, but that allows him to use his quick-twitch and do a lot of things that guys can't do on the interior. He's strong.
“He is a little lighter than all of us, but I think we saw last year little glimpses of him being able to still be in there and dominate and do what we need him to do. I don't think that's a problem and I expect him to have a great year as well.”
**************
Back with more from Franklin and company a bit later this evening.
Questions, comments, concerns - post them here.
Just back from Penn State’s partially opened midweek practice at Holuba Hall as Ida continues to dump rain on the State College area since last night and into today. Heading back up for interviews with Franklin and Sean Clifford here shortly.
The Nittany Lion program opened its doors for about 20 minutes this afternoon as they continue their preparations for Saturday’s noon kick against Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium (11 a.m. CST, FOX).
Let’s get right into the news, notes, and observations from what we saw this afternoon:
1) Penn State head coach James Franklin said Tuesday at his weekly press conference that the program wouldn’t be releasing a depth chart in its game notes at all this season, following the lead of many other programs around the Big Ten.
He also said that local media covering the program know what the depth chart actually is.
So in that vein, it feels safe to make some assumptions that the most recent appearances during the program’s open practices will likely carry over to what makes its way onto the field Saturday in Madison.
2) Ji’Ayir Brown looks like he’ll start opposite Jaquan Brisker at safety.
That’s a battle that we’ve had our eye on this preseason as, at one point early in camp, Keaton Ellis appeared poised to make a run at the starting position.
However, as we relayed last week, Ellis wasn’t around for the program’s night practice at Beaver Stadium. Well, he was back this afternoon practicing in pads with the rest of the safeties, but it was Brown who appeared with the first-team defense at that free safety position. And more important, it was Jonathan Sutherland and Jaylen Reed with the second team.
The question is where that puts
We’ll see what happens, but at this point in the week, I have to wonder if Ellis is going to be available this weekend.
3) More news on the defensive side of the ball, which is where I spent the majority of my time this afternoon.
No surprises with Joey Porter Jr. and Tariq Castro-Fields as the first out at corner. Same for Daequan Hardy, who we reported earlier this summer as having the edge to win that starting slot corner spot.
However, the second group looked like Kalen King - again, no surprise - and Zakee Wheatley, with Johnny Dixon manning nickel duties. That all aligns, but Wheatley comes as a little bit of a surprise - not that there wasn’t buzz for him, there was, but that's definitely an ascent for him.
4) Along the defensive line, again, no real surprises in Nick Tarburton and Arnold Ebiketie on the ends and P.J. Mustipher paired with Derrick Tangelo. So, that maybe answers that at least on the Tangelo/Hakeem Beamon front.
What became clearer this week, however, is that the depth rotation at defensive end is looking more and more like Jesse Luketa, Smith Vilbert, and Zuriah Fisher. And, at tackle, Fatorma Mulbah looks like that second nose with Hakeem Beamon as the 3-technique, but we’re also seeing Coziah Izzard, Dvon Ellies, and Amin Vanover rotating in there. DT depth is definitely going to be interesting to see on Saturday at Camp Randall. No sign of Fred Hansard, but I wasn't particularly scanning the scene to find him.
One note here regarding Beamon, just because I know there have been questions about his size. This was what Mustipher had to say about him during a session with the media this afternoon, acknowledging that the redshirt sophomore is lighter than typical at the position but, also, that he’s been there all preseason and has been effective in the role.
“Hakeem has been inside all camp. He's done a great job with that,” Mustipher said. “He is a little light, but that allows him to use his quick-twitch and do a lot of things that guys can't do on the interior. He's strong.
“He is a little lighter than all of us, but I think we saw last year little glimpses of him being able to still be in there and dominate and do what we need him to do. I don't think that's a problem and I expect him to have a great year as well.”
**************
Back with more from Franklin and company a bit later this evening.
Questions, comments, concerns - post them here.
