Penn State’s training camp has moved past the feel-out stage and into the part where real decisions start sticking. The Nittany Lions have already gotten their first scrimmage at Beaver Stadium, and with the Sept. 5 opener against Marshall getting closer, a few of the week’s most notable developments are starting to shape the picture.
One of the biggest came at a position that wasn’t supposed to be in flux. Freshman quarterback Peyton Falzone spent Week 2 of camp getting reps at tight end, and head coach Matt Campbell said the move is still very much a work in progress even after Falzone showed well in his first two days there. Campbell pointed to Falzone’s athleticism and said the staff sees enough in him to keep exploring the switch.
Falzone arrived at Penn State in December before Campbell was hired, and his path to this point already had a few unusual turns. Last year, he spent long weekends driving 14 hours roundtrip to Ohio to train with quarterbacks coach Brad Maendler, who called Falzone the most athletic player he has coached. Campbell and quarterbacks coach Jake Waters have also been impressed enough to give him a look at tight end, and Falzone’s frame - 6-5, 215 - gives the idea some real substance.
“I give him a lot of credit, because he did what was best for the team and wanted to make that move right now,” Campbell said. “Obviously we left the quarterback piece open, but I think what’s best for him and best for the football team right now was his ability to see maybe what he can do [at tight end].”
Campbell also made a quieter but telling change inside the Lasch Football Building. When he arrived, the head coach’s office was too large for him, while the program was short on meeting space.
His fix was simple and revealing: he had a wall put up to shrink the office and turn part of it into a multi-purpose room for meetings and film study. Special teams now use that space.
“It’s awesome,” Penn State special teams coordinator Justin Lustig said. “What a great message it sends to the players. It’s humility No. 1, and then selfishly, it's the importance of special teams, and that's so critical for these guys.”
Kicker Ryan Barker, who made the preseason watch list for the Lou Groza Award, said the new setup has raised the standard for that group.
“He’s always going to be a players' first coach, and I've seen it over and over during the past seven months,” Barker said. “He will do anything to make us successful, and we are at the core of who he's trying to make better. It's an awesome feeling knowing the level of investment that he has in us, and it's awesome knowing that he has our backs no matter what.”
There’s also been some personality in the backfield. Running back James Peoples, who spent two seasons with Ohio State, said he expects Penn State to be playing after the regular season.
“I have the same [expectations] as the other team over there,” Peoples said. “I think there’s no reason this team is not going to make it into the postseason. I have full faith that we are.”
Peoples has brought some of that “TTUN (That Team Up North)” edge into the room, and he’s been making steady progress in Penn State’s backfield, especially as a receiver. Campbell targeted him in the transfer portal for his explosiveness, and if that shows up in the offense, Peoples could end up getting the postseason run he talked about.
Elsewhere, the offensive outlook is still taking shape. Campbell brought several pieces of his Iowa State offense with him, but coordinator Taylor Mouser said what Penn State puts on the field will look “pretty different” this year. There were also some surprises in the first 10 days of camp, good and bad, along with questions at quarterback, where the room is lighter without Falzone but stronger at the top.
The offensive line is another area that could remain unsettled through the non-conference schedule, and consistency has already been a major theme inside camp. Penn State’s open practices offered a few more clues, too, with roundups from the first, second and third sessions giving a better look at where things stand.
And while Penn State’s camp has been unfolding in State College, former Nittany Lion Drew Allar made his NFL preseason debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he drew notice for a performance that left one simple question hanging in the air: how do you grade his first game?
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The attention will be spread across a few spots, but the backfield and receiver room are especially worth watching as roles are still being sorted out. Caleb Bacons move from linebacker to defensive end adds another layer to the evaluation, and the scrimmage should offer the first real clues about how smoothly that transition is going and which players are closest to carving out meaningful jobs. [Read more 🡒]