Fall camp is almost here, and Penn State still has a few important jobs to finish before Week 1 arrives.
The biggest questions are clustered in a few rooms: defensive end, quarterback and offensive line. At edge rusher, four Nittany Lions are in line to battle for rotation spots, with reliability, consistency and health looming large for Max Granville and Yvan Kemajou. Penn State also added Ikenna Ezeogu and Alexander McPherson, two pieces that fit a defense trying to get bigger up front.
Quarterback is less about the top job and more about the backup role. Alex Manske entered the offseason as the Iowa State transfer, but Division III addition Connor Barry put together a strong offseason while Manske was working back from injury. Penn State expects Manske to be ready, but he still has to beat out Barry for QB2.
The most pressing offensive line decision is at left tackle. That spot remains the key one for Penn State to settle before the season starts, with Malachi Goodman, Owen Aliciene and Garrett Sexton all in the mix.
Matt Campbell also added another familiar face to his staff, hiring Michael Mauti as Penn State’s director of football engagement. Mauti had been working for the Nittany Lion Club and will now be closer to football operations. He was an All-Big Ten linebacker for Penn State from 2008-12, finished with a career-high 96 total tackles and was taken in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
Mauti becomes the ninth former Penn State letterman on Campbell’s staff. The list already includes associate head coach/cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn, assistant linebackers coach Dan Connor, recruiting assistant Steven Gonzalez, director of player development Jordan Hill, assistant cornerbacks coach Jordan Lucas, assistant defensive line coach DeOn’tae Pannell and director of talent acquisition Alan Zemaitis.
Penn State also got a blunt assessment from Bill Connelly in his Big Ten preview. Connelly pointed out the upside of the schedule, but also the downside: a soft slate may not do the Nittany Lions any favors in the rankings, and he said he wouldn’t be surprised if the AP Top 25 left them out by the end of the regular season.
Even so, the biggest matchups still carry plenty of weight. Michigan and USC, in particular, are expected to draw major attention, and Connelly called Penn State’s Week 6 game against USC one of the five biggest Big Ten games of the season. He also said that matchup could push Penn State into dark horse territory in the conference, though he still does not place the Nittany Lions with Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana in the top tier of Big Ten title contenders.
ESPN also singled out quarterback Rocco Becht as Penn State’s X factor in a piece identifying one for each preseason top 25 team. Kyle Bonagura wrote, "One of the most effective ways to jumpstart an offense is to hire a coach or coordinator who then brings along a QB they coached before," and added, "With Becht following Matt Campbell to Happy Valley, Penn State looks like the latest program that will benefit from coach-QB familiarity."
In Other News...
Penn State Fall Camp Opens With Two Huge Roster Fights
Fall camp opens Wednesday, and Penn States first real preseason work is arriving with a familiar kind of unease: a roster that still has several important jobs up for grabs. The Nittany Lions are a month from their opener against Marshall, and the early focus is already landing on depth and sorting out where the new pieces fit. Wide receiver is one of the biggest questions behind starters Chase Sowell and Brett Eskildsen, while the running back room and a defensive line rotation full of fresh faces will be watched closely from the first practice on.
The backfield battle has the feel of a true camp-long competition, with Carson Hansen, James Peoples and Quinton Martin Jr. all in the mix for playing time. Up front, Penn State also has to see how returning players look after injury and how quickly the new front-seven additions settle into the rotation. By the time camp gets rolling, the Lions should have a much clearer sense of which areas are settled and which ones still need a late summer answer. [Read more 🡒]
Penn States Edge Battle Could Shape The Defense Faster Than Expected
Preseason practices are underway for Penn State as it gets ready to open the football season against Marshall, and one of the more interesting position battles is taking shape on the edge. Alexander McPherson, a sophomore transfer from Colorado, is in the mix for playing time as a defensive end, joining a group that is still young and relatively inexperienced.
Matt Campbell has sounded upbeat about the way that room is developing, pointing to both the talent there and the competition pushing the group forward. For Penn State, that makes the edge spots one of the early camp stories worth watching, since the faster those players settle in, the sooner the defense can find its footing. [Read more 🡒]