Penn State football is coming off its first Big Ten title under James Franklin in 2016 and there’s plenty of returning talent.
The season is just around the corner for the Nittany Lions, and their depth chart is starting to take shape. Penn State is looking to build on a remarkable season that saw them emerge as a surprise top ten team and steal the Big Ten title from the jaws of Ohio State and Michigan.
What have they got for an encore? James Franklin returns perhaps the nation’s best talent in the skill positions, but his team is a little thin in the trenches. Let’s dive in and examine Penn State’s projected two-deep for this season on both sides of the ball.
Offensive Line
Starting tackles: Ryan Bates, Chasz Wright
Backups: Will Fries, Alex Gellerstadt
Even the best offenses have Achilles heels. The offensive line is the only question mark on the powerful Nittany Lions offense, as last year’s unit was plagued by injuries and inexperience.
Ryan Bates was impressive as a freshman, one of only two PSU linemen to start all 14 games. He’ll have a starting spot pinned down, but it gets trickier on the other side. Franklin has been juggling bodies on the line to find the best combination, and massive junior Chasz Wright seems like the front runner, but don’t be surprised if one of PSU’s projected starters at guard winds up sliding outside.
Starting center: Connor McGovern
Backup: Zach Simpson
McGovern was another freshman who benefitted from injuries across the line to see a lot of playing time. The coaching staff loves him, and he’ll be shifting over to get the first crack at replacing the departed Brian Gaia. Simpson, a former walk-on on, was the backup last season and will likely fill the same role in 2017.
Starting guards: Brandon Mahon, Andrew Nelson
Backups: Steven Gonzalez, Michael Menet
Both Mahon and Nelson have experience playing at tackle, and as such the two seniors are shoo-ins to start somewhere along the line. But given how much the staff like Bates at tackle, they’ll likely be starting the season at guard. Stephen Gonzalez is very much in the mix and could complicate things by winning the job at right guard. Keep an eye on Menet, a highly-touted redshirt freshman who is a future multi-year starter, even if he doesn’t crack the rotation in 2017.
Defensive Line
Starting defensive ends: Shareef Miller, Ryan Bucholz
Backups: Torrence Brown, Shane Simmons
The Nittany Lions will likely be shuffling a bit along the defensive line in search of a reliable pass rush. Junior Torrence Brown is the most experienced of the bunch, but he hasn’t proven himself as an edge rusher. Expect talented sophomores Shareef Miller and Ryan Bucholz to win the majority of the snaps. A huge hybrid lineman Bucholz led all returning PSU ends in sacks in 2016 with three.
This is very likely the weakest link of Penn State’s impressive defense, and the uncertainty among the unit will allow opportunities for former super-recruit Shane Simmons to work his way into the rotation.
Starting defensive tackles: Kevin Givens, Parker Cothren
Backups: Robert Windsor, Curtis Cothran
The interior of the line returns a lot more from last season, and should be a strength. Kevin Givens was skilled at getting in the backfield in 2016, and he’ll likely anchor the line alongside massive nose tackle Parker Cothren. Robert Windsor is a promising sophomore built in the same mold as Cothren, while Curtis Cothran could start for most Big Ten teams. It wasn’t easy to run on the Nittany Lions last year, and it won’t be getting any easier.
Linebackers
Starting outside linebackers: Manny Bowen, Cam Brown
Backups: Koa Farmer, Jake Cooper
Bowen is a lock to start after posting 67 tackles and 8.5 TFLs last season — the latter of which was second-best on the team — but the other spot is still up for grabs. Cam Brown, who played in 13 games as a freshman is the most likely candidate to replace standout Brandon Bell, but Farmer and Cooper will both see quite a bit of playing time.
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Starting middle linebacker: Jason Cabinda
Backup: Brandon Smith
Cabinda is undoubtedly one of Penn State’e’s best defensive players, and could have put up eye-popping numbers last season if he had stayed healthy. The senior will be the leader of the unit and an All-Big Ten candidate, but don’t sleep on walk-on Brandon Smith either. Smith won’t start, but he racked up 37.5 tackles along with a pair of interceptions in backup duty in 2016.
Secondary
Starting safeties: Marcus Allen, Tony Apke
Backups: Nick Scott, Garrett Taylor
The secondary is led by Allen, a tremendous talent with a nose for the ball who put up triple-digit tackles last season. The departure of strong safety Malik Golden, however, leaves an empty spot next to him.
The best candidate to fill it is Troy Apke, a fellow senior, but there are a handful of options. Perhaps the most intruiging of the bunch is former star recruit and redshirt freshman Garrett Taylor, who received praise from the coaches in the spring. Taylor will likely get his chance sooner rather than later, but the starting spot is Apke’s to lose.
Starting cornerbacks: Grant Haley, Christian Campbell
Backups: Amani Oruwariye, Lamont Wade
What looked like an absolutely loaded unit has become frighteningly thing after stud junior John Reid tore his ACL in the spring, but there’s a lot of talent here. Haley and Campbell are seniors who played in a combined 25 games last fall, and Oruwariye has some experience, but there’s very little beyond that. Wade is a five-star true freshman — but he is a true freshman.
Wide Receivers
Starting wide receivers: Saeed Blacknail, DaeSean Hamilton, DeAndre Thompkins
Backups: Juwan Johnson, Irvin Charles, Brandon Polk
Gone is Chris Godwin, who was stellar as McSorley’s main target last season, but PSU returns pretty much everyone else of note. The Nittany Lions will likely rotate bodies quite a bit to take advantage of a loaded unit, but Saeed Blacknail and DaeSean Hamilton are shoo-ins for the starting lineup. Blacknail was a tremendous deep threat last season, averaging 23.1 yards per catch, while Hamilton saw his numbers dip as he moved to the slot but is still a supreme talent.
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Coaches have been raving about Juwan Johnson, but for now, we’ll favor the experience and production of DeAndre Thompkins, who caught 27 balls for 440 yards in 2016. Moreover, 6-foot-4 Irvin Charles looks like another big-play receiver in the making, while dimunitive junior Brandon Polk will back up Hamilton in the slot.
Starting tight end: Mike Gesicki
Backup: Nick Bowers
As if Penn State didn’t have enough weapons, they might have the best tight end in college football lining up for them every down in 2017. Gesicki was virtually impossible to cover last season, as the 6-foot-6 tight end carved up opposing defenses to the tune of 679 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He’ll be a tremendous security blanket for McSorley as the QB finds a new number one option among the receivers.
Backup duties are likely a toss-up between sophomores Nick Bowers and Jonathan Holland. We’ll lean towards the 264-pound Bowers for now, who’s returning from a season-ending injury but has been praised for his blocking chops.
Running Back
Starting running back: Saquon Barkley
Backup: Miles Sanders
This is, without a doubt, one of the best running back corps in the nation. Barkley is a genuine Heisman contender after rushing for 1,496 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2016. He was a bit of a boom-or-bust runner last season, but man, those booms were really, really large booms. Plus, a lot of the inconsistencies will be remedied with more experience in the offensive line. Barkley’s the real deal, and he’ll likely put up video game-type numbers this season.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Nittany Lions split up carries between the trio of talented backs spelling Barkley. Our bet here is that blue-chip sophomore Miles Sanders emerges from the pack. He showed incredible promise in 2016, racking up 184 yards on just 25 carries (7.4 ypc), but he also had trouble hanging on to the football. If he can fix that, he’s a future star. If not, Andre Roberson and Mark Allen combined for over 250 yards and six touchdowns last year, and are perfectly capable options.
Quarterbacks
Starting quarterback: Trace McSorley
Backup: Tommy Stevens
This one’s about as straightforward as they come. Trace McSorley blossomed into one of the country’s best quarterbacks last season, as the gunslinging junior exceeded all expectations placed upon his shoulders, throwing for 3,614 yards and 29 touchdowns.
This team will go as far as Trace takes them — sure, Saquon Barkley is the best player, but with defenses sure to be crowding the box in 2017, McSorley’s ability to move the chains with the intermediate passing game will be key to Penn State’s Big Ten title hopes.
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The backups are unproven, but 6-foot-4 sophomore Tommy Stevens is being groomed to be McSorley’s successor. In the future, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on blue-chip true freshman Sean Clifford.