Penn State Football: Top 4 prospects for the 2021 NFL Draft

After five Nittany Lions were selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, keep an eye on these four Penn State football players on their way to the 2021 draft.

Penn State finished another strong season in 2019 under sixth-year head coach James Franklin. The Nittany Lions finished the 2019 season ninth in the country following a Cotton Bowl win and an 11-2 record with losses only to Minnesota and Ohio State.

The Nittany Lions lost several key players to the graduation and NFL including early departures Yetur Gross-Matos and K.J. Hamler.

Gross-Matos and Hamler were both drafted in the second round of the 2020 draft by the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos, respectively. In addition to Gross-Matos and Hamler, cornerback John Reid was drafted in the fourth round by the Houston Texans, Cam Brown was selected in the sixth round by the New York Giants and Robert Windsor was drafted in the sixth round by the Indianapolis Colts.

Despite the losses to key starters on both sides of the ball, Penn State is looking strong ahead of a potential 2020 season. The Lions were young in 2019 and look to return a majority of their starters on offense and defense. Four of five starting offensive linemen are returning for first year offensive coordinator, Kirk Ciarrocca. Starting quarterback, Sean Clifford hopes to have a breakout year similar to Tanner Morgan at Minnesota last season.

While running back Ricky Slade entered the transfer portal, the Nittany Lions are returning top running back Journey Brown along with talented sophomores Noah Cain and Devyn Ford.

With freshmen Caziah Holmes and Keyvone Lee joining the program, there is no shortage of talent in the backfield. While the Nittany Lions have plenty of talent at receiver, there is no clear number one receiver for Clifford.

After Hamler, the leading receiver, left early for the draft, highly-recruited Justin Shorter entered the portal and completed a transfer to Florida. Penn State has recruited well at the position with several talented receivers looking to breakout under Ciarrocca’s offense, which had plenty of talented receivers at Minnesota. Any concerns with the receiver group can be offset early in the season with one of the nation’s top tight ends, Pat Freiermuth opting to return.

While the offense returns a majority of starters, there will be less familiar faces on Brent Pry’s defense. Shaka Toney returns at defensive end after deciding to return in State College for his redshirt senior year. Opposite Toney will likely be either redshirt sophomore Jayson Oweh or sophomore Adisa Isaac. While both are talented ends, both will struggle to replace Gross-Matos’s production. Both Antonio Shelton and PJ Mustipher bring experience at defensive tackle.

All-American Micah Parsons will again be the star of the defense returning at linebacker but will be playing alongside new starters. Sophomore Brandon Smith the five-star linebacker out of Virginia looks to break into the starting lineup next season. While Smith is inexperienced, he has the talent and body to be a future NFL player. They will be joined with either Jesse Luketa or Ellis Brooks.

In the secondary, seniors Tariq Castro-Fields and Lamont Wade look to be sure starters at corner and safety, respectively. Wade took a big step up last season and steady improved throughout the year. The Lions will look to see another big step up from either Jaquan Brisker, Ji’Ayir Brown or Jonathan Sutherland. Keaton Ellis did well after being thrown in at corner as a freshman and looks to be the starting corner opposite Castro-Fields. Behind those two, the Nittany Lions have plenty of depth between underclassmen.

If Penn State is going to take the next step, it will need to see improved play at the offensive line. Clifford could breakout under Ciarrocca, but will need to find a new primary receiver to replace Hamler. The Nittany Lions have less experience returning defensively, but should continue to be one of the nation’s top defenses under Pry.

With high expectations again in State College, let’s take a deeper look at Penn State’s stars aiming to take the next step in the 2021 NFL Draft.