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P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> (although Sullivan-Brown did not ap- pear to be practicing during the portions of the March 20 and 27 workouts that were open to the media). One of the big concerns here is depth; those five are the only scholarship wideouts on campus right now. FRANKLIN SAYS "Those young guys are getting a bunch of reps. Justin Shorter at the end of the year really started to come on. Obviously, Jahan did some really good things for us, K.J. did some really good things for us. Daniel really started to come on at the end of the season. With Daniel and Justin, it's going to be really important that they have a strong spring and go into the summer with confidence. I think we've got a pretty good group there, and now it's [a question of finding] those next guys who are going to step up, who are either currently with us now who we recruited and signed as fresh- men, or possibly some transfers." ANALYSIS It would be easy to spin Hip- penhammer's absence as a setback, but the truth is, it could just as easily end up paying off for all concerned. The base- ball team has been an obvious benefici- ary, as Hippenhammer was batting .333 in 10 games for a resurgent squad that as of late March was off to its best start in decades. As for the football team, Hip- penhammer's absence gave some much- needed practice reps to a group of young wideouts who are going to be counted on to boost their production substantially in 2019. The five scholarship wideouts who have been on hand this spring have made a combined total of 70 career re- ceptions, with Hamler accounting for 42 of those catches. The situation will im- prove over the summer when graduate transfer George Campbell and incoming freshmen John Dunmore and T.J. Jones arrive. Hippenhammer will be back, too, and the staff will likely be eyeing the transfer portal very carefully in the coming months in the hope of bolstering a talented but inexperienced WR corps. At tight end, the Lions have a very promising returnee in sophomore Pat Freiermuth, and they've built some depth behind him, even with Danny Dalton having transferred to Boston College. Early enrollee Brenton Strange has reportedly been impressive in prac- tice, and freshman walk-on Grayson Kline has been moved to the position after excelling as a pro-style quarter- back at Warwick High in Lititz, Pa. OFFENSIVE LINE NEWS There's been some upheaval here, with three-year starters Ryan Bates and Connor McGovern forgoing their final season of eligibility to enter the NFL Draft. The Lions do return three experienced starters in Michal Menet, Will Fries and Steven Gonzalez, and all three were running with the first team during the March 20 practice. Menet was at center, Gonzalez at left guard and Fries at right tackle. Joining them were redshirt freshman Rasheed Walker at left tackle and redshirt sophomore Mike Miranda at right guard. Miranda played in 13 games as a freshman, mostly on special teams, and started at guard against Maryland due to a teammate's injury. Behind those players were Des Holmes (left tackle), Bryce Effner (left guard), Hunter Kelly (center), C.J. Thorpe (right guard) and Anthony Whigan (right tackle). Thorpe was moved back to of- fense this past winter after spending most of last season on the defensive line. FRESH START Slowed by a pre- season injury last year, Shorter has been getting plenty of action this spring. The Nittany Lions have had only five scholarship wide receivers on hand during their off-season drills. Photo by Nate Bauer

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