Blue White Illustrated

The good news for Penn State is that the past two recruiting classes have given new receivers coach Gerad Parker a lot of talent with which to work. The wideouts who arrived in 2018 – Dotson, Daniel George and Justin Shorter – comprised one of the best groups in the country. Shorter was rated by Rivals.com as the No. 3 overall wide receiver nationally. Dotson made an impact last season, forgoing a redshirt as the coaches sought immediate help to alleviate the unex- pected problems that hindered the wideout corps. But Shorter, who was in- jured for part of the season, and George both stayed within the four-game limit and were redshirted. Shorter 7nished with three catches for 20 yards, while George had two catches for 112 yards. Hamler, Shorter, George and Dotson will be the foundation of Penn State's receiver corps in 2019. Other contribu- tors will include redshirt sophomores Mac Hippenhammer and Cam Sullivan- Brown, 79h-year senior Dan Chisena and incoming recruits John Dunmore and T.J. Jones. In addition, the Nittany Lions are expected to welcome graduate transfers George Campbell, formerly of Florida State, and Weston Carr, a Divi- sion II All-American at Azusa Paci7c. Hamler, Campbell, Carr and to a lesser extent Dotson are the only members of this year's group who have signi7cant Division I game experience. But on paper, it may be the most talented group of wide receivers that Franklin has as- sembled during his tenure at Penn State. On the o8ensive line, the Nittany Lions will have three starters returning: redshirt junior Michal Menet at center, 79h-year senior Steven Gonzalez at le9 guard and redshirt junior Will Fries at right tackle. McGovern and Bates have to be replaced a9er the two multiyear starters both le9 early to enter the dra9. Redshirt freshman Rasheed Walker has emerged as Bates' likely replacement, while two redshirt sophomores – Mike Miranda and C.J. Thorpe – are battling at right guard. Thorpe may have the edge here because Miranda missed the last week of practice with a minor injury. Defensively, it's a much di8erent pic- ture. Penn State is projected to have seven upperclassman starters this fall: cornerbacks John Reid and Tariq Castro- Fields, linebackers Cam Brown and Jan Johnson, defensive linemen Yetur Gross- Matos and Robert Windsor and safety Garrett Taylor. Elsewhere, members of the Lions' 2017 and '18 recruiting classes are battling to replace Kevin Givens at defensive tackle, Shareef Miller at defen- sive end, Nick Scott at safety and Koa Farmer at outside linebacker. Joining redshirt junior Antonio Shel- ton in the competition for the three- technique defensive tackle spot are sophomore P.J. Mustipher, redshirt freshman Judge Culpepper and redshirt sophomore Damion Barber. At defensive end, redshirt freshman Jayson Oweh and true freshman Adisa Isaac are in the mix with redshirt juniors Shaka Toney and Shane Simmons. At outside linebacker, sophomore Micah Parsons is set to take over for Farmer, and at safety, redshirt sophomore Jonathan Sutherland and January enrollee Tyler Rudolph are bat- tling junior Lamont Wade. Members of Penn State's classes of 2017, '18 and '19 are battling for starting and key backup positions on o8ense and de- fense for the upcoming season. But what's even more impressive is that it appears as though seven of the 11 January enrollees in the team's most recent recruiting class might not redshirt this fall. Those players are Cain, Isaac, juco o8ensive lineman Anthony Whigan, linebackers Lance Dixon and Brandon Smith, and corner- backs Keaton Ellis and Marquis Wilson. That alone tells you how well Franklin and his sta8 have recruited the past three years and why the underclassmen from the classes of 2017, '18 and '19 could determine the success or failure of Penn State's team this coming fall. ■

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