Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1169916
T H E 2 0 1 9 S E A S O N catch up to the Buckeyes the past few years – Michigan, Michigan State, Wis- consin and Penn State. Those programs all have the resources and desire to com- pete at Ohio State's level, and the Buck- eyes' upset losses are a reminder that they haven't detached themselves from the rest of the league. Penn State is young this year, with 23 freshmen and 22 sophomores on its depth chart, including Clifford, who heads into the Big Ten season with three career starts to his credit, all at home. With so much youth at so many posi- tions, the Nittany Lions are a hard team to figure out. Are they the kind of team that could go into the Horseshoe and pull off an upset for the ages? Possibly. Are they the kind of team that could struggle at Maryland and open the Big Ten season with a loss? Possibly. The Lions showed both sides of their schizophrenic nature in their victory over Buffalo in week two, falling behind, 10-7, just before halftime, then scoring four third-quarter touchdowns to pull away for a comfortable win. Franklin said the difference between the first and sec- ond halves was that his team was able to make the kind of adjustments in the locker room that it lacked the experience to make between possessions. As players get more game reps, those sorts of on-the-fly adjustments are going to become easier. But it's impossible to predict how long that will take, and the schedule adds another element of uncer- tainty. For Penn State this season, even the most seemingly dangerous oppo- nents could turn out to be beatable, and even the most seemingly beatable oppo- nents could turn out to be dangerous. Before the year began, I predicted PSU would go 8-4. With the nonconference season having drawn to a close, an eight- win season still sounds about right to me. I think it's reasonable to expect some growing pains now that the Lions have exchanged the likes of Idaho and Buffalo for Michigan and Ohio State. But I also think that they ought to make sure their victory bell is in good working order. As these young players grow up, it's going to get some use. ■ LT Rasheed Walker Des Holmes Bryce E6ner LG Steven Gonzalez Mike Miranda Bryce E6ner C Michal Menet Mike Miranda Hunter Kelly RG C.J. Thorpe Anthony Whigan Mike Miranda RT Will Fries Des Holmes Caedan Wallace QB Sean Cli6ord Will Levis Ta'Quan Roberson Michael Johnson Jr. RB Ricky Slade Journey Brown Noah Cain Devyn Ford WR Justin Shorter Daniel George Cam Sullivan-Brown WR Jahan Dotson Dan Chisena Weston Carr WR K.J. Hamler Mac Hippenhammer Weston Carr TE Pat Freiermuth Nick Bowers Zack Kuntz DEFENSE DE Shaka Toney Jayson Oweh Adisa Isaac DT Antonio Shelton P.J. Mustipher Judge Culpepper DT Robert Windsor Damion Barber Fred Hansard DE Yetur Gross-Matos Shane Simmons Daniel Joseph OLB Cam Brown Charlie Katshir Lance Dixon MLB Jan Johnson Ellis Brooks Max Chizmar OLB Micah Parsons Jesse Luketa Brandon Smith CB Tariq Castro-Fields Keaton Ellis Trent Gordon Saf. Lamont Wade Jaquan Brisker Drew Hartlaub Saf. Garrett Taylor Jonathan Sutherland Tyler Rudolph CB John Reid Donovan Johnson Joey Porter Jr. P Blake Gillikin Jordan Stout Bradley King K (FG) Jake Pinegar Jordan Stout Rafael Checa K (KO) Jordan Stout Jake Pinegar Rafael Checa H Blake Gillikin Michael Shuster Bradley King LS Chris Stoll Joe Calcagno Austin Sullivan PR K.J. Hamler Jahan Dotson John Reid KR K.J. Hamler Journey Brown Ricky Slade * As of mid-September D E P T H C H A R T * O F F E N S E D E F E N S E S P E C I A L T E A M S OR OR OR