Blue White Illustrated

W hat a di8erence a year makes. A9er Penn State ended its 2018 campaign with a disappointing 27- 24 loss to Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl, the 7rst three weeks of the subsequent o8-season were quite chaotic. With 11 members of their 2019 recruit- ing class arriving on campus at the be- ginning of the spring semester, it appeared that the Nittany Lions would have a well-stocked scholarship roster for spring practice, maybe the team's best since before the NCAA imposed its sanctions in 2012. If anything, it seemed as though the roster might be a little too well-stocked. There was speculation that James Franklin and his sta8 might have real problems meeting the NCAA's mandated 85-scholarship limit for the 2019 season. But during the 7rst three weeks of Jan- uary, the outlook abruptly changed. Five players announced they were planning to forgo their senior seasons of eligibility to enter the NFL Dra9. That list in- cluded running back Miles Sanders, of- fensive linemen Ryan Bates and Connor McGovern, and defensive linemen Sha- reef Miller and Kevin Givens. The sta8 likely anticipated most of those decisions, but what it almost cer- tainly didn't expect was the second wave of attrition via the newly instituted transfer portal. Thirteen players chose to enter the portal, the highest total in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and 11 of those players ultimately le9 Penn State. The only ones from that group who re- turned were safety Lamont Wade and wide receiver Cam Sullivan-Brown. The roster upheaval got the Nittany Lions' o8-season o8 to a tumultuous start, but it did alleviate any concerns that they wouldn't be able to meet the NCAA's scholarship cap. It's now been a year since the Lions went through that ordeal, and their ros- ter situation is very di8erent. They signed 27 players in their Class of 2020, while only four players from last sea- son's active scholarship roster entered the transfer portal: defensive end Daniel Joseph, wide receiver Justin Shorter, running back Ricky Slade and corner- back D.J. Brown. As of this writing, two of those players were de7nitively leav- ing, with Shorter headed to Florida and Joseph to North Carolina State. There was no word as of early March on the status of Brown and Slade, but if they exit, too, Penn State would most likely have 89 scholarship players on its pro- jected fall roster, four players above the NCAA limit. With nine starters returning on of- fense and 7ve on defense, Franklin and his sta8 have a completely di8erent sit- uation on their hands than they did last January. One reason for that is because a number of potential early NFL Dra9 en- trants, players such as Wade, tight end Pat Freiermuth, o8ensive linemen Will Fries and Michal Menet and cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields, opted to stay in school for another year. Their decisions to remain at Penn State for one more season will make for some interesting position battles this spring. Not only will those battles have a large bearing on how the Nittany Lions perform this coming fall, they may also have an im- pact on how the team gets down to the scholarship limit. Here's a look at how those key position battles are shaping up, with the spring practice participants listed for each spot: WIDE RECEIVER CONTENDERS Jahan Dotson, Daniel George, Cam Sullivan-Brown, Mac Hip- penhammer, John Dunmore, T.J. Jones, Jaden Dottin, KeAndre Lambert-Smith ANALYSIS The Lions have just one re- turning starter at this position group: Dotson at the Z-WR position. Only three other players have even seen game action to date: George, Sullivan-Brown and Hippenhammer. Given the dearth of experience, it's easy to see why the bat- tles at these three spots are of such criti- cal importance this spring. A year ago, Dotson was Penn State's third-leading receiver with 27 catches for 488 yards and 7ve touchdowns. George 7nished with nine catches for 100 yards, Sullivan-Brown had eight for 56 yards, and Hippenhammer had one for 15 yards. Between them, George, Sul- livan-Brown and Hippenhammer didn't have any touchdown receptions. Penn State must replace K.J. Hamler, its leading receiver in each of the past two seasons. Hamler, who passed up his last two seasons of eligibility, 7nished with 56 catches for 904 yards and eight touchdowns last fall. Heading into spring practice, it was not known whether Penn State was planning to move Dotson to the slot re- ceiver position to replace Hamler. Also unknown was whether Hippenhammer would be available for any portion of spring practice. He is the starting cen- ter fielder and also a designated hitter on Penn State's baseball team, which began its season in mid-February. So the Lions will begin spring practice with uncertainty at all three starting wide receiver positions. But they won't lack for contenders. In addition to George and Sullivan-Brown, the coach- ing sta8 will be taking a long look at Dunmore, Jones and January enrollees Lambert-Smith and Dottin. PHIL'S CORNER Here are the spring position battles that will shape PSU's 2020 season

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