Blue White Illustrated

With Dotson serving as the center- piece, the receiver corps should be a team strength in 2021. Penn State has a couple of capable wingmen in Washing- ton and Lambert-Smith, two players who shined as true freshmen in 2020. Washington was the complementary threat that Dotson had been for K.J. Hamler his first two years. The sure- handed Texan started all nine games in his debut season and finished second on the team with 36 catches for 489 yards and six touchdowns. Lambert-Smith had a less-impactful year, but he started five games, played in all nine, and caught 15 passes for 138 yards. The other wideouts had quiet seasons. George and Sullivan-Brown combined to make eight catches for 87 yards. Jones, who was coming off a redshirt year, didn't have a catch in his first season of action. Sullivan-Brown has shown flashes, but he hasn't been able to stay healthy long enough to turn his potential into produc- tivity. This past year, he missed two games for unspecified health-related reasons. During the off-season, the backups will likely be pushed by some of the team's young wideouts. Meiga, Dottin and Black didn't see any action in 2020, but they've in the not-too-distant future – it will be interesting to see how Taylor Stubble- field, John Scott Jr. and Phil Trautwein can impact their position groups. 10. Turning over a new leaf Penn State's offense nearly doubled the amount of turnovers that its defense created this season, and turnover margin was directly responsible for several of the Nittany Lions' losses. If Penn State can hold onto the ball better, and gener- ate some turnovers of its own, as it did down the stretch, then there's plenty of reason to believe it can improve in 2021. 11. New names along the defensive line Former Temple defensive end Arnold Ebiketie and Duke defensive tackle Der- rick Tangelo will enter the fray as trans- fers along the defensive line for Penn State. Ebiketie was the fifth-highest rated edge rusher by PFF in the Ameri- can Athletic Conference this past sea- son, with four sacks and 14 QB hurries. Tangelo was the No. 8-rated interior de- fensive lineman in the Atlantic Coast Conference, according to PFF. 12. Noah Cain's return Lost for the season early in Penn State's first game against Indiana, promising running back Noah Cain never got the chance to make his mark on the 2020 season. Assuming he's ready to contribute at some point for the Nit- tany Lions in 2021, that's a big boost. 13. Brandon Smith's continued de- velopment Penn State's linebackers were a big problem spot in 2020, but Smith dis- played his potential. The former four- star recruit showed flashes that, if they can translate into consistent perform- ances, will make him a reliable line- backer for the Lions moving forward. 14. Overall running back depth With the addition of former Baylor RB John Lovett, Penn State's backfield is as deep as any in the country. There will be a wealth of options for Franklin and Yur- cich to choose from, and there should also be more than enough cushion should the Nittany Lions deal with an- other injury crisis at the position. 15. The tight ends If there were any concerns about this position following Pat Freiermuth's exit, the play of Theo Johnosn and Brenton Strange down the stretch should do a lot to help Nittany Lion fans feel more com- fortable. Both showed well as blockers, and Johnson and Strange combined for 220 yards and two touchdowns in the passing game. 16. Special teams Redshirt junior kicker/punter Jordan Stout is returning, as is junior kicker Jake Pinegar. That gives the Nittany Lions a pair of experienced options in the kicking game that could make the difference in close games. 17. Keyvone Lee We've talked about the running backs plenty so far, but it would be an over- sight not to talk about Lee specifically after the freshman season he put to- gether. He averaged almost 5 yards per carry on 89 attempts, totaling 438 yards and four touchdowns for the season. Penn State will have other options at running back for sure, but the prospect of Lee making a leap over the off-season should be exciting for Penn State as he looks to earn an extended role. 18. The numerical models Everyone can agree that Penn State's results in 2020 were well short of expec- tations. That said, some analytic models aren't sure that makes the Lions a bad team. ESPN's Football Power Index, for example, rated them as the No. 20 team in the country, behind Auburn — who they will play next season — and ahead of TCU. Sagarin also had the Lions at No. 20. 19. Adisa Isaac's potential Unless the Nittany Lions make another addition at defensive end, Isaac stands to see his workload increase signifi- cantly. That's an exciting prospect for Penn State fans. The 6-foot-4, 251- pound frame of the former four-star re- cruit is enough to scare plenty of quarterbacks. 20. James Franklin has done this be- fore The only losing season Franklin has ever suffered as a head coach came in his very first year as a head man. He went 6- 7 at Vanderbilt, and followed it up with back-to-back nine-win seasons with the Commodores. 21. (Hopefully) a little bit more nor- malcy The 2020 season kept fans out of sta- diums, and, by extension, took some of the majesty and tradition out of college football. With COVID-19 vaccines in circulation, there's certainly hope of a little bit more normality on game days in 2021. ■

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