Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1332070
>> they have on this team to the best of their ability." TIGHT END KEY RETURNEES Theo Johnson, Zack Kuntz, Brenton Strange, Tyler Warren KEY LOSS Pat Freiermuth NEWCOMER Khalil Dinkins OUTLOOK As is the case at running back, this is a position where an injury that hurt the team in 2020 may end up having some beneficial long-term consequences. The Nittany Lions lost Freiermuth after four games, as the third-year starter opted to shut it down after trying to play through a shoulder injury he suffered in week two against Ohio State. His body of work to that point in the season – 23 catches for 310 yards and a touchdown – was good enough to earn him Big Ten Tight End of the Year honors. But now he's off to the NFL, and Penn State will be looking for big things from the players who replaced him in the second half of the season. Based on how those players fared, the future looks pretty bright here. Strange finished the year with 17 catches for 162 yards and two TDs, while Johnson had four catches for 56 yards. In addition to their contributions as re- ceivers, both have dis- played an eagerness and ability to block. Johnson's performance was espe- cially impressive given that the Ontario native was a true freshman who was transitioning from Cana- dian to American football. Behind those two are Kuntz and War- ren. Heading into the 2020 season, it looked as though Kuntz was going to play a major role as Freiermuth's backup, but it didn't quite work out that way. He ended up seeing action in seven games and finished without a reception. Warren, a true freshman, got into two games and didn't have any catches. The tight end spot has been a consistent strength for Penn State during the Franklin era, with Mike Gesicki, an All- Big Ten player and sec- ond-round NFL Draft pick, having preceded Freiermuth. Strange and Johnson give every indication that they're going to keep that trend going. QUOTABLE Franklin on Strange and Johnson: "I think Coach [Tyler] Bowen has done a really nice job of recruiting and developing that position. We're also ex- cited about Tyler Warren. He's doing some good things. We want obviously to get those guys involved and continue to advance in the throwing game. We've got to do a better job there, no doubt about that, but they've done a really good job. They've done a really good job of being physical with defensive ends and line- backers, with doing it in situations where everybody in the stadium, on a bad weather day, or in a four-minute offense, knows we're going to run the ball. They're sticking their nose in there and running their feet and really, they're two fairly young players. That's been really impor- tant to us." OFFENSIVE LINE KEY RETURNEES C: Juice Scruggs; G: Nick Dawkins, Des Holmes, Golden Is- rael-Achumba, Mike Miranda, Anthony Whigan, Sal Wormley; T: Jimmy Christ, Bryce Effner, Olu Fashanu, Ibrahim Tra- ore, Rasheed Walker, Caedan Wallace PUSH COMES TO SHOVE Scruggs returned from a serious back injury and became one of the Lions' top backups on the offensive line. Photo courtesy of Penn State Athletics