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three of the Big Ten East Division this coming fall. Beyond Clifford, redshirt freshman Ta'Quan Roberson has yet to truly make an impact in practice and has not visibly pushed Clifford for playing time this spring. Early enrollee Christian Veilleux represents the eternal hope of the future but is realistically not ready to leapfrog veterans on the depth chart in his third season playing football in the States. RUNNING BACK The Nittany Lions went from having one of the most tal- ented backfields in the country in 2019 to a room that has an equal number of question marks. Former starting run- ning back Noah Cain has not been seen since his season-ending injury to start the 2020 season and was a limited par- ticipant this spring. Keyvone Lee has taken strides, James Franklin has said, and is the standout at the position but is not a breakaway threat. The team's big-play potential falls in the hands of third-year sophomore Devyn Ford who, in the words of his po- sition coach, Ja'Juan Seider, is supremely talented but needs "to put it together for a whole season." Ford is joined by transfer John Lovett and fresh- man Caziah Holmes as the team's speed element in the backfield. For Penn State to be a dynamic team in 2021, one of those three players will have to step up and produce alongside Lee. WIDE RECEIVER Returning for his fourth year, Jahan Dotson is on a mission to prove the Big Ten wrong after his awards season snub last fall. Dotson led the conference in yards and tied for the lead in touchdowns but only received third-team All-Big Ten accolades. He's joined by freshman Parker Washington, who is poised for a breakout season after a promising first year at Penn State. Fel- low freshman KeAndre Lambert-Smith is a big-bodied long strider who flashed playmaking ability himself but will have to be more consistent in 2021 to realize his potential. The team will be joined by a trio of tal- ented freshmen this summer in Lonnie White Jr., Harrison Wallace and Liam Clifford, who should push veterans Daniel George and Cam Sullivan-Brown for spots on the depth chart. TIGHT END This room might have the most talent per capita of any position group on the Nittany Lions' roster. Brenton Strange returns as the team's starter in 2021 and is joined by Theo Johnson and Tyler Warren to present a true three-deep at the position. De- pending on how he's deployed in the team's new offense, Strange in particu- lar is poised for a breakout year this fall. OFFENSIVE LINE How will the line be constructed in 2021? The framework for answering that question was laid out fairly well in this recent comment by Franklin: "To me, if you have two tackles who you have a lot of confidence in and you have a center inside… that's where you'd like to start and build from." With Rasheed Walker coming back for a fourth year in 2021, Mike Miranda get- A note to BWI readers Due to a minor medical situation, Phil Grosz's column will not be ap- pearing in Blue White Illustrated this month. In the place of Phil's Corner, BWI has invited football analyst and commentator Thomas Frank Carr to contribute a guest column. Phil's column, which has ap- peared in this space since 1984, will return in the coming months. ■ GOING LONG The Nittany Lions are look- ing for Ford to be a break- away threat at running back this coming season. Photo by Mark Selders/Penn State Athlet- ics

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