Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1378330
n advance of his team's first practices of the spring, Penn State head coach James Franklin used an interesting word to describe the approach he wanted to see from the Nittany Lions in the days and weeks ahead. Specifically referring to the team's quarterbacks, with Sean Clifford the presumptive starter in his third season at the helm, Franklin laid out the plan at hand. "We've taken a very aggressive ap- proach this whole off-season, from what we're allowed to do from an NCAA and from a Big Ten perspective," Franklin said, "and I expect us to go out and practice like a veteran team." A recent tweet from Jim Nagy, the ex- ecutive director of the Senior Bowl, of- fered a clarifying reminder of why Franklin would have those kind of ex- pectations this season. Describing the Nittany Lions as having 11 "draftable" players in his preliminary grading for the senior class of 2021, Nagy said the team has one of the highest totals in the country ahead of the coming season. While two newcomers dot the list in running back John Lovett and defensive end Arnold Ebiketie, the reality is that, beginning with Clifford, the Nittany Lions should have spent the spring prac- ticing like a veteran team because, in many ways, they are a veteran team. And in a departure from some of the pro- gram's recent seasons in which the roster was backloaded with young players who had been forced into key roles, a pre- dictable function of the modern game, the Nittany Lions will have fourth- and fifth-year players at many positions. Surely, a conversation regarding Clif- ford's place at the top will elicit re- sponses that run the gamut from enthusiasm to concern among Penn State fans. But having now compiled 1,327 game reps and having spent the past two seasons as the Nittany Lions' starting signal-caller, Clifford enters the 2021 season with the most returning ex- perience at the position since Trace Mc- Sorley's senior season in 2018. At a position in which prior experiences can be both a blessing and a curse, Clifford's positives (2019) and negatives (2020) will be counted upon to work as a benefit toward the future (2021). In Jahan Dotson, Penn State boasts a returning All-Big Ten receiver with 1,636 career snaps and a team-high 26 career starts as he prepares for a third and final season as a starting receiver with the Nittany Lions. Along the offensive line, that standard applies also to Mike Mi- randa, who brings 1,300 career reps and nine games as a starter to the guard posi- tion. And in Lovett, a 16-game starter at Baylor including five starts last season, Penn State's backfield got a much-wel- comed infusion of maturity. Franklin described Lovett as having a veteran's mentality. "He's been around, he's played a lot of football," the coach said. "He was very respected at the place he came from. We've been impressed with him. He's a mature guy. Our players like him. The coaches like him. He learns well. So we think he's going to be right there in the hunt of this thing during training camp." Add expected starters or heavy con- tributors Cam Sullivan-Brown and Des Holmes to the list offensively, and Penn State's senior class of offensive per- formers expands beyond those men- tioned by Nagy. (Both Anthony Whigan and Harvard transfer Eric Wilson could A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE... ...can be a dangerous thing. At least that's what a veteran PSU team is hoping will be the case this fall JUDGMENT CALL I one season as a starter, and it was a mixed bag. But he's a marvelous ath- lete with a 6-3, 240-pound frame, and he's seemingly only beginning to tap into his full potential. Smith's re- cent move to the Will OLB spot could be just what he needs to position himself as a dra9-worthy prospect in the next year or two. JORDAN STOUT Of the 259 picks in the 2021 draft, only two were spent on kicking specialists, with Florida place kicker Evan McPherson going to Cincinnati in the fifth round and Georgia Tech punter Pressley Harvin III to Pittsburgh in the sev- enth. So this choice is, admittedly, a bit more speculative than some of the others here. But Stout is unique in that he's either a kicker who can punt or a punter who can kick, de- pending on what you consider to be his primary role. One such player was chosen in 2019 when Cleveland drafted Oklahoma's Austin Seibert in the fifth round. The difference between Seibert and Stout is that Seibert was the Sooners' primary field goal kicker, whereas Stout spe- cializes in long-distance attempts and kickoffs, with Jake Pinegar han- dling the majority of the field goal tries. But if he excels in 2021, he's got a skill set that could intrigue some teams. RASHEED WALKER Believe it or not, it's been well over a decade since a Penn State o8ensive lineman was chosen in the 7rst round. That player was Levi Brown, who went to Ari- zona with the 79h overall pick in 2007. Brown went on to play seven pro seasons, and Walker would like to follow his lead. The 6-6, 312- pound Walker thought about forgo- ing the 2021 season but ultimately decided to return along with Dotson, Brisker and Castro-Fields. He's the most highly regarded NFL prospect on this list, having appeared in the 7rst round of several way-too-early 2022 mock dra9s. There's a long way to go, but everything is trending in the right direction for Walker. ■