Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1430714
4 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 1 Site Lines ON THE STRUGGLES OF PENN STATE'S OFFENSIVE LINE … This may be wishful thinking on my part more than anything else, but I believe the fact that we've had very few games where we could afford to use the younger guys is the reason they have not seen time. We could never get anything going offensively (I know, primarily because of the offensive line) to get these guys any time. I understand the "how could it be any worse than it is" argument, but that is most times a fallacy. You would have to assume the worst incompetency on the part of a coaching staff (not that this is impossible) to believe they would be sticking with players who aren't living up to expectations when they have better players in the wings. And I'm old enough to have seen starters get replaced and have it get worse. As I say, it may be wishful thinking. But I'd like to think there are one, or two (three is way too much to hope for) young guys who, by next year, will be ready step in and be better players than those who cur- rently man the positions. —Lion10 Let's build from the inside out. Move Caedan Wallace and Landon Tengwall to guard, and hopefully Sal Wormley will return. That gives us a chance to have some size inside. Maybe they can move some guys a little bit. … If they're not good, it can't be much worse than this year. But obviously, put on the full court press for portal guys. —Ceasar Let's get a portal OT and move Caedan Wallace back to guard where he belongs. Get Juice Scruggs bigger at center. Sal Wormley will probably slide in at the other guard spot. But we need help now, and I think the portal has to be the place to go. Oh, and please, no transfer on the OL from Lackawanna. Now, if they want to send us more safeties, I'm all for it. —bbrown ON THE UPCOMING OFFSEASON … We are going to need to hit a grand slam in the transfer portal. Arnold Ebiketie and Derrick Tangelo were huge additions to the defensive line this past offseason. I expect a lot of the current reserves to portal themselves. The roster will look completely different entering 2022. —Lions1 This is exactly what Michigan State did last offseason. It's working great for them. Hopefully, Franklin and his staff get more connected to the portal now. It's a huge asset in recruiting nowadays. Ebiketie and Tangelo are doing great for us on the defensive line. —psupower I don't think we will need a running back, but who knows. It's probably the easiest position to come in at and start right away. I'd say you have to be able to pass block, but … if you can at least run, that would be good. —KJB32812 I think the portal has a chance to work well for us, specifically because we can point to [previous players] starting right away. Kind of like Tangelo and Ebiketie — maybe even point to those guys as success stories as a way to lure in more guys. Also, there are a lot of good players with one eye on the door at Texas, Florida and Tennessee, given that those teams appear to be in worse shape than PSU and may have coach- ing changes yet again. —tml132 I like the approach we took with finding Tangelo and Ebiketie at schools thought to be a slight step down. They were strong performers who wanted their shot at the big time. I really feel like that is a good way to hit at least triples if not home runs. For example, [Michigan State running back] Kenneth Walker came from Wake Forest. There are a ton of great players who weren't elite recruits but went to second-tier schools and just developed and performed. I really feel like that is the path, although there are some five-/high-four-stars buried on Bama's bench or leaving Texas, Florida, Tennessee, USC, with the coaching changes. —WeAre The transfer portal is great, but PSU needs a bunch of guys to transfer out to have room for guys to transfer in. —interrobang DECEMBER 2021/VOL. 37, NO. 4 MANAGING EDITOR Matt Herb CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Ryan Tice, Mark Panus WEBSITE EDITOR Nate Bauer STAFF WRITERS David Eckert, Greg Pickel RECRUITING REPORTER Ryan Snyder FOOTBALL ANALYST Thomas Frank Carr CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Phil Grosz, Lou Prato, Jim Carlson PHOTOGRAPHY Bill Anderson, Steve Manuel, Mark Selders COVER PHOTO Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics DESIGN Jeanette Blankenship, Chris Miller F F F PUBLISHER Stu Coman BUSINESS MANAGER Linda Autry ADVERTISING SALES/MARKETING Michelle DeLee-Hamilton 877-630-8768 CIRCULATION MANAGER Sarah Boone CUSTOMER SERVICE Cathy Jones, Laura Thornton 800-421-7751 BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED (USPS 742-550) is published monthly, except June, by Coman Publishing Company, 905 W Main St, Ste 24F, Durham, NC 27701-2076. A one-year (11 issues) subscription is $59.00. First-class, digital and foreign rates available on request. Periodicals postage paid at Durham, NC 27701 and additional mailing offices. Printed by The Papers, Milford, Ind. POSTMASTER: Please send address corrections/changes to BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Durham NC 27702-2331. For advertising or subscription informa- tion call 1-919-688-0218 or write BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Dur- ham NC 27702. W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Seniors Arnold Ebiketie (17) and Derrick Tangelo (not pictured) showed the value of the transfer portal with their high-impact play on the defensive line this year. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL