Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1430714
D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 1 17 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Preseason Depth Chart LT 53 Rasheed Walker (Jr., 6-6, 320) 74 Olumuyiwa Fashanu (Fr., 6-6, 313) 58 Landon Tengwall (Fr., 6-6, 326) LG 68 Eric Wilson (Sr., 6-4, 307) 72 Bryce Effner (Jr., 6-5, 305) 55 Anthony Whigan (Sr., 6-4, 316) C 73 Mike Miranda (Sr., 6-3, 305) 70 Juice Scruggs (Jr., 6-3, 307) 72 Bryce Effner (Jr., 6-5, 305) RG 70 Juice Scruggs (Jr., 6-3, 307) 73 Mike Miranda (Sr., 6-3, 305) 72 Bryce Effner (Jr., 6-5, 305) RT 79 Caedan Wallace (So., 6-5, 323) 72 Bryce Effner (Jr., 6-5, 305) 51 Jimmy Christ (Fr., 6-7, 302) TE 86 Brenton Strange (So, 6-3, 250) 84 Theo Johnson (So., 6-6, 256) 44 Tyler Warren (Fr., 6-6, 252) WR 5 Jahan Dotson (Sr., 5-11, 184) 6 Cam Sullivan-Brown (Sr., 6-0, 193) 11 Daniel George (Jr., 6-2, 206) WR 3 Parker Washington (So., 5-10, 207) 80 Malick Meiga (Fr., 6-4, 200) 8 Marquis Wilson (Jr., 5-11, 180) WR 13 KeAndre Lambert-Smith (So., 6-1, 184) 6 Cam Sullivan-Brown (Sr., 6-0, 193) 11 Daniel George (Jr., 6-2, 206) QB 14 Sean Clifford (Sr., 6-2, 219) 2 Ta'Quan Roberson (So., 5-11, 197) 9 Christian Veilleux (Fr., 6-4, 202) RB 23 John Lovett (Sr., 6-0, 209) 21 Noah Cain (Jr., 5-10, 220) 26 Caziah Holmes (So., 5-11, 211) 24 Keyvone Lee (So., 6-0, 239) 28 Devyn Ford (Jr., 5-11, 200) DE 17 Arnold Ebiketie (Sr., 6-3, 256) 40 Jesse Luketa (Sr., 6-3, 247) 92 Smith Vilbert (So., 6-6, 263) 3-tech. DT 54 Derrick Tangelo (Sr., 6-2, 308) 91 Dvon Ellies (So., 6-1, 303) 99 Coziah Izzard (Fr., 6-3, 295) 1-tech. DT 99 Coziah Izzard (Fr., 6-3, 295) 91 Dvon Ellies (So., 6-1, 303) 53 Fred Hansard (Sr., 6-3, 309) DE 40 Jesse Luketa (Sr., 6-3, 247) 46 Nick Tarburton (Jr., 6-3, 255) 92 Smith Vilbert (So., 6-6, 263) Sam OLB 23 Curtis Jacobs (So., 6-1, 230) 42 Jamari Buddin (Fr., 6-2, 221) 45 Charlie Katshir (Jr., 6-3, 231) MLB 13 Ellis Brooks (Sr., 6-1, 241) 40 Jesse Luketa (Sr., 6-3, 247) 43 Tyler Elsdon (Fr., 6-2, 229) Will OLB 12 Brandon Smith (Jr., 6-3, 241) 45 Charlie Katshir (Jr., 6-3, 231) CB 5 Tariq Castro-Fields (Sr., 6-0, 194) 3 Johnny Dixon (Jr., 6-0, 186) 25 Daequan Hardy (So., 5-9, 180) CB 9 Joey Porter Jr. (So., 6-2, 192) 25 Daequan Hardy (So., 5-9, 180) 3 Johnny Dixon (Jr., 6-0, 186) BS 1 Jaquan Brisker (Sr., 6-1, 200) 2 Keaton Ellis (Jr., 5-11, 190) 0 Jonathan Sutherland (Sr., 5-11, 201) FS 16 Ji'Ayir Brown (Sr., 5-11, 205) 0 Jonathan Sutherland (Sr., 5-11, 201) 2 Keaton Ellis (Jr., 5-11, 190) Unofficial Depth Chart PK(FG) 98 Jordan Stout (Sr., 6-3, 209) 92 Jake Pinegar (Sr., 6-2, 196) 90 Rafael Checa (Jr., 6-2, 211) PK (KO) 98 Jordan Stout (Sr., 6-3, 209) 92 Jake Pinegar (Sr., 6-2, 196) P 98 Jordan Stout (Sr., 6-3, 209) 97 Barney Amor (Sr., 6-1, 186) 93 Bradley King (Sr., 6-2, 214) PR 5 Jahan Dotson (Sr., 5-11, 184) 3 Parker Washington (So., 5-10, 207) KR 28 Devyn Ford (Jr., 5-11, 200) 23 John Lovett (Sr., 6-0, 209) 24 Keyvone Lee (So., 6-0, 239) OFFENSE DEFENSE SPECIAL TEAMS Penn State's offensive line found itself under the microscope once again following a poor performance against Michigan. The Nittany Lions surrendered seven sacks, and head coach James Franklin estimated that the Wolverines hit quarterback Sean Clifford another five times during the course of the game, a 21-17 Michigan victory. Franklin praised Clifford's toughness, acknowledging that he was "beat up" following the loss to the Wolverines. So where does that leave Penn State's front five? A reporter asked Franklin at his Nov. 16 news conference how close he has come to making changes with the personnel on the offensive line. Specifically, could Landon Tengwall, a true freshman and top-100 On3 Consensus prospect, see some time? "We'd like to get Landon some experience these last couple games," Frank- lin said. "I think you guys have seen [Bryce] Effner has played, we'd like to get him some more experience as well. Olu [Fashanu] is another guy that we're very high on and would like to get him some experience." Effner had seen the most action of that trio by far as of mid-November, playing in eight of the team's 10 games and taking 175 snaps. He's also the oldest of the group — a redshirt junior. Fashanu, a redshirt freshman, had 21 snaps to his name going into the Rutgers game, while Tengwall had yet to see the field. With the regular season nearly compete and a bowl game remaining on Penn State's sched- ule, Tengwall's redshirt is secure, so the Nittany Lions could play him freely without that concern. Franklin said there have been times when the Nittany Lions intended to get those players into the game, only to be thwarted by an injury some- where. "Some games we've planned on doing that, but an injury has not allowed us to do that, whether it's with our starting five or whether it's with one of the backups that we planned to get in," Franklin said. "We would love to be able to get those guys some experience, especially in these last three games." Penn State's running game has fallen well short of expectations this sea- son. The Nittany Lions averaged 3.5 yards per carry against Michigan, their fourth-best mark of the season. But even after that showing, they ranked 13th in the Big Ten with 106.7 yards rushing per game this season, ahead of only Purdue. Fielding a question about the offensive line's role in the run game, Franklin expressed confidence that the players and the coaching staff are putting in the hours necessary to right the ship. "We have got to be more physical in the running game," he said. "There's nobody that works harder at it than Coach [Phil] Trautwein, all off-season, all in-season — the players as well. I think at times we've done some pretty good things against some of the better defenses in college football, but we've got to be better, I get it. I understand the questions. We've got to be better." — David Eckert Lions Look To Get Young Linemen Game Experience