Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1445781
1 6 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M "James Franklin's Nittany Lions are just 11-11 overall over the last two years, but six of those losses came by one score. Turning around those trends requires improvement on both sides of the ball, starting with an offense that averaged only 5.3 yards per play and 25 points a contest. "A big reason for the lackluster production on offense was a shaky line (34 sacks allowed), along with an attack that was too one-dimensional with 108 rushing yards a game. Quarterback Sean Clif- ford improved from an uneven 2020 but has to take his play up a notch in '22." — Steve Lassan, Athlon Sports, assessing Penn State's 2022 outlook as part of a January top-25 list that had the Nittany Lions at No. 21 "Clifford struggled to one of his worst games at Penn State in the Outback Bowl, completing a season-low 43.8 percent of his passes and throw- ing two interceptions." While that game didn't define Clifford's season, it did activate a few indicator lights that the quar- terback has reached his threshold. A healthy Clif- ford is most likely to start the opener at Purdue in September. That shouldn't mean Clifford holds the job in perpetuity." — Mark Wogenrich, SI.com "He's our guy. Penn State is a place where we feel very comfortable with leadership over long, sustained periods of time. Certainly, as a follower and student of leadership — sustained, consistent leadership — when you've got a good one, it's really, really positive, and I think Penn State has historically benefitted from that." — Sandy Barbour, Penn State athlet- ics director, on James Franklin's 10-year contract extension "I'm a huge Jesse Luketa fan. I will pound the table for him with every single NFL team, GM and coach. The guy is a football player. He loves football. He's a great teammate. He's played a lot of different positions. As we all know, whether it's the NFL or any other industry, the more things that you can do to bring value, the better." — James Franklin, hailing JESSE LUKETA fol- lowing the Outback Bowl, the last game at Penn State for the senior defensive end/linebacker "I think I'll take some time off, and if I get the itch to get back in, I'll look for the coaches' portal and find a job where I can be happy." — Russ Rose, who recently stepped down after 43 seasons as women's volleyball coach at PSU, telling DigNittanyVolleyball. com how he plans to spend his retirement "My college record vs. Iowa is 3-0 with 3 first-pe- riod pins including one in the middle of Carver. My teams were undefeated against Iowa as well. Not competitive. Check the stats, I am Iowa's daddy." — Former Penn State wrestler Bo Nickal, re- sponding to an Iowa fan who had boasted on Twitter that the Hawkeyes were PSU's "daddy" They Said It Jesse Luketa finished the season with 61 tackles, including 8.5 tackles for loss, and one interception, which he returned for a 16-yard touchdown against Ball State. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL "Only two of the 10 [early enrollees in Penn State's 2022 recruiting class] are linemen — JB Nelson, an offensive tackle from Lackawanna College, and Zane Durant, a D-lineman from Florida. This is important because Penn State's biggest needs on both sides of the ball are in the trenches and at linebacker. Two LBs do arrive in May. "There's a saying among old school footballers: Bigs win big games. In the world of roster management, the Nittany Lions need a big turnover in the trenches. "The return of PJ Mustipher will help in measurable ways on defense. But the O-line needs to be bigger and better, on the field and the roster, and tougher. Especially on game day. Penn State returns just 36 starts on the O-line, so any experienced help must come through the portal." — Mike Poorman, StateCollege.com