Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1462941
2 2 A P R I L 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 opened its offseason drills with three play- ers returning to the positions they played late last year: senior Juice Scruggs at cen- ter, junior Caedan Wallace at right tackle, and Fashanu, a sophomore, at left tackle. Tengwall, a redshirt freshman, was at left guard, while redshirt junior Sal Wormley was at right guard, returning to the spot where he had been looking to start in 2021 before suffering a season-ending injury. Franklin conceded that there may be changes in store, pointing out that "a lot of these guys, we think, can play multiple positions." One of the team's key transfers, Hunter Nourzad, isn't even on campus yet, and his arrival later this year, after an FCS All-America career at Cornell, figures to shake things up. The other offensive deficiency that proved costly last season was the lack of depth at quarterback. When Clifford was knocked out in the second quarter of the Iowa game, Ta'Quan Roberson came on in relief and struggled in the first extended action of his career. Amid the deafening noise of a hostile stadium and the pressure of a top-five showdown, Roberson went 7-of-21 passing for 34 yards with two in- terceptions, and the offense's difficulties opened the door for Iowa's comeback. Roberson has since transferred to UConn, and the Lions don't have a whole lot more game experience behind Clifford than in 2021. And yet, their quarterback situation doesn't look quite so precarious. Redshirt freshman Christian Veil- leux showed promise when he took over for Clifford against Rutgers last season, throwing for 235 yards and three touch- downs in a 28-0 victory after the Lions' starter had to leave the game due to the flu. What's more, they've got a five-star prospect in Allar, who threw for 4,443 yards and 48 touchdowns as a senior at Medina (Ohio) High, and a three-star passer in Pribula, who hit 73 percent of his attempts for 2,575 yards and 33 scores at Central York (Pa.) High. Between them, Penn State's three pro- jected backup quarterbacks have only two games of college experience to their credit, but the coaches are eager to see what they've got this spring. "I think we all saw Veilleux get in a game last year and play at a really high level, and then we've got two young kids that have done some great things throughout their careers and put them- selves in position to come to a place like Penn State and compete," Franklin said. "We'll see how it goes. I'll have a better feel probably after practice six or seven than we have now, but obviously, based on how we've recruited and the tools that they have, there's a lot to be excited about." Franklin conceded during his presser that Penn State did not meet expectations in any phase of the game last year. "In general," he said, "offense, defense and special teams were not good enough, not up to our standards." After the way the season ended, with Penn State losing six of its last eight games, you'd be hard-pressed to argue with that assessment. Still, Franklin likes to project optimism whenever possible. Positivity is his default setting. So, while there was plenty of talk about last sea- son's disappointments, there was also an undercurrent of hopefulness, a belief that no problem is insurmountable. "I think we're heading in the right di- rection," Franklin said. "There's no doubt about it. Obviously, we've had great discussions in the offseason in terms of our personnel and how to play to our strengths, things that we have to develop and improve on. But I think everybody is aligned in the offensive meeting room about what we need to do and where we need to go." ■ 2022 PSU FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time April 23 Blue-White Game (BTN) 2 p.m. Sept. 1 at Purdue (FOX) TBA Sept. 10 Ohio TBA Sept. 17 at Auburn TBA Sept. 24 Central Michigan TBA Oct. 1 Northwestern TBA Oct. 15 at Michigan TBA Oct. 22 Minnesota TBA Oct. 29 Ohio State TBA Nov. 5 at Indiana TBA Nov. 12 Maryland TBA Nov. 19 at Rutgers TBA Nov. 26 Michigan State TBA FOX To Air Nittany Lions' Opener At Purdue The Penn State football team will be back on the air soon enough, with the Big Ten Network set to broadcast the Blue-White Game live at 2 p.m. on April 23. The Nittany Lions also will be involved in one of the first college football broadcasts of the 2022 slate. Their season-opening Sept. 1 matchup with Purdue will air nationally on FOX. The network ac- quired the rights to that game as part of a deal with ESPN for play-by-play announcer Joe Buck, who will become the voice of "Monday Night Football." The kickoff time for the Thursday night game in West Lafayette has not been publicly announced. Penn State played on FOX twice last season, defeating Wisconsin in the first game of the season and losing on the road against Iowa. PSU is 15-3-1 all time against Purdue. It hasn't faced the Boilermakers since 2019 when it coasted to a 35-7 win at Beaver Stadium. The last time the Nittany Lions played in Ross-Ade Stadium was in 2016, when they romped to a 62-24 victory. Purdue's last win over Penn State came in 2004 in State College. — David Eckert Now in his third year at PSU, assistant coach Phil Trautwein will be overseeing the Lions' efforts to improve along the offensive line. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER