Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1464375
M A Y 2 0 2 2 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M ally a game at all. It was more like what O'Brien had envisioned, with play- ers taking part in a series of drills and a handful of fans scattered throughout Beaver Stadium. Nobody really liked that, either. So now the Nittany Lions appear poised to bring back the Blue-White Game in something resembling its fa- miliar form. For the first time since April 2019, Penn State is set to stage what has been billed as a spring game. It will kick off at 2 p.m. April 23, and while depth problems at certain position groups could force changes to the format, the event will likely feature a Blue team and a White team and will be open to the general pub- lic. The fact that it's the first spring game in three years should by itself ensure a sizeable crowd, even with the Big Ten Network airing the game live. Mean- while, the presence of several high-pro- file freshmen should ensure a reasonably attentive crowd. Here's a look at what Penn State fans will be watching closely when the Nittany Lions take the field for the first time since ending their 2021 season in the Outback Bowl four and a half months ago: The Freshman Running Backs For much of its football history, Penn State's coaching staff would downplay the excitement within the program about true freshmen. The idea was to avoid talking about them publicly until they were contributing regularly in the hope that the silent treatment would help pre- vent young egos from overinflating. These days, that would be a gesture in futility. Big-time prospects have al- ready habituated to media hype by the time they get to college, and social media can stoke fan excitement about a young player with or without the coaches' par- ticipation. That being the case, James Franklin has made no efforts to tamp down the excitement about five-star true fresh- man running back Nick Singleton and his four-star classmate Kaytron Allen. Indeed, Franklin has sounded bullish on their potential to contribute this fall. "The two freshmen have been impres- sive, really since they've shown up on campus," he said in March. "Kaytron is very football smart. I think his experi- ence at IMG [Academy in Florida] has put him ahead in terms of just college- level learning, experience and under- standing defense, protections and things like that. Penn State has drawn more than 60,000 fans for the Blue-White Game seven of the past eight years in which it has been held. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL