Penn State Sports Magazine
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2 2 M A 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 "And then Nick Singleton … has got tremendous burst, is powerful, strong in pass protection. We've been impressed so far." Franklin has been watching Single- ton and Allen for weeks. The rest of us will get our first look in the Blue-White Game. That in itself is a reason to be in- terested in this year's event. The Backup Quarterbacks Super senior Sean Clifford has been at Penn State since 2017. This is the fourth time he's gone through spring drills with the Nittany Lions, so the coaching staff knows what it's getting from him after 33 starts and 973 career passing attempts. Still, don't be surprised if Clifford makes more than just a cameo appear- ance. For all his experience, he's only been working in coordinator Mike Yurcich's system for the past year, and given the of- fense's struggles last season — PSU aver- aged just 25 points per game to rank ninth in the Big Ten — there's a case to be made that he should get a substantial number of reps in a game-like environment. But another big need here is to build some depth. Redshirt freshman Chris- tian Veilleux has seen action in only two games so far, completing 16 of 26 passes for 238 yards in relief of Clifford late last year. The two other scholarship quarter- backs — Drew Allar and Beau Pribula — will be making their collegiate debuts in the spring game after enrolling in January. Yurcich said in late March that the newcomers were "doing an excellent job" but haven't gotten enough experience yet for him to form any strong opinions about how the depth chart might be shaping up. "They're very far along because of how they were groomed in high school," Yur- cich said. "They show a lot of arm tal- ent, they have good feet, they have good pocket awareness, both of them. But right now, to elaborate any further, I just don't have enough banked reps to give you a full report card on them." The Offensive Line If the young running backs are able to create some excitement, it will be at least partly because the people up front are able to clear some space for them, something that rarely happened last season when Penn State finished 118th in the FBS in rushing yards per game. Franklin sounded hopeful about this group during spring practice, noting that "our O-line and tight ends are doing a really nice job." Penn State fans have heard these sorts of sunny appraisals before, only to be underwhelmed by the line's performance in the fall. Given the history, it's hardly surprising to see so many fans adopting a wait-and-see attitude when it comes to this group. There's a good chance the spring game won't end up clarifying anything. That's because the Lions have a numbers prob- lem, with only 11 linemen on campus at the moment. They'll have a few more on hand this summer, including a contender for a starting spot in Cornell transfer Hunter Nourzad. But in the meantime, it's going to be hard to break this position group up into separate (or mostly separate) Blue and White units, so the performance that fans see later this month may not be in- dicative of the line's potential in the fall. "Our numbers are low," Franklin said. "We have answers for training camp [in August], but right now there aren't a whole lot of answers. When we do our run-on tryouts, typically you can get most positions [filled] except the O-line. There just aren't a whole lot of those hu- man beings walking around the planet, let alone on Penn State's campus. So, we're light there." The Crowd Itself Spring game crowds are often viewed as referendums on the level of excite- ment about the program. PSU has been on a downturn recently, compiling an 11-11 record over the past two seasons. But it signed one of the most highly ranked recruiting classes of the Franklin era in December, and nine members of that class are already on campus and available to take part in the Blue-White Game. Interest in PSU football is an endlessly renewable resource, and the newcomers will only help stoke it. The last time Penn State held a spring game, it drew an estimated crowd of 61,000. With three years of pent-up de- mand having accumulated and a num- ber of high-profile newcomers set to make their debuts, you would expect PSU to at least equal that showing this year. Weather permitting, there's every reason to believe the latest incarnation of the Lions' spring game will be a suc- cess at the gate. Having outlasted both a global pan- demic and an irate Bill O'Brien, the Blue-White Game has proven to be a resilient institution. ■ If You Go: Blue-White Game Day Details WHEN: 2 p.m., April 23 WHERE: Beaver Stadium ADMISSION: Free. Fans will enter through gates A and B, which will open at 12:30 p.m. TV/RADIO: The game will air live on the Big Ten Network and will be broadcast by the Penn State Radio Network. PARKING: Lots will open at 9 a.m. All parking passes, regular vehicle and RV, will be mobile. Mobile parking passes were added to accounts for 2022 season parking pass holders who renewed by the Feb. 18 deadline. Mobile parking passes are transferable to other fans, but all transfer offers must be sent and accepted by 3 p.m. April 19. Normal game-day traffic patterns are not in effect for the Blue-White Game. Parking will be general ad - mission in select lots near Beaver Stadium and will be systematically filled. There is ADA parking reserved in Lots 18, 41 and 31. Fans attending the Blue-White Game without a mobile parking pass will be charged $20 per regular vehicle on the day of the event. OTHER ACTIVITIES: The Blue-White Boardwalk Fan Fest, which includes carnival games, free carnival rides such as a Ferris wheel and giant slide, a photo booth and more, will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will be located on Curtin Road in front of Beaver Stadium. The Blue-White Apparel and Equipment Sale, which will include team-issued apparel and equipment, will take place at Pegula Ice Arena from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. or while supplies last. Fans wishing to shop the equipment sale can enter the arena through Gate B.