Blue White Illustrated

August 2022

Penn State Sports Magazine

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A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Washington and sophomore cornerback Kalen King, and there is reason for hope. However, Clifford's health status will hang over the program as it has the past two seasons. Also, there is no guarantee that stalwart senior defensive tackle PJ Mustipher will be back to his old form right away. Combine that with a brutal schedule, and it's easy to see valid con- cerns. All told, Penn State will be better in the regular season, but still not in the Big Ten East conversation by the end of November. Prediction: 9-3 RYAN SNYDER Just like this time last year, there are a lot of questions surrounding Penn State's 2022 roster. As important as it is that Sean Clifford plays well at quarterback, to me, the run- ning game on both sides of the ball is key. On offense, Penn State averaged just 108 yards rushing per game last year. Com- pare that to the three previous seasons, when it averaged 205 (2018), 191 (2019) and 174 (2020). Defensively, the Lions fin- ished 10th in the Big Ten in rushing yards allowed, surrendering 152 per game. Penn State allowed just 95 yards rushing the year it won the Cotton Bowl. It's very clear to me what the Lions have to fix. On offense, I do think we'll see improvement. The addition of Cor- nell transfer Hunter Nourzad will help up front, while sophomore tackle Olu Fashanu will emerge as an NFL prospect. By midseason, third-year sophomore Keyvone Lee and Nick Singleton will both be running strong. However, I'm not as confident defen- sively. The line was pushed around at times last year, and when you compare Arnold Ebikietie's production to every- one else, he won't be easy to replace. Add in some inexperienced linebackers, and I think Penn State will struggle against quality programs. The schedule looks hard on paper, but Purdue and Auburn have plenty of issues themselves. I think the Lions will start 2-0 but lose to both Ohio State and Michigan. A third loss will also bite them, but 9-3 is certainly an improvement. Prediction: 9-3 OFFENSE Quarterback No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. 14 Sean Clifford Sr.+ 6-2 216 11 Christian Veilleux R-Fr. 6-4 202 Running Back 24 Keyvone Lee So. 6-0 234 10 Nick Singleton Fr. 6-0 219 28 or Devyn Ford Jr. 5-11 190 13 or Kaytron Allen Fr. 5-11 216 Wide Receiver 3 Parker Washington So. 5-10 212 82 Liam Clifford R-Fr. 6-1 200 Wide Receiver 1 KeAndre Lambert-Smith So. 6-1 188 88 Malick Meiga So. 6-4 203 Wide Receiver 15 Mitchell Tinsley Sr.+ 6-1 203 85 Harrison Wallace III R-Fr. 6-1 191 Tight End 86 Brenton Strange R-Jr. 6-3 248 84 Theo Johnson So. 6-6 254 Left Tackle 74 Olu Fashanu So. 6-6 310 51 Jimmy Christ R-So. 6-7 315 Left Guard 58 Landon Tengwall R-Fr. 6-6 330 55 JB Nelson R-So. 6-5 305 Center 70 Juice Scruggs Sr. 6-3 319 53 Nick Dawkins So. 6-4 314 Right Guard 64 Hunter Nourzad R-Sr. 6-3 310 77 or Sal Wormley R-Jr. 6-3 309 Right Tackle 79 Caedan Wallace R-Jr. 6-5 319 57 Ibrahim Traore R-So. 6-5 330 DEFENSE Defensive End No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. 46 Nick Tarburton Sr. 6-3 260 92 or Smith Vilbert R-Jr. 6-6 260 44 or Demeioun Robinson So. 6-3 242 Defensive Tackle 97 PJ Mustipher Sr.+ 6-4 329 91 Dvon Ellies R-Jr. 6-1 302 Defensive Tackle 99 Coziah Izzard R-So. 6-3 296 51 Hakeem Beamon R-Jr. 6-3 269 26 or Zane Durant Fr. 6-1 265 52 or Jordan van den Berg R-Fr. 6-3 294 Defensive End 20 Adisa Isaac R-Jr. 6-4 244 92 Smith Vilbert R-Jr. 6-6 260 33 or Dani Dennis-Sutton Fr. 6-5 255 Will Linebacker 26 Curtis Jacobs So. 6-1 227 42 Jamari Buddin R-Fr. 6-2 219 Middle Linebacker 41 Kobe King R-Fr. 6-1 242 43 or Tyler Elsdon So. 6-2 229 Sam Linebacker 0 Jonathan Sutherland Sr.+ 5-11 210 42 Jamari Buddin R-Fr. 6-2 219 11 or Abdul Carter Fr. 6-3 235 Cornerback 9 Joey Porter Jr. R-Jr. 6-2 196 25 Daequan Hardy R-Jr. 5-9 182 Safety 16 Ji'Ayir Brown Sr.+ 5-11 204 6 Jaylen Reed R-Fr. 6-0 209 Safety 2 Keaton Ellis Jr. 5-11 190 6 Zakee Wheatley R-Fr. 6-2 191 Cornerback 4 Kalen King So. 5-11 186 25 Daequan Hardy R-Jr. 5-9 182 Penn State's Unofficial Preseason Depth Chart Placekicker 92 Jake Pinegar Sr. 6-2 206 94 Sander Sahaydak R-Fr. 6-0 171 Punter 97 Alex Bacchetta Fr. 6-2 205 96 or Barney Amor Sr.+ 6-1 193 Long Snapper 91 Chris Stoll Sr.+ 6-2 262 49 Michael Wright R-So. 6-1 205 Kick Return 28 Devyn Ford Jr. 5-11 190 24 Keyvone Lee So. 6-0 234 Punt Return 3 Parker Washington Jr. 5-10 212 5 Mitchell Tinsley Sr.+ 6-1 203 SPECIAL TEAMS

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