Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1480138
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 2 3 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M "I've had ups and downs," he said. "I'm not going to shy away from not living up to the standard in the past; 2020 wasn't the standard. I thought that we fell off last year after we were a highly touted team. "Penn State fans just want to see wins, and I understand that. That's what I'm here to do. That's what this team is here to do." In addition to boosting the team's out- look heading into the heart of the Big Ten campaign, Clifford's early-season pro- ductivity is likely to pay long-term divi- dends in that it has allowed true freshman backup Drew Allar to receive substantial playing time. Head coach James Franklin hadn't expected the former On3 Consen- sus five-star prospect to get 19 passing attempts in his first four games at PSU, but he's not complaining. "That's been a huge benefit, not just for the quarterback position, but our entire roster," Franklin said. Allar has completed 12 of his attempts (63.2 percent) for 163 yards and 2 touch- downs and "doesn't look like a freshman," Franklin said. Running Back Third-year sophomore Keyvone Lee and fourth-year junior Devyn Ford, along with true freshmen Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, all have divvied up reps and carries through the first month of the season. In every sense, though, Singleton's ar- rival has upended not just Penn State's rushing attack, but also the entirety of the Nittany Lion offense. With his 70-yard touchdown run to open Penn State's scoring against Ohio in Week 2, Singleton immediately bested the longest carry of the season for the Nit- tany Lions the year prior. By the time the game ended, he had done it again with a 48-yard jaunt and equaled the mark with a 44-yarder. A week later, facing a vaunted SEC op- ponent on the road, Singleton had 124 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 10 car- ries, with one of those rushes going for 53 yards and another for 54 and a touch- down. Winning back-to-back Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for the per- formances, Singleton immediately estab- lished himself as one of the conference's most dynamic running backs. Not to be overlooked, Allen has also gotten off to a strong start. He provided 2 touchdowns in the win at Jordan-Hare Stadium, a game in which his physi- cally punishing style helped wear down the Tigers' defense. A week later, he led the Lions with 111 yards against Central Michigan. "I just think he's playing really con- fident, really good football right now," Franklin said. Wide Receiver/Tight End The line between the upper echelon of pass catchers and the rest of the depth chart has been clear through the early part of the season. In the eyes of the Nittany Lion coaching staff, maybe disappoint- ingly so. Super senior receiver Mitchell Tinsley has provided the consistency Penn State hoped to find when it pulled him from the transfer portal during the offseason. Tinsley and third-year sophomore slot man Parker Washington have paired up to establish a clear top two in the wideout corps. In addition, third-year sophomore KeAndre Lambert-Smith has delivered in some key moments, including at Purdue when he scored a 29-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. At tight end, redshirt junior Brenton Strange has shown himself to be a multi- talented player, bringing maturity, pass- catching prowess and highly effective run-blocking to the field. Those players give Clifford and Yurcich viable options in the passing game. That said, they would like more. One of the most important storylines of the Big Ten season will involve the Lions' at- tempts to incorporate freshman wideouts Harrison Wallace and Omari Evans and third-year sophomore tight ends Theo Johnson and Tyler Warren into the pass- ing attack. Offensive Line In the preseason, Franklin declined to offer any predictions about this unit's im- provement, having been burned in previ- ous years. He still sounded wary when asked the same question after Penn State had surpassed 230 yards rushing in con- secutive games against Ohio and Auburn. "I'm still not ready. I'm going to hold off," Franklin told the assembled media. "You guys will clearly tell me how they're playing." Still, even Franklin couldn't deny the group's progress. He said the line's per- formance was "a step in the right direc- tion," but added that it couldn't afford to remain stagnant for Penn State to achieve its goals this season. With the bulk of the Big Ten schedule still to be played, the Nittany Lions will look to build upon the solid outings they have gotten from redshirt sophomore left tackle Olu Fashanu, redshirt senior center Juice Scruggs and redshirt junior right guard Sal Wormley, while seeking more consistency from redshirt freshman left guard Landon Tengwall, redshirt junior right tackle Caedan Wallace and their backups. "We still have work to do, and I'm still not ready to pound the table," Franklin said. "I probably won't be ready all year long, because I know as soon as I say something positive, something won't go well. I'm going to hold my thoughts." ■ While Nicholas Singleton has gotten most of the atten- tion, his fellow freshman running back Kaytron Allen also has gotten off to an impressive start with 217 yards and 3 touchdowns through four games. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS