Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1482664
3 6 N O V E M B E R 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 FIVE BEST PLAYERS 1. Ji'Ayir Brown | S | Sr.+ Through seven games, Brown was leading the Nittany Lions in tackles (41) and interceptions (3) and was tied for second in tackles for loss (3.5). With the front seven struggling at Michigan, he had 9 stops, including a tackle of Blake Corum for a 3-yard loss that helped PSU hold the Wolver- ines to a field goal on their second possession after they had reached the 2-yard line. A week later, Brown intercepted Minnesota quarterback Athan Kaliakma- nis in the third quarter and weaved 35 yards to give Penn State possession near midfield and set up a Nicholas Singleton touchdown run. Brown has been a reliable presence in the back end of the Lions' defense and an ever-present threat to unwary quarterbacks. 2. Olu Fashanu | OT | R-So. The Lions have had a few injuries on their offensive front and have not been as consistent as they might have hoped before the season began, but Fashanu has been a force on the left side. Coach James Franklin said that he's "playing really well at left tackle," and the scouts at Pro Football Focus appear to agree. One PFF analyst recently listed the 6-foot-6, 308-pounder as the 35th-best prospect in next year's draft. He'll have a chance to build on his credentials in the month to come. 3. Joey Porter Jr. | CB | R-Jr. It's always hard to grade cornerbacks based on their numbers because the absence of stats can be the most telling stat of all. Porter started out the season as the Big Ten's runaway leader in passes defended, in part because season-opening opponent Purdue insisted on throwing in his direction. Subsequent foes have been more reluctant to do that, and after seven games, Porter was second in the conference with 11 passes defended. Franklin said Penn State has been using film of Porter to show the team's defensive backs how he's able to "just eliminate a guy and a play — it's not even an option for the quarterback." 4. Abdul Carter | LB | Fr. Carter had been getting on the field earlier and earlier throughout the season, and finally, against Minnesota, the inevitable happened — the newcomer from Philadelphia made his first career start. That decision was partly based on the unique threat that the Gophers presented as a team that looks to use a powerful rushing attack to play a ball-control offensive game. PSU wanted to counter with its "big base" de- fense, deploying three box linebackers on the field at the same time. Carter joined third-year sophomores Tyler Elsdon and Curtis Jacobs in the starting lineup and finished the game with 8 tackles, including 2 stops for loss. Expect to see his name in the starting lineup quite a lot in the years to come. 5. Sean Clifford | QB | Sr.+ It's hard to understand why people boo college football players, but that's a topic for another day. To his credit, Clifford just seems to brush that sort of criticism aside. He was booed before the Minnesota game, then promptly went out and threw 4 touchdown passes in Penn State's 45- 17 victory over the Gophers. No, he's not going to be on hand in New York when the Heisman Trophy is awarded in December, but he was completing over 60 percent of his passes through seven games and had led the Lions to a 6-1 record. You'd like to think that would count for something. KEY MOMENT Penn State's offense was scuffling early in the team's the matchup against Minnesota. Despite throwing a first-time starting quarterback out there to face the Nittany Lions and their revved-up White Out crowd, the Gophers opened the scoring with a first-quarter field goal. But Penn State regained its stride and evened the score early in the second quarter. Then Clifford found third-year sophomore tight end Tyler Warren for a 38-yard touchdown pass to give PSU a lead that it would not relinquish. The season could have really gone sideways if Minnesota had found a way to hang around and pull out an upset victory, but the pass to Warren got Penn State's offense unstuck. BEST HIGHLIGHT Clifford threw one of the better passes of his career in the third quarter of the Minnesota game, hitting third-year sophomore wideout Parker Washing- ton deep over the middle for a 35-yard touchdown. The Lions had struggled to produce big plays in the passing game earlier in the season, so the long throws to Washington and Warren were encouraging signs of progress with the No- vember schedule looming. BOLD PREDICTION Penn State will head into its season finale against Michigan State with a shot at a New Year's Six bowl. The Lions will need wins over Indiana, Maryland and Rutgers to make that happen, and they will get those wins. This is clearly a team with some significant flaws: The offensive line is bet- ter but still not championship level. The linebacker corps is thin. The receiver corps misses Jahan Dotson. And yet, more often than not, the Lions have found a way to get the job done. Even in the Michigan game, a game in which they were thoroughly outplayed on both sides of the ball, they miraculously held a lead in the third quarter. Here's betting they will continue to find a way, and that there will be more at stake than just the Land Grant Trophy when the Spartans head to State College. — Matt Herb Super senior safety Ji'Ayir Brown came down with his third interception of the season in the third quarter against Minnesota. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE PENN STATE FOOTBALL SUPERLATIVES GAME 5-GAME 7