Blue White Illustrated

February 2023

Penn State Sports Magazine

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6 6 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State has its best outlook yet to start an offseason in the James Franklin era. Various early top 25s list the Nittany Lions inside the top 10. One outlet even has them inside the top five. It's a show of deserved respect for a program that is fresh off a Rose Bowl vic- tory and its fourth 11-win season since 2016. Despite losing All-America corner- back Joey Porter Jr., plus four-year start- ing quarterback Sean Clifford, center Juice Scruggs, starting receivers Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley, tight end Brenton Strange, defensive tackle PJ Mustipher and safety Ji'Ayir Brown, among others, the Lions return plenty of production. What's more, they've made some fine additions in the transfer portal and have amassed plenty of talent to help get the Drew Allar quarterbacking era started. The former On3 five-star prospect gained valuable experience during his first year on campus and should have plenty of help now that he's set to take the reins during his sophomore year. "As you guys see, we've got some great young talent," Scruggs told reporters before the Rose Bowl. "Me personally, I think they're going to reach the playoffs next year." At least one pundit agrees. Longtime national college football reporter Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated placed the Li- ons at No. 4 in his way-too-early top 25 for the 2023 season. That was the highest ranking of any prognosticator. "If ever the Nittany Lions are going to break the Michigan-Ohio State grip on the Big Ten East, this could be the time," Forde writes. "They have a pair of running backs returning who rushed for more than 1,900 yards combined in 2022. Everyone is excited about quarter- back Drew Allar. Left tackle Olu Fashanu, a projected first-round pick, has already announced he will bypass the draft and stay in school. "Linebacker Abdul Carter was one of the best freshmen in the country on that side of the ball in '22, and North Carolina transfer defensive back Storm Duck will fill a need." Bill Bender of The Sporting News slots Penn State at No. 9. Stewart Mandel at The Athletic is one of many to place the team at No. 7. USA Today calls the Li- ons the nation's No. 5 team at this early juncture, while ESPN put them at No. 6. Writes Bender: "James Franklin broke the losing streak against top-10 teams with Penn State's impressive 35-21 vic- tory against Utah in the Rose Bowl. Now, the Drew Allar era at quarterback begins, and running back Nick Singleton seems primed to be one of the best running backs in the country. "Tackle Olu Fashanu is back, too. De- fensive coordinator Manny Diaz returns a solid unit that features Abdul Carter and Kalen King. This might be their best team since the 2016 Big Ten champion- ship team." Rankings released in January will mean little come September and even less when the first College Football Playoff poll is released next November. Everyone has to start somewhere, though. Thanks to a combination of exciting young talent and returning standouts along the offensive line, at running back and in the secondary, among other spots, Penn State begins its 2023 journey with a top-10 outlook, the seventh-best odds to win its first College Football Playoff, and two players who are viewed as potential Heisman Trophy contenders in Allar and sophomore running back Nicholas Singleton. Something else to bear in mind is that most, if not all, of those top-25 rankings were released before the Nittany Lions landed wideouts Dante Cephas and Malik McClain in the final days of the January transfer window. Those two ad- ditions will bolster a receivers room that is light on stats but long on potential. Fashanu is back for his junior season, anchoring an offensive line that features six returners with significant starting experience. Fourth-year junior line- backer Curtis Jacobs decided to forgo the NFL Draft, and he will team up with the sophomore Carter in the middle of coordinator Manny Diaz's defense. Their partnership proved highly effective in the second half of the 2022 season. The same goes for redshirt senior de- fensive end Adisa Isaac, who passed up the draft for one more season opposite junior Chop Robinson. On the back end, King has All-America potential as a ju- nior cornerback. It's safe to say the hype train has left the station. What happens over the next seven months will help decide how far down the tracks, and at what rate of speed, it continues to roll. A major opportunity awaits the Nit- tany Lions this year, and fans should be excited about the sky-high expecta- tions. ■ O P I N I O N GREG PICKEL GREG.PICKEL@ON3.COM Nittany Lions Have Ample Reason For Optimism THE LAST WORD Quarterback Drew Allar flashed his potential during 10 game appearances as a true freshman last fall. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE

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