Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1496986
M A Y 2 0 2 3 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M this spring, and how their competition will shape up moving into the summer months. As opposed to the 2022 pre- season, when Pribula was moved to the scout team and Allar asserted himself as the clear No. 2 behind Clifford, the push behind Allar can now be front and center. Pribula has established that he can make plays with his arm and feet. Regard- less of how the position battle plays out, it appears likely that he will find his way onto the field this season. But, in Allar, Penn State has a quar- terback who has already seen action in 10 games and can make every throw. He hasn't been fazed by having to compete for a job that has already been bestowed on him by people outside the program. The bottom line is that Penn State has two young quarterbacks who are working to be as prepared as they can be for Sep- tember and beyond. Running Back Penn State already knew what it had at running back last August. Singleton and Allen lived up to the hype, combining for 1,928 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns in 2022. They will be counted on to do even more as sophomores. The big concern for Penn State this spring has involved depth. Walk-ons Tank Smith, Tyler Holzworth and Amiel Davis have been the only other running backs in practice. Incoming freshmen London Montgomery and Cameron Wallace won't arrive till the summer, and Mont- gomery is coming off a knee injury that cost him his entire senior sea- son at Scranton (Pa.) Prep. The Lions did get a boost on April 5 when Minnesota running back Trey Potts announced plans to transfer to Penn State. Potts, a Williamsport, Pa., native, rushed for 1,147 yards and 10 touchdowns in three seasons with the Gophers. He stands 5-11, 210 pounds and will be a redshirt senior this fall. Receiver James Franklin keeps saying it pub- licly, and the message is implicit. Penn State needs fourth-year junior KeAndre Lambert-Smith to be the guy. That is not just in the Nittany Lions' receivers room, or for the program, but also within the Big Ten. If he had already risen to that level, Franklin would stop saying it. Still needing to make strides, the tal- ented Lambert-Smith will continue to push this offseason to reach his full po- tential by next fall. None of that means he isn't on a path toward that goal, though. While consis- tency is an area in which he must develop, he has taken steps to build on his end- of-season springboard, which included games against Michigan State and Utah in which he totaled 8 catches for 207 yards and 2 touchdowns. Elsewhere, redshirt sophomore Harri- son Wallace has continued to do well and has separated from the rest of the pack in the position group. He'll be a starter this fall barring something unforeseen. Other buzz from this spring includes a positive trajectory for sophomore Omari Evans, who has captured attention for the potential he presents. Starting to settle into the position after beginning his ca- reer as a pure field-stretcher, he could be in line for more playing time and produc- tion. Evans played in all 13 games last year but caught just 5 passes for 55 yards. Tight End The bright spot out of the tight ends room has been redshirt sophomore Khalil Dinkins. He needed a little time to accli- mate, but with juniors Tyler Warren and Theo Johnson nursing injuries this spring, Dinkins has garnered positive reviews. Elsewhere, the learning curve is still steep for redshirt freshman Jerry Cross and January enrollees Mega Barnwell and Joey Schlaffer. Given Penn State's depth at the position, those younger players should have the luxury of time to develop. Offensive Line The biggest and maybe best news for Penn State up front this spring has been the performance of redshirt senior Cae- dan Wallace. Battling sophomore Drew Shelton at right tackle this spring, Wal- lace has more than met the challenge. Granted, Shelton needed to make the move from left to right tackle this spring after spending the 2022 season working behind Olumuyiwa Fashanu. Franklin touched on the difficulty of that move during one of his weekly me- dia availabilities this spring. Shelton is a hard-working natural on the left side. On the right, that's less the case. While Shel- ton has been working to overcome that hurdle, Wallace has tightened his once- tenuous grip on the right tackle spot. The result is something of a good news/bad news situation for Penn State as it works to identify four viable tackles this off- season. Keeping that performance in mind, Penn State's status quo heading into the spring drills hasn't changed. With super senior Hunter Nourzad making a smooth transition to center, and redshirt senior Sal Wormley continuing to progress at right guard, Penn State has four players trending to return as starters up front. Redshirt sophomore Landon Tengwall has needed to fend off redshirt junior JB Nelson at left guard. That's been a genu- ine competition, and the starting spot is likely to remain up for grabs through the rest of the spring and summer. ■ Quarterback Beau Pribula didn't play last season, but the redshirt freshman has reportedly impressed this spring and is likely to see game action in some capacity come the fall. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE