Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503568
Site Lines C O M M E N T S F R O M T H E L I O N S D E N A T B L U E W H I T E I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M AUGUST 2023/VOL. 38, NO. 11 MANAGING EDITOR Matt Herb CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Mark Panus, Chris Riffer WEBSITE PUBLISHER Sean Fitz WEBSITE EDITOR Nate Bauer STAFF WRITER Greg Pickel RECRUITING REPORTER Ryan Snyder FOOTBALL ANALYST Thomas Frank Carr CONTRIBUTING WRITER Jim Carlson PHOTOGRAPHY Daniel Althouse, Bill Anderson, Steve Manuel, Mark Selders COVER PHOTO Steve Manuel DESIGN Jeanette Blankenship, Chris Miller F F F PUBLISHER Stu Coman BUSINESS MANAGER Linda Autry ADVERTISING SALES/MARKETING Michelle DeLee-Hamilton 877-630-8768 CIRCULATION MANAGER Sarah Boone CUSTOMER SERVICE Cathy Jones, Laura Thornton, Crystal Clayton 800-421-7751 BUSINESS INTERN Jackson Jones BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED (USPS 742-550) is published monthly, except June, by Coman Publishing Company, 905 W Main St, Ste 24F, Durham, NC 27701-2076. A one-year (11 issues) subscription is $68.00. First-class, digital and foreign rates available on request. Periodicals postage paid at Durham, NC 27701 and additional mailing offices. Printed by The Papers, Milford, Ind. POSTMASTER: Please send address corrections/changes to BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Durham NC 27702-2331. For advertising or subscription informa- tion call 1-919-688-0218 or write BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Durham NC 27702. W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M ON THE BIGGEST QUESTION MARK FACING PSU'S OFFENSE HEADING INTO THE SEASON … There is a lot of pressure on Drew Allar. Whether we are in the hunt for a Big Ten title and possible playoff berth probably rests on his shoulders. There will be games where he will have to lead some drives because the opponent is taking away the run game. — GALION I would say the ability to stretch the field vertically in the passing game. In the years we have been most successful, we have been able to consistently get explosive plays. If our wide receivers can't get separation or aren't able to win the 50/50 plays, that forces the offense to dink and dunk or hope for Nick Singleton to break a long run. Trying to win against Michigan and Ohio State with those long, plodding drives has not proven successful over the years. — NittanyCy For me, it's the third wide receiver that steps up after KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Dante Cephas. I've liked what I've seen in spurts from Tre Wallace. Hopefully, Omari Evans can also step up. I liked his performance in the Blue-White Game. — hohmadw1978 Theo Johnson and Tyler Warren are vets [at tight end] but have been rotational players and both are injury-prone. That said, Theo is a monster and has the potential to have a breakout year. We are one injury away from being very thin, with not a lot of experience behind them. — eilion None of our quarterbacks have started a game. I hope Allar doesn't have to endure a disastrous game on his way to becoming elite. — Train027 My bold prediction is that Penn State's offense will lead the conference in several metrics and be top-three in nearly all of them. This is a playoff team, fellas. — TomPSU823 ON THE CONCERNS THAT HAVE BEEN RAISED ABOUT THE NITTANY LIONS' DEFENSIVE LINE … I think it's a no-brainer that the defensive tackle position group will be better than 2022. PJ Mustipher is the only loss from 2022, and he never returned to his pre-2021 injury production. All the other defensive tackles are a year older, a year stronger, in many cases bigger and more experienced. — Jason1743 If they can stay relatively healthy and always are able to rotate four if not five players, it should pay huge divi- dends in the fourth quarter when instead of being out of gas they are still pretty fresh. In tight games, those one or two big plays from the defensive tackles (which we previously lacked) can make all the difference. It's going to be a collective effort that puts them over the top. I'm optimistic. — Great Gatsby ON THE TRUE FRESHMEN WHO WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO MAKE AN IMPACT THIS FALL … I'm really, really anxious to see Tony Rojas playing at linebacker, and not just on special teams. In my opinion, this kid is going to be one helluva contributor to the defense this year. Probably not contributing in the same way that Abdul Carter did last season, but his athleticism is off the charts, and now he has the size to go with it. He also has the spring ball experience to get him ready to see the field early on. — SJLuvsLions Tight end Andrew Rappleyea has a shot at a green light, if he performs well in games he sees early on. I just think he could be a big extra weapon in the passing game for [offensive coordinator] Mike Yurcich and Drew Allar, to complement the starting tight ends and even the wide receivers room, with his length, size, speed, hands. If there's an injury in the tight ends room, then it may force the issue/opportunity for him as well. — GulfCoastLion My question would be: Who is the better blocker between Khalil Dinkins and Rappleyea? Probably the most important skill for the third tight end. My money will be on Rappleyea by midseason. — Judge_Smails 4 A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 Fans are eager to see Drew Allar take the reins of Penn State's offense this fall after a true freshman season in which he saw action in 10 games as Sean Clifford's backup. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE