Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1509432
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 3 13 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Franklin Says Lions' NIL Needs Comparable To Ohio State's Recruiting and roster management have gotten more expensive since the NCAA relaxed its amateurism restric- tions in 2021, and James Franklin recently hinted at how Penn State's recruiting ef- forts are being affected by college ath- letes' ability to profit off their name, im- age and likeness. Franklin was asked in September about a written statement that Ohio State athlet- ics director Gene Smith recently provided to the House Committee on Small Busi- ness regarding the impact that new NIL rules have had on college sports. Smith has been an advocate for federal legislation that would supersede the patchwork of state regulations enacted during the past two years, with an eye toward leveling the playing field across the nation. Smith's statement claimed that football prospects have been asking for $5,000 just to visit campus on recruiting trips. Smith's testimony came on the heels of comments last year by Ohio State football coach Ryan Day at a meeting of Columbus business leaders. Day told attendees that the Buckeyes would need $13 million in NIL support to hold their roster together. Publicly, Penn State hasn't been as spe- cific about its needs as Ohio State's lead- ership has been, but Franklin told report- ers at his Sept. 26 news conference that the Lions are in a comparable situation. "We had the discussion [about] a year ago when something came out from that school," Franklin said. "They talked about a number, and you guys wanted to know if my number was similar. I said, 'Well, why would my number not be similar?' People seemed shocked by that. "As you can imagine, the schools that you're mentioning, we're all dealing with the same challenges and issues. Some- times I think things are said publicly that maybe you guys weren't aware of before, but we're all dealing with the same chal- lenges because most of us are recruiting the same guys." — Matt Herb OFFENSE LEFT TACKLE No. Name Cl. Ht. Wt. 74 Olumuyiwa Fashanu Jr. 6-6 317 56 JB Nelson R-Jr. 6-5 334 LEFT GUARD 71 Olaivavega Ioane R-Fr. 6-4 348 56 or JB Nelson R-Jr. 6-5 334 CENTER 64 Hunter Nourzad R-Sr.+ 6-3 320 53 Nick Dawkins R-Jr. 6-4 315 RIGHT GUARD 77 Sal Wormley R-Sr. 6-3 324 71 Olaivavega Ioane R-Fr. 6-4 348 RIGHT TACKLE 73 Caedan Wallace R-Sr. 6-5 328 66 Drew Shelton So. 6-5 306 TIGHT END 84 Theo Johnson Jr. 6-6 260 44 Tyler Warren Jr. 6-6 257 WIDE RECEIVER 1 KeAndre Lambert-Smith Jr. 6-1 185 3 Dante Cephas R-Sr. 6-0 193 7 Kaden Saunders R-Fr. 5-10 175 WIDE RECEIVER 6 Harrison Wallace III R-So. 6-1 194 11 Malik McClain Jr. 6-4 206 WIDE RECEIVER 2 Liam Clifford R-So. 6-1 201 5 Omari Evans So. 6-0 189 80 Cristian Driver R-Fr. 5-11 188 QUARTERBACK 15 Drew Allar So. 6-5 242 9 Beau Pribula R-Fr. 6-2 203 RUNNING BACK 10 Nicholas Singleton So. 6-0 222 13 or Kaytron Allen So. 5-11 222 DEFENSE DEFENSIVE END No. Name Cl. Ht. Wt. 44 Chop Robinson Jr. 6-3 254 15 Amin Vanover Jr. 6-4 268 DEFENSIVE TACKLE 28 Zane Durant So. 6-1 285 99 or Coziah Izzard Jr. 6-3 295 91 or Dvon Ellies R-Sr. 6-1 298 DEFENSIVE TACKLE 51 Hakeem Beamon R-Sr. 6-3 290 52 Jordan van den Berg R-So. 6-3 310 58 Kaleb Artis R-Fr. 6-4 319 DEFENSIVE END 20 Adisa Isaac R-Sr. 6-4 249 33 Dani Dennis-Sutton So. 6-5 261 OUTSIDE LINEBACKER 23 Curtis Jacobs Jr. 6-1 235 0 Dominic DeLuca R-So. 6-1 218 MIDDLE LINEBACKER 41 Kobe King R-So. 6-1 242 43 Tyler Elsdon Jr. 6-2 229 OUTSIDE LINEBACKER 11 Abdul Carter So. 6-3 249 13 Tony Rojas Fr. 6-2 225 CORNERBACK 4 Kalen King Jr. 5-11 190 5 Cam Miller So. 6-0 183 CORNERBACK 3 Johnny Dixon Sr. 6-0 196 25 Daequan Hardy R-Sr. 5-9 178 SAFETY 1 Jaylen Reed Jr. 6-0 205 6 Zakee Wheatley R-So. 6-2 198 SAFETY 21 Kevin Winston Jr. So. 6-2 203 2 Keaton Ellis Sr. 5-11 190 BWI's Unofficial Penn State Depth Chart PUNTER No. Name Cl. Ht. Wt. 95 Riley Thompson Sr. 6-1 209 97 Alex Bacchetta R-Fr. 6-2 220 PLACEKICKER (FG) 91 Alex Felkins Sr. 6-3 2 0 0 93 Sander Sahaydak R-So. 6-0 177 PLACEKICKER (KO) 99 Gabriel Nwosu R-So. 6-6 274 LONG SNAPPER 48 Tyler Duzansky R-So. 6-4 215 PUNT RETURNER 7 Kaden Saunders R-Fr. 5-10 175 KICKOFF RETURNER 10 Nicholas Singleton So. 6-0 222 13 Kaytron Allen So. 5-11 222 SPECIAL TEAMS