Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1512721
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 4 2 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M in the first half against Rutgers when a hard tackle on a running play forced him to retreat to the injury tent. With Allar out for the rest of the af- ternoon, redshirt freshman Beau Pribula was tapped to lead the Lions' offense. He finished with 71 rushing yards and a touchdown on a day when Penn State could afford to keep the ball on the ground and run out the clock. Against Michigan State the following week, both quarterbacks shined. Allar was 17 of 26 for 292 yards and 2 touch- downs, while Pribula threw for a score and ran for another in the Lions' blowout win. Both will be expected to play in the bowl game. Allar finished his first regu- lar season as the starter with 23 passing touchdowns and just 1 interception. Running Back Sophomore running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen have com- bined to carry 323 times for 1,553 yards and 14 touchdowns. As freshmen, they had 305 carries for 1,812 yards and 19 scores through 12 games. The biggest difference between Year 1 and Year 2 has been a lack of explosive plays, particularly by Singleton. That shortage has kept his yardage total and touchdown count down. However, both running backs saved their best for last. Singleton carried 18 times for 118 yards and a score against Michigan State, while Allen had 137 yards on 15 carries. It was the first time that two Lions surpassed 100 rushing yards in the same game since running back Jour- ney Brown and quarterback Will Levis did it against Rutgers in 2019. Singleton and Allen will look to build on that performance in the bowl game. Wide Receiver Redshirt sophomore Harrison Wallace III had his season derailed by two dif- ferent injuries that caused him to miss six games. In addition, transfers Dante Cephas, a redshirt senior, and Malik Mc- Clain, a junior, were not the high-impact contributors that Penn State had been hoping to land in the transfer portal. This position group never recovered from those setbacks, and the season- long difficulties were exacerbated when opponents found ways to neutralize ju- nior KeAndre Lambert-Smith late in the year. Lambert-Smith had just 2 catches for 28 yards in Penn State's last three regular-season games. There's no way to sugarcoat it: This group was underwhelming from start to finish. None of the young receivers stepped up until sophomore Omari Ev- ans caught a 60-yard pass against Mich- igan State. There's a ton of work to do over the next eight months to get ready for 2024. We expect there to be plenty of new faces here, too. Tight End Theo Johnson had 32 catches for 325 yards and 6 touchdowns during the regular season, while fellow junior Tyler Warren finished with 29 receptions for 295 yards and 7 scores. We could see Warren coming back for his senior year, but Johnson is unlikely to return. Both have been productive play- ers for Penn State, and the NFL is beck- oning. If they both leave, current redshirt sophomore Khalil Dinkins will be first in line to start, though there's plenty of depth (and competition) at this position group. Offensive Line Was this group as good as it was hyped up to be before the season started? Maybe not, but it wasn't far off, either. Anchored by future first-round draft pick Olumuyiwa Fashanu at left tackle and super senior center Hunter Nourzad, the Lions surrendered just 15 sacks in their first 12 games, third-fewest in the Big Ten. Was Allar at times pressured too quickly? Yes. Were there moments in which the running backs found them- selves looking for holes that never ma- terialized? For sure. But there were also times in which the quarterback held onto the ball too long or the running back failed to make someone miss in space after getting away cleanly from the line of scrimmage. We would grade this unit better than most probably would. What it looks like in the bowl game will be interesting, however. We can't imagine Fashanu will play in it. Others could sit, too. ■ Offense Highlights TOP PERFORMER: James Franklin said it best after the Michigan State win: What coach wouldn't take a 60 percent completion rate, 2,336 passing yards and a 23-to-1 touchdown-interception ratio? The answer is none. Sophomore Drew Allar takes this award. TOP NEWCOMER: By default, redshirt senior receiver Dante Cephas is the choice here. It's true that the former Kent State standout took a while to get going. He still ranks fourth on the team and second among the wideouts in receptions (22), receiving yards (246) and touchdowns (2). UNSUNG HERO: Penn State was forced to move super senior Hunter Nourzad to center after he played guard in 2022. Nourzad did have some issues with high and wide snaps early in the season, but he's second on the team with 731 game reps through 12 games. ONE TO WATCH: Did sophomore receiver Omari Evans show in the regular-season finale that he's ready for a bigger role? He blew past a Michigan State defender on a 60-yard catch that got fans ex- cited about what the future might hold. His role was minuscule earlier in the year, but it grew when Ja'Juan Seider and Ty Howle took over for deposed offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. Evans will be looking to keep that momentum going in the weeks and months to come. If there's a 1A in this category, it would be sophomore offensive tackle Drew Shelton. With senior Olumuyiwa Fashanu headed to the NFL, Shelton should see increased time at left tackle in the bowl game and figures to start in 2024. SEASON HIGHLIGHT: Penn State scored more points against Delaware, Massachusetts and Mary- land, but its 42-0 thrashing of Michigan State was a highly gratifying late-season bounce-back. There was a flow to the play calls on offense. Missed assignments were minimal. Sophomore running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen both surpassed 100 yards on the ground, while Allar had one of his best performances. It was the perfect game with which to conclude the regular season. — Greg Pickel