Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1512721
6 6 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State will close the 2023 chap- ter of its storied football history in the Peach Bowl against Missis- sippi. The Nittany Lions have won three of their past five bowl appearances, and even in the years when they haven't ended their season with a victory, there has still been plenty to glean from the contest. Fans sometimes say they lose interest as soon as the team falls out of College Football Playoff contention, but that's a shortsighted view. The game, and the practices leading up to it, provide a chance to learn something about the team and assess its future. That's true regardless of whether or not the op- ponent comes from the Group of Five or Power Five. Every evaluation opportu- nity is worthwhile. As for this year's list of items to watch, let's start on offense. We'll focus first on the Penn State wide receivers. When Mike Yurcich was fired and replaced by Ja'Juan Seider and Ty Howle as co- offensive coordinators, the receiver ro- tation expanded greatly. So much so, in fact, that head coach James Franklin was asked about it before the season finale. "What we tried to do [against Rutgers] — which is something that we spent a lot of time talking about — is to focus on the things that guys can do, rather than the things that they can't do," Franklin explained. "Let's put them in position, allow them to have success, and then build on that and allow success in some areas, [and] build confidence in other areas. That's where I think you saw more guys involved in the game plan. "That's something that I was pretty adamant about. 'Hey, OK, what are the things that these guys do? Well, let's put him in a position to use those traits and use those skills.' "We'll continue to do that. I think that's a really important piece of being an offensive coordinator or being a po- sition coach, fighting for your guy and saying, 'Hey, these are the things I think they can do well and help the team and have a role that we can build on.'" It's important to note that the makeup of the receivers room may change be- tween now and game day. The transfer portal is open, after all. But even taking that uncertainty into account, the Lions must use this final game to help set an initial depth chart for position coach Marques Hagans' second season. We'll be watching the snap counts closely. Two other developments to watch on offense come up front and under center. Senior left tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu will be off to the NFL after this game. Will he play against Ole Miss? Even if he does suit up, his expected replacement, sophomore Drew Shelton, will surely see more game reps than usual. This is a great chance for Shelton to take a major step forward. Also of interest is how Penn State will divide the snaps at quarterback between sophomore Drew Allar and redshirt freshman Beau Pribula. And it will be in- teresting to see whether the staff has any wrinkles up their sleeve. Moving to the other side of the ball, true freshman linebacker Tony Rojas will be of great interest. He seems to always be around the ball when he gets put into the defense. Will the Lions use him more as a linebacker in crunch time to prepare for next season? We'll be watching to see. At defensive end, junior Chop Rob- inson has opted out, and redshirt senior Adisa Isaac might join him. Sophomore Dani Dennis-Sutton is ready to move into a starting role, but what will this game tell us about the chances for ju- nior Amin Vanover, freshman Jameial Lyons or redshirt junior Zuriah Fisher to do likewise? It's something we will be watching closely. At cornerback, the Lions are expected to lose junior Kalen King, and senior Johnny Dixon is likely to join him in heading to the pros. Will sophomore Cam Miller take advantage of a bigger share of the rep count? Time will tell. We could have expanded this list greatly. These are just a few items of interest that Penn State fans should be excited for come game day. The bowl game marks one final chance for this version of the Lions to come together and fight for a victory, and it provides one last opportunity for all of us to size up various players before winter work- outs begin. ■ O P I N I O N G R E G P I C K E L G R E G . P I C K E L @ O N 3 . C O M Lions' Bowl Game Will Offer Clues To 2024 Outlook THE LAST WORD Sophomore Beau Pribula could play a bigger role in the bowl game than he did during Penn State's regular season. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL