Penn State Sports Magazine
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6 6 F E B R 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 athletics finished 2022-23 with multiple national champions in wrestling, a 10-3 season in foot- ball, an NCAA Tournament appearance in men's basketball, conference titles in men's lacrosse, men's soccer and men's volleyball, plus multiple league champs in track and field. It also put a plan in place to renovate Beaver Stadium, and it launched proposals to create an indoor practice bubble for Olympic sports, renovate Jeffrey Field, and continue sprucing up the Lasch Building. It was a productive year. Another one will be required to keep moving the department. What's in store for 2024? Here are a few predic- tions: 1. Penn State will win another national title in wrestling, but how many All-Americans will there be? With apologies for, well, nothing, let's start with the easiest call of the year. Head coach Cael Sanderson's team is No. 1 in the country as it kicks off the 2024 portion of its schedule. Penn State is the defending NCAA and Big Ten champion and is on track to reclaim both crowns this winter. That part is easy to predict. The number of All-Americans, however, is not as clear cut. A wrestler must finish in eighth place or better at the NCAA Tournament to earn All- America status. If the season ended today, seven of the team's 10 starters would earn that honor via their cur- rent ranking. We'll say that, when all is said and done, nine of 10 start- ers will fall into that category. With Shayne Van Ness out at 149, it's the only weight class that won't have an All-American. 2. Abdul Carter will lead the Li- ons in tackles and sacks It was a shame that sophomore line- backer Abdul Carter was blocked low in the Peach Bowl. It caused an injury that forced him out of the game. Had that not happened, the junior-to-be may have had a coming-out party on a national stage. That will have to wait until next year, and we predict it will happen in the nationally televised opener against West Virginia. Expect the Philadelphia native to shine in Morgantown and ultimately lead the team in both statistical cate- gories. We expect No. 11 to be on a mis- sion to turn in the kind of season that has NFL Draft scouts salivating about him in the same way they did about Micah Parsons back in 2019. 3. At least two football transfers will win starting jobs As of early January, Penn State had two critical transfer portal pickups: for- mer Tulsa kicker Chase Meyer and for- mer Ohio State receiver Julian Fleming. Suggesting Fleming will earn a first- team spot is the furthest thing from bold. Meyer doing so, on the other hand, is a different story. He comes in as a walk-on after making 17 of 20 field goals for the Golden Hurricanes and will compete with fellow walk-on Ryan Barker and returning scholarship kicker Sander Sahaydak for the right to replace Alex Felkins. Based on the current buzz, this is Barker's job to lose. But we'll pre- dict that Meyer, a California native, will secure it coming out of camp. 4. Penn State will have two first- round draft picks During the season, defensive end Chop Robinson, offensive tackle Olu- muyiwa Fashanu and cornerback Kalen King were all seen as possible first- round picks. Now that we're into 2024, we expect King to fall out of the top 32 but still be a Day 2 selection. Robinson and Fashanu, however, will lock up their first-round status at the NFL Combine and become the 41st and 42nd first- round picks in program history. 5. James Franklin will come close but not surpass the 100-win mark at Penn State in 2024 The 11th-year leader of the Nittany Li- ons has a record of 88-39 over 127 games in State College. To hit the 100-win mark, Franklin would need to lead Penn State to either a 12-0 regular season, an 11-1 mark with one postseason victory, or a 10-3 finish with two postseason wins if the team makes the College Football Playoff. The expanded playoff offers a new op- portunity to win 12 games in one year, which the Lions haven't done since 1994. For now, we do envision the team making its first CFP trip. But it won't ultimately eclipse the 12-win mark needed to help Franklin reach the im- pressive milestone in 2024. ■ 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 Five Bold Penn State Predictions For 2024 THE LAST WORD Linebacker Abdul Carter finished his sophomore season with 4.5 sacks, a total that was tied for second on the team. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL