Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1518105
3 8 A P R I L 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 Head strength coach Chuck Losey said he was pleased with the progress that Penn State made during its seven-week winter workout program, and those sorts of gains don't happen without plenty of peer leadership. Losey lauded three players who he said "put their best foot forward and really stepped up" throughout winter workouts: redshirt junior linebacker Dominic DeLuca, redshirt senior center Nick Dawkins, and senior wide re- ceiver Julian Fleming. After each spring practice session, Penn State's position coaches picked a competitor of the day. Graduate assistant Danny O'Brien handled the quarterbacks, and the rest of the picks came from the on-field staff as- signed to each position group. Dawkins was a three-time honoree at a position group that listed 21 players this winter. Elsewhere, redshirt freshman quarterback Beau Pribula, junior running back Nicholas Singleton, redshirt senior defensive end Zuriah Fisher and redshirt junior long snapper Tyler Duzansky were saluted four times apiece, while redshirt freshman tight end Joey Schlaffer, senior linebacker Tyler Els- don, junior cornerback Cam Miller and redshirt freshman safety Lamont Payne Jr. were honored three times each. Below is the full list of winter workout honorees: Quarterback: Beau Pribula (Feb. 5, 7, 13, 20), Ethan Grunke- meyer (Feb. 15), Drew Allar (Feb. 22; March 1), Jaxon Smolik (Feb. 27) Running back: Cameron Wallace (Feb. 5), Nicholas Singleton (Feb. 7, 13, 27; March 1), Quinton Martin Jr. (Feb. 17, 20), Amiel Davis (Feb. 22) Wide receiver: Liam Clifford (Feb. 5), Malick Meiga (Feb. 7, 27), Anthony Ivey (Feb. 13), Julian Fleming (Feb. 15), Omari Ev- ans (Feb. 20, 22), Kaden Saunders (March 1) Tight end: Joey Schlaffer (Feb. 5, 13, 15), Tyler Warren (Feb. 7, 20), Jerry Cross (Feb. 22), Luke Reynolds (Feb. 27), Andrew Rappleyea (March 1) Offensive line: Nick Dawkins (Feb. 5, 7, 22), Addison Penn (Feb. 13), Anthony Donkoh (Feb. 15; March 1), J'ven Williams (Feb. 20), Olaivavega Ioane (Feb. 27) Defensive line: Zuriah Fisher (Feb. 5, 15, 20, 27), Zane Durant (Feb. 7, 13), Jameial Lyons (Feb. 22; March 1) Linebacker: Tyler Elsdon (Feb. 5, 20; March 1), Dominic DeLuca (Feb. 7, 22), Tony Rojas (Feb. 13, 15), Kobe King (Feb. 27) Cornerback: Cam Miller (Feb. 5, 20, 22), A.J. Harris (Feb. 7; March 1), El- liot Washington II (Feb. 13, 15), Antoine Belgrave-Shorter (Feb. 27) Safety: Jaylen Reed (Feb. 5), Zakee Wheatley (Feb. 7, 20), Kevin Winston Jr. (Feb. 13, 27), Lamont Payne Jr. (Feb. 15, 22; March 1) Special teams: Punter Riley Thompson (Feb. 5), placekicker Sander Sa- haydak (Feb. 7), long snapper Tyler Duzansky (Feb. 13, 15, 22; March 1), long snapper Blaise Sokach-Minnick (Feb. 20, 27) — Greg Pickel the gate. Losey said Martin's rapid im- provement was particularly noteworthy. "I was a little bit surprised when he first got here at how raw he was," Losey said. "I thought he was going to be a little bit more finished, especially on some of the things that we do out in the field. And I'm not knocking his baseline by any means. But the amount that he has grown since being here in the short amount of time, the six to seven weeks on campus, that's what I've been most impressed with. "The numbers will come. They'll be there at the end of the day, probably in Year 2 or 3, you'll have elite num- bers. But just the short time period, the improvement that he's had, I'm really happy with that. He is a locked- in kid." ■ Among the running backs, junior Nicholas Singleton was a four-time winner of the staff 's top- performer honor this winter. PHOTO BY GREG PICKEL Team Leaders Shine During Strength And Conditioning Sessions Super senior guard Sal Wormley is part of an offensive line group that will be looking to throw its weight around again in 2024 after helping Penn State lead the Big Ten in rushing at 185.2 yards per game last season. PHOTO BY GREG PICKEL