Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1519242
2 0 M A 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 made plays," he said. "We were able to distribute the football around. I've had all the faith in the world in our wide receiv- ers in terms of talent and ability. We have to take the next step. I saw them take a step this spring. We're going to be taking another step this summer. "We have the talent in the room," Franklin continued. "The reality is, we've got to take this next step, and we've got to do it on a consistent basis. We've got to make plays against all the people on our schedule. All those guys are in the locker room for a reason. We have belief in those guys." That faith may yet prove justified, but the spring scrimmage indicated that the Nittany Lions still have some work ahead of them. Playing exclusively for the victorious White team, Allar completed 15 of 32 passes for 202 yards. His 47 percent com- pletion rate was bested by redshirt sopho- more Beau Pribula, who completed 5 of 10 attempts for 25 yards between playing for both the White and Blue squads. True freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer also saw substantial action for the Blue, hitting 4 of 8 passes for 11 yards. Pribula and Grunkemeyer both threw interceptions, while Allar tossed the game's lone touchdown pass, finding redshirt freshman tight end Andrew Rappleyea open on the right sideline for a 30-yard score with just 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Franklin pointed to redshirt junior Harrison Wallace III among the offense's highlights after he finished with 5 catches for 72 yards on 7 targets. He also noted the significance of Wallace's injury last season. Throw in the wind gusts that were up to 42 miles per hour on game day, and only one element became clear to out- siders looking in: For all the clarity that Penn State might have hoped to establish in its passing operation, it came out of the spring with many questions still to be answered. Setting The Stage Franklin said repeatedly that Penn State wanted to have a physical, competitive spring. That apparently was the case. Al- though it appeared as though the team Blue-White Game Highs And Lows PLAYER OF THE GAME: If there is ever a time for the under-recognized contributors within the program to get some shine, it's during the Blue-White Game. This year, that honor undoubtedly belonged to walk-on cornerback Kolin Dinkins. The redshirt soph- omore from Wexford, Pa., younger brother of redshirt junior tight end Khalil Dinkins, finished the scrimmage with 4 solo tackles, including a sack, and he would have had a pick six in the fourth quarter if the quarter- back hadn't been ruled down by contact. PLAY OF THE GAME: Trailing 13-0 and needing to string some plays together in the fourth quarter, the Blue side made a critical mistake. True freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer threw the ball into traffic in the middle of the field, and senior defensive end Amin Vanover took advantage. The ball bounced off an offensive player, and Vanover secured a diving interception to return possession to the White team and thwart the comeback attempt. BEST PASS: Owning a 20-0 advantage with time ticking away late in the fourth quarter, junior quarterback Drew Allar found the soft spot in the cover-two defense and hit red- shirt junior wideout Harrison Wallace III for a 20-yard pickup along the right sideline. WORST PASS: A bad throw from redshirt sophomore Beau Pribula to the sideline ended in disaster for the Blue side late in the first quarter. In an apparent missed communication, Pribula's pass floated into the hands of redshirt junior safety Zakee Wheatley, who completed the interception. BEST RUN: True freshman running back Quinton Martin Jr. had a couple of nice carries on the White squad's first touchdown possession of the afternoon. On a second-and-15 carry, he cut to his left for an 8-yard pickup. Then he went 9 yards, again to the left, scooting into the end zone un- touched to give his side a 7-0 lead. Martin cashed in with a second touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. BEST CATCH: Late in the first half, the White team went into its two-minute offense to attempt to squeeze points out of a final opportunity with the ball. Early in the drive, Allar connected with Wal- lace, who made a nice reception above his left shoulder, behind him, for a 13-yard pickup and a first down. WORST DROP: Needing a fourth-down pickup late in the first quarter, the White squad drew up a perfect play. Allar spotted redshirt sophomore Kaden Saunders in space in the middle of the field, but the slot receiver couldn't quite reel it in. The missed connection led to a turnover on downs. BEST SACK: Staring down a play-action attempt late in the first half, Pribula was toast. Kolin Din- kins, streaking from the back side, got to the quarterback for the touch-off just before the pass could be made, resulting in an 8-yard loss for the Blue team. BEST HIT: Technically, sophomore Jameial Lyons didn't hit Allar on the first play from scrimmage in the second half. But it definitely would have been a big collision if Lyons had been permitted to touch the quarterback, who was in mid-throw when the defensive end flew in from behind. BEST DECISION: In the final minute of the game, with the White leading 20-0, offensive coordina- tor Andy Kotelnicki drew up a beauty of a pass-and-catch from Allar to redshirt freshman tight end Andrew Rappleyea for a 30-yard touchdown. BEST KICK: Junior Riley Thompson blasted a perfectly placed 44-yard punt down to the Blue side's 2-yard line late in the first half. Thompson had the wind at his back, and his kick gave the Blue little room with which to work as halftime approached. — Nate Bauer Junior quarterback Drew Allar led the White team to a 27-0 victory over the Blue in Penn State's spring game. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL