Penn State Sports Magazine
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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 4 2 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M end this offseason. Now he has a chance to show that he's an elite player. 11. Kobe King | R-Jr. | LB Listen to Allen talk about King, and last season's second-leading tackler takes on a new dimension. He's not as well-known as some of Penn State's other defensive stars, but he's a crucial player who has ample experience in the middle and can also play the Will position when needed. Since arriving last winter, Allen has come to appreciate what the redshirt junior does for PSU. "You've got to be loud and confident, and he brings those [qualities]," Al- len said. "He's got experience, he's got a ton of passion for what he does. He's respected, he works really hard, and he practices well. And he comes in, he stud- ies, and he's well-versed in what we're doing. If he doesn't know, he asks. "And he's now bringing guys with him. He's been awesome with that, and it's been a big growth step for him." 12. Harrison Wallace III | R-Jr. | WR As with Allar at No. 7, Penn State needs Wallace to finish the season ranked higher than he is here. That means staying healthy, for starters, but it also means de- livering on the promise he holds as the Li- ons' most talented and consistent receiver. Last year, Penn State needed the same, but Wallace wasn't able to provide it due to injuries that forced him to miss five games. "We thought he was going to have a big year, and then he was limited through no fault of his own," Franklin said. "We feel that way, and probably more so, this year. He's a year older, a year more mature, he's a year more developed, and he's very hun- gry. I think there's frustration from last year that it got cut short. "He's in a really good place. He's had a great summer so far, and he had a really good spring. We're expecting him to have a big year for us." 13. Cam Miller | Jr. | CB Miller has the most experience of any Penn State cornerback. One of the team's most driven players and hardest workers, he said he possesses "elite feet" but added that he also needs to develop "elite ball skills" if he's going to reach his full poten- tial. For Penn State to attain its goals this season, it will need a maxed-out Miller in its secondary. At the start of preseason camp, Franklin said the Nittany Lions' cornerback depth chart was a jumble. "We have a group of players that we feel really good about," he said. "Now, somebody has got to separate themselves and be the guy, or we're going to be rotat- ing a lot of high-quality players that we feel good about. We feel like that position from top to bottom could be better this year athletically [than last year]." There is good reason Miller has accu- mulated so much experience in his first two seasons at Penn State. This year, the goal will be to maximize it. 14. A.J. Harris | So. | CB Putting Harris at No. 14 on this list might be the biggest gamble of the entire exercise. That's because, through spring practice, summer workouts and the first half of preseason camp, two realities have become clear. First, Penn State has a stronger cor- nerbacks group than anyone might have anticipated in January. Second, even the coaches aren't sure which players will emerge as starters, let alone stars. A few clues are readily available, though, allowing us to make some edu- cated guesses. Harris' five-star status as a recruit — and Penn State's acknowl- edgment of it — suggests that the talent level wasn't misidentified during his re- cruiting process. Harris simply needs to wrangle those talents with an approach that matches his potential. His battle with redshirt sophomore Audavion Collins still looked like a toss-up heading into the sec- ond half of preseason camp. 15. Anthony Donkoh | R-Fr. | OT Donkoh had elicited excitement after his first few months on campus, but it wasn't until he made an unusual move prior to the Peach Bowl, filling in for right tackle Caedan Wallace after previously playing guard, that a light went on. Donkoh opened eyes with his perfor- mance in Penn State's loss to Ole Miss, and he remained at tackle this offseason, emerging as Wallace's potential succes- sor. Offensive line coach Phil Trautwein said in early August that both Donkoh and his competitor for the starting spot, Wisconsin transfer Nolan Rucci, are good enough to be starters in the Big Ten. "I like having both of them," Trautwein said. "It's just [a matter of] having to make sure they're both ready to play. It's a long season, and every year I'm using my fourth and fifth tackle at some point. So, depth is good, and they both understand that they have to compete and it's all go- ing to come down to this training camp to see who is starting." 16. Olaivavega Ioane | R-So. | G As a redshirt freshman last year, Ioane received a 66.5 blocking grade from Pro Football Focus. That ranked fourth on the team among linemen with at least 200 snaps; only future NFL Draft picks Olu- muyiwa Fashanu (78.8), Hunter Nourzad (74.8) and Caedan Wallace (68.8) fared better. Ioane proved himself to be a player who continually developed through the course of the campaign. He followed up with what Kotelnicki described as an "awe- After seeing action in 24 games during his first two sea- sons, cornerback Cam Miller is vying for a starting spot in the secondary. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL