Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1526526
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 4 3 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M TOP FIVE PLAYERS 1. Nicholas Singleton | RB | Jr. Singleton has been evoking memories of his freshman season when every touch seemed like it had the potential to end in six points. The junior had a 40-yard scoring burst against West Virginia, and he had 2 touchdowns against Bowling Green the following week — a 41-yard run and a 14-yard catch. Through two games, he was third in the Big Ten with 233 rushing yards and had scored 2 touchdowns on the ground and 1 through the air. 2. Tyler Warren | TE | Sr. Warren's senior season got off to a relatively quiet start; he caught 3 passes for 30 yards at West Virginia, with 19 of those yards coming on a fourth- quarter touchdown reception. The following week against Bowling Green, he was unstoppable, catch- ing 8 passes for 146 yards. Both totals were career- highs, and the latter set a single-game school record for most receiving yards by a tight end. 3. Drew Allar | QB | Jr. Like Singleton, Allar showcased his playmaking ability on opening day against WVU. He threw for 216 yards and 3 touchdowns on only 11 comple- tions (19.6 yards per completion), and he was also the Nittany Lions' second-leading rusher with 44 yards on 6 carries (7.3 yards per attempt). Through two games, Allar has completed 64.9 percent of his passes for 420 yards, with 5 touchdowns and 1 interception. 4. Jaylen Reed | S | Sr. The Nittany Lions are asking a lot of their top three safeties, having transitioned to coordinator Tom Allen's 4-2-5 defense. Reed has delivered. He was all over the field in Penn State's opener at West Virginia, finishing with 9 tackles including 6 solo stops and a tackle for loss, and breaking up 2 passes. His tackling grade of 90.8 from Pro Football Focus was the team's highest. Against Bowling Green, he led the defense with 10 tackles, includ- ing 4 solo stops. 5. A.J. Harris | CB | So. The Georgia transfer earned a starting nod at cornerback heading into Penn State's opener and finished with a 79.4 defensive grade from PFF, best on the team. James Franklin has said that the depth chart at cornerback is in flux, but Harris, who had 4 tackles against Bowling Green in Week 2, isn't going to give up his spot without a fight. KEY MOMENT Penn State's 26-second, 73-yard touchdown drive at the end of the first half at West Virginia was a decisive blow and showcased the big-play capability of coordinator Andy Kotelnicki's offense. Junior receiver Omari Evans made a 55-yard catch on second down, giving the Lions an improbable scoring opportunity after taking possession with just 32 seconds remaining in the half. Allar and redshirt junior receiver Harrison Wallace III capital- ized, connecting on an 18-yard touchdown. The score gave PSU a 20-6 lead and left West Virginia feeling demoralized heading into what would turn out to be a two-and-a-half hour halftime stoppage due to a heavy thunderstorm. BEST HIGHLIGHT Locked in a closer-than-expected battle with Bowling Green, Penn State turned to Singleton. The Nittany Lions had just gotten the ball back on an interception with 4:16 to play and were cling- ing to a three-point lead when Allar handed off to the junior running back on first-and-10 from the 41-yard line. Singleton did the rest. He bounced off a pileup at the line of scrimmage and found nothing but open field in front of him, dashing untouched into the end zone to give PSU its first double-digit lead of the afternoon. BOLD PREDICTION Penn State isn't going to reach the College Football Playoff without more productivity from its wide receivers. More all-around productivity, we should clarify. Wallace enjoyed a breakout day against West Virginia, totaling 5 catches for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns, but the PSU wideouts had only 2 other catches in the opener, both by Evans. Against Bowling Green, the wide receivers came up with only 3 catches — 2 by Evans for 34 yards and 1 by senior Julian Fleming for 3 yards. Evans also dropped a pass that would have produced a first down and was flagged for offensive pass interference to negate a long gain. The readiness of Penn State's wide receiver corps was a big topic of conversation throughout the offseason. Heading into the Nittany Lions' nonconference finale against Kent State, there still appear to be more questions than answers. — Matt Herb PENN STATE FOOTBALL SUPERLATIVES G A M E 1 – G A M E 2 Running back Nicholas Singleton bolted 41 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown to thwart Bowling Green's upset bid. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL