Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1529598
D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 4 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Football Focus with a 79.9 mark on 177 snaps. "He does a great job with his tech- nique," Barnes said. "He's technically sound. He understands his body and who he is, and he plays to those strengths. I've been pleased with what he's been doing, and as far as the season and his future here, I've got high expectations for him. He's just got to continue to get better ev- ery week, as he's been doing." To James Franklin, Ford's growth has been a gratifying development. The coach conceded that until recently, he and his staff "weren't exactly sure what we had" in Ford, but his most recent performances have been encouraging. "He continues to trend in the right direction as he's getting more and more healthy and playing himself back into shape," Franklin said. "I think at one point he was about 325 pounds. I want to say he's about 305 right now and moving re- ally well." Ford had come to Penn State in the hope of competing at the highest level. He had been a disruptive player at Old Dominion, starting 25 games during his two seasons and totaling 4 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss. During the 2021 season, he led all ODU defensive linemen with 38 tackles. His Penn State debut was delayed, but now he's making up for lost time. Through 10 games, Ford had recorded 16 tackles, including 3.5 for loss. It's a role he wanted to play last year, but when he looks back on his lost season, he sees it not just as a test of his perseverance but as a learning experience. "When you're sitting down and really watching guys do the thing you love and you've been doing since you were 5, it's like, 'Dang, this is different,'" he said. "But it definitely helped me develop a positive outlook and appreciate the small things a lot more. "There are things you might take for granted when you've been playing for a while. … Little things like meeting time, being able to go out on the field even when it's cold and raining. You might not feel like it, but being able to be there and actu- ally go out and run and do things like that — those are just blessings that you never really think about." ■ OFFENSE QUARTERBACK No. Name Cl. Ht. Wt. 15 Drew Allar Jr. 6-5 235 9 Beau Pribula R-So. 6-2 206 RUNNING BACK 10 Nicholas Singleton Jr. 6-0 226 13 Kaytron Allen Jr. 5-11 220 WIDE RECEIVER 3 Julian Fleming Sr. 6-2 208 5 Omari Evans Jr. 6-0 188 WIDE RECEIVER 6 Harrison Wallace III R-Jr. 6-1 198 11 Tyler Johnson R-So. 6-0 188 WIDE RECEIVER (Slot) 2 Liam Clifford R-Jr. 6-1 208 4 Tyseer Denmark Fr. 5-10 187 TIGHT END (Y) 44 Tyler Warren Sr. 6-6 261 85 Luke Reynolds Fr. 6-4 248 H-BACK 16 Khalil Dinkins R-Jr. 6-4 252 85 Luke Reynolds Fr. 6-4 248 LEFT TACKLE 66 Drew Shelton Jr. 6-5 307 74 J'ven Williams R-Fr. 6-5 310 LEFT GUARD 71 Olaivavega Ioane R-So. 6-4 348 56 JB Nelson R-Sr. 6-5 326 CENTER 53 Nick Dawkins R-Sr. 6-4 298 52 Dominic Rulli R-So. 6-3 295 RIGHT GUARD 77 Sal Wormley R-Sr.+ 6-3 327 50 Cooper Cousins Fr. 6-6 316 RIGHT TACKLE 68 Anthony Donkoh R-Fr. 6-5 330 72 Nolan Rucci R-Jr. 6-8 308 DEFENSE DEFENSIVE END No. Name Cl. Ht. Wt. 33 Dani Dennis-Sutton Jr. 6-5 266 15 Amin Vanover Sr. 6-4 258 DEFENSIVE TACKLE 28 Zane Durant Jr. 6-1 288 99 Coziah Izzard Sr. 6-3 305 DEFENSIVE TACKLE 91 Dvon J-Thomas R-Sr.+ 6-1 305 50 Alonzo Ford Jr. R-Sr. 6-2 319 DEFENSIVE END 11 Abdul Carter Jr. 6-3 252 92 Smith Vilbert R-Sr.+ 6-6 282 WILL LINEBACKER 13 Tony Rojas So. 6-2 236 0 Dominic DeLuca R-Jr. 6-1 230 MIKE LINEBACKER 41 Kobe King R-Jr. 6-1 248 43 Tyler Elsdon Sr. 6-2 230 SAM LINEBACKER 0 Dominic DeLuca R-Jr. 6-1 230 8 DaKaari Nelson R-Fr. 6-3 222 CORNERBACK 3 Jalen Kimber R-Sr. 6-0 184 5 Cam Miller Jr. 6-0 184 CORNERBACK 4 A.J. Harris So. 6-1 193 16 Elliot Washington II So. 5-11 194 SAFETY (Lion) 5 Cam Miller Jr. 6-0 184 7 Zion Tracy Sr. 5-11 181 SAFETY 6 Zakee Wheatley R-Jr. 6-2 200 14 Tyrece Mills R-Sr. 6-1 203 SAFETY 1 Jalen Reed Sr. 6-0 212 10 Dejuan Lane Fr. 6-2 211 SPECIAL TEAMS PUNTER No. Name Cl. Ht. Wt. 95 Riley Thompson Jr. 6-1 224 96 Mitchell Groh R-Jr. 6-1 195 PLACEKICKER (FG) 94 Ryan Barker R-Fr. 6-2 192 91 Chase Meyer Jr. 5-10 181 93 or Sander Sahaydak R-Jr. 6-0 185 PLACEKICKER (KO) 99 Gabriel Nwosu R-Jr. 6-6 285 LONG SNAPPER 48 Tyler Duzansky R-Jr. 6-4 216 35 Blaise Sokach-Minnick R-So. 6-3 220 PUNT RETURNER 7 Zion Tracy So. 5-11 181 KICKOFF RETURNER 10 Nicholas Singleton Jr. 6-0 226 25 Quinton Martin Jr. Fr. 6-1 205 BWI'S UNOFFICIAL PENN STATE DEPTH CHART