Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1537537
3 2 A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / 2 0 2 5 F O O T B A L L P R E V I E W / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / P enn State is one of the nation's most highly regarded teams head- ing into the 2025 season and is gain- ing steam as a potential preseason No. 1 choice. The Nittany Lions built their reputation by bringing back many top performers from last season's College Football Playoff semifinal squad, including a number of players who could have entered the NFL Draft. All players are important, of course, but some are what we'll call "keystone" players. What is a keystone player? Per- haps the best way to answer that ques- tion is to provide an example of what he isn't. Senior running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton aren't keystone players because resiliency is part of their package deal. We've seen this play out many times the past three seasons. When one is hurt or struggling, the offense can lean on the other. Singleton got hurt at the end of the Illinois game last year and missed the UCLA game. In his absence, Allen ran the ball 39 times for 180 yards. Later, Allen played banged up and car- ried the ball just 13 times against Minne- sota and Maryland. Singleton picked up the slack during that two-game stretch, scoring 3 touchdowns on the ground. Yes, they are the two most important play- ers on the offense this coming season. But their nature is resiliency, and it keeps them off this list. At other positions, the Lions don't have that kind of depth. As a result, the players manning these spots are destined to have outsized roles in determining whether PSU lives up to its lofty expectations. Here's a look at this year's keystone players on offense. KEYSTONE PLAYER NO. 3 Left tackle Drew Shelton When discussing the Penn State offen- sive line, we almost never mention Shel- ton. At this point, we take the senior's presence for granted even though he was a wildly uneven and unproven player before becoming the team's full-time starter at left tackle in 2024. While he wasn't elite, he was so steady that he became part of the background; not all keystone players need to be in the spotlight. This year's offensive line should be one of the best in college football, and Shelton is the most experienced player on that unit, having seen action on 1,734 career reps, including 970 as a junior last fall, the third-highest total of any of- fensive player. Yet it's not just his previ- ous success or projection as a senior that PENN STATE'S KEYSTONE PLAYERS: PENN STATE'S KEYSTONE PLAYERS: OFFENSE OFFENSE These three standouts will play indispensable roles for the Nittany Lions this fall T H O M A S F R A N K CA R R | T F R A N K . C A R R @ O N 3 . C O M Drew Shelton was a 16-game starter at left tackle for the Nittany Lions as a junior. He's set to reprise that role in his final season at PSU. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS