Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1538407
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 5 3 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State returns the core of its offense in 2025, including a start- ing senior quarterback and two potential All-America running backs. On the opposite side of the ball, the Nittany Lions welcome back several of the difference-makers from last sea- son's sprint to the College Football Playoff semifinals. The abundance of returning stars is the reason PSU has been cited by many in the national college football commentariat as a legitimate national championship contender this fall. But even on a team that's awash in high-profile returning talent, there are still opportunities for other players to have breakout campaigns. Here are the 10 players most likely to take major leaps forward in 2025. OFFENSE 1. Khalil Dinkins | TE Dinkins was overshadowed by Mackey Award-winner Tyler Warren last year, but he's going to be in the spotlight as a redshirt senior this fall. To hear offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki tell it, the attention he's about to receive is well- deserved. "I think he's one of the most [underap- preciated] players in our offense," Kotel- nicki said. "Khalil did a lot of the dirty work to make sure that Ty was able to be put in those positions. He handled that role. I expect his role to continue to grow. We have high expectations for him." Kotelnicki is not alone in his view of Dinkins as an underrated member of Penn State's returning offense. Senior quarter- back Drew Allar echoed the second-year offensive coordinator's appraisal of PSU's projected starting tight end. "I don't think he gets enough credit for what he did for us last year," Allar said during spring practice. "He's one of the best blocking tight ends in the country in both run and pass game." Listed at 6-foot-4, 251 pounds, Dinkins compiled blocking grades of 64.7 (run) and 65.3 (pass) from Pro Football Focus last year. Both marks were best on the team among tight ends with more than a handful of offensive snaps. He also caught 14 passes for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns. Penn State's offense will feature the tight ends prominently in 2025, and there's much less downward pressure on the rest of the room now that Warren has moved on. If there's one player who's a virtual lock to enjoy a breakout season, barring unforeseen circumstances, it's Dinkins. 2. Olaivavega Ioane | G Ioane made a name for himself as the Nittany Lions' "move" lineman in 2024. A redshirt sophomore at the time, he would line up as a receiver in six-lineman sets and go in motion to execute split blocks and pulls for the run schemes. The Lions wanted to get his 340 pounds accelerating to full momentum for maximum impact. Ioane changed up his physique this year. He's slimmed down to 330 pounds and might be the most physically intimi- dating lineman on the Penn State roster heading into the season. That lean mass should allow him to play with even more explosive force, accentuating his raw strength even further. "The plan is for him to be an All-Amer- ican football player this year," strength and conditioning coach Chuck Losey said. "Vega's big thing has always been move- ment efficiency. He is a big, dense indi- vidual, so efficiency was a big thing for him this offseason. We actually wanted to bring him down more in that 325 range. We feel that he moves better at that weight. He's always going to be strong and he'll be able to push people off the ball, but that was probably priority No. 1." Ioane been on our watch list since mid- summer as a potential star for the up- coming season. He's already a prominent name heading into his redshirt junior sea- son, but he should prove to be even more devastatingly effective in what could well be his final year of college football. 3. Devonte Ross | WR A 5-10, 170-pound senior, Ross is the first of two wide receivers on this list. Could he and redshirt senior Kyron Hud- son both develop into breakout stars on a Penn State offense that is crying out for more production from its wideouts? Anything is possible. It bears mention- ing, however, that there is one factor that makes this more of an either/or proposi- tion: Penn State is going to run the ball a lot. Ross had 1,043 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns during his junior season at Troy. That performance earned him his shot at Penn State, so in a way, he's already broken out. Yet, the Sun Belt Conference and Big Ten are very different places. Ross needs to show that his deep-threat skills and run-after-the-catch abilities trans- late to the biggest stage. One of the rea- sons Hudson didn't see more targets at USC is due to his lack of explosive traits. Ross doesn't have that problem, so he ranks a little higher on the list. Some readers may be wondering why we don't have the Lions' third transfer receiver, Trebor Peña, on this list. We're eliminating Peña from consideration on Now preparing for his second season at PSU after transfer- ring from Wisconsin, tackle Nolan Rucci is battling Anthony Donkoh for the starting right tackle position. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS