Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540433
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 5 31 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M But back to the numbers game. Sign- ing six linebackers in the past two classes will help Penn State in the com- ing years, but it won't do much to im- prove the current situation. Smith and Tatsch have each shown some prom- ise, but it's unlikely either changes the math in 2025. Likewise, the Lions may have a couple of safeties who can even- tually wind up at linebacker— namely sophomore Dejuan Lane and redshirt freshman Vaboue Toure — but neither would likely provide immediate, effec- tive relief. Seeking Contributions While few could have predicted that the Nittany Lions' linebacker situation without Rojas could sink the entire op- eration like we saw at UCLA, the ques- tion moves to what happens next. Penn State hoped that someone could fill the void in the quick turnaround before the trip to Los Angeles, but that didn't hap- pen. While the Nittany Lions still hope to get some contributions from their backups, Franklin didn't seem overly hopeful prior to Northwestern's visit to Beaver Stadium on Oct. 11. "Whenever you lose one of your bet- ter players on your team at a position where we were already lacking depth, that's going to create some challenges for us," he said. "That's going to be a point of attention all week long with our coaching staff, with the players, and we're going to have to rotate those guys in there." Northwestern ended up rushing for 119 yards on 42 attempts. Running backs Caleb Komolafe and Joseph Hi- mon II led the way after a light work week against Louisiana Monroe, com- bining for 138 yards before sack yardage was subtracted. Going forward, mass changes aren't expected. Campbell and DeLuca are still in line to start, with the understanding that DeLuca has to be better than we saw at UCLA. Penn State's rotation will depend on how much trust Knowles and linebackers coach Dan Connor have in the guys behind them. That's not an ideal scenario with Ohio State and Indiana on the horizon. ■ OFFENSE QUARTERBACK No. Name Cl. Ht. Wt. 17 Ethan Grunkemeyer R-Fr. 6-2 207 14 Jaxon Smolik R-So. 6-1 205 RUNNING BACK 13 Kaytron Allen Sr. 5-11 219 10 Nicholas Singleton Sr. 6-0 224 WIDE RECEIVER 1 Kyron Hudson R-Sr. 6-1 213 3 Koby Howard Fr. 5-11 196 WIDE RECEIVER 5 Devonte Ross Sr. 5-10 170 2 Liam Clifford R-Sr. 6-1 205 WIDE RECEIVER (Slot) 8 Trebor Peña R-Sr.+ 5-10 187 4 Tyseer Denmark R-Fr. 5-10 190 TIGHT END 16 Khalil Dinkins R-Sr. 6-4 250 85 Luke Reynolds So. 6-4 250 LEFT TACKLE 66 Drew Shelton Sr. 6-5 306 64 Eagan Boyer R-Fr. 6-8 302 LEFT GUARD 71 Olaivavega Ioane R-Jr. 6-4 328 54 TJ Shanahan Jr. R-So. 6-4 316 CENTER 53 Nick Dawkins R-Sr.+ 6-4 299 71 Olaivavega Ioane R-Jr. 6-4 328 RIGHT GUARD 68 Anthony Donkoh R-So. 6-5 323 54 or TJ Shanahan Jr. R-So. 6-4 316 RIGHT TACKLE 72 Nolan Rucci R-Sr. 6-8 304 68 Anthony Donkoh R-So. 6-5 323 DEFENSE DEFENSIVE END No. Name Cl. Ht. Wt. 33 Dani Dennis-Sutton Sr. 6-5 265 19 Chaz Coleman Fr. 6-4 246 99 Yvan Kemajou Fr. 6-3 251 DEFENSIVE TACKLE 50 Alonzo Ford Jr. R-Sr.+ 6-2 304 54 Xavier Gilliam R-Fr. 6-2 300 DEFENSIVE TACKLE 28 Zane Durant Sr. 6-1 287 39 Ty Blanding R-So. 6-1 295 45 Enai White R-Jr. 6-5 280 DEFENSIVE END 36 Zuriah Fisher R-Sr.+ 6-3 259 44 Jaylen Harvey R-Fr. 6-2 246 20 Mylachi Williams R-Fr. 6-3 246 MIKE LINEBACKER 24 Amare Campbell Jr. 6-0 230 0 Dominic DeLuca R-Sr. 6-1 224 40 Anthony Speca R-Fr. 6-1 223 WILL LINEBACKER 0 Dominic DeLuca R-Sr. 6-1 224 32 Keon Wylie R-Jr. 6-2 225 8 DaKaari Nelson R-So. 6-3 233 CORNERBACK 2 Audavion Collins R-Jr. 5-11 180 5 Daryus Dixson Fr. 6-0 195 CORNERBACK 4 A.J. Harris Jr. 6-1 186 9 or Elliot Washington II Jr. 5-11 201 BOUNDARY SAFETY 16 King Mack Jr. 5-10 189 10 or Dejuan Lane So. 6-2 206 3 or Antoine Belgrave-Shorter R-Fr. 6-0 198 FIELD SAFETY 6 Zakee Wheatley R-Sr. 6-2 202 10 Dejuan Lane So. 6-2 206 NICKEL 7 Zion Tracy Jr. 5-11 180 17 Kenny Woseley Jr. R-Fr. 5-10 180 SPECIAL TEAMS PUNTER No. Name Cl. Ht. Wt. 99 Gabriel Nwosu R-Sr. 6-6 297 14 Riley Thompson Sr. 6-1 224 PLACEKICKER (FG) 94 Ryan Barker R-So. 6-2 200 98 Matthew Parker Fr. 6-0 220 PLACEKICKER (KO) 99 Gabriel Nwosu R-Sr. 6-6 297 94 Ryan Barker R-So. 6-2 200 LONG SNAPPER 48 Tyler Duzansky R-Sr. 6-4 225 HOLDER 14 Riley Thompson Sr. 6-1 224 PUNT RETURNER 5 Devonte Ross Sr. 5-10 170 8 Trebor Peña R-Sr.+ 5-10 187 KICKOFF RETURNER 24 Corey Smith R-Fr. 5-10 189 16 King Mack Jr. 5-10 189 BWI'S UNOFFICIAL PENN STATE DEPTH CHART