Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540433
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 5 3 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M NFL Draft pick last April if he had chosen to come out, but he elected instead to re- turn for the 2025 college season. The hope was that he would take Penn State deeper into the College Football Playoff than it got last year while solidifying himself as a top-10 pick in the 2026 draft. That did not happen. Before getting hurt on a scramble late in the game against Northwestern, Allar had completed 64.8 percent of his throws for 1,100 yards, with 8 touchdown passes and 3 intercep- tions. He threw a pick in double overtime against Oregon that clinched the game for the Ducks, and his interception in the end zone versus the Wildcats proved ex- tremely costly in a game that Penn State ended up losing by a single point. The offense's issues in the first half of the season did not fall entirely on Allar, of course. He didn't get enough help from his playmakers, and the offensive line has not been nearly as good as expected. Still, the veteran signal-caller was in- consistent, too. He missed easy throws, made too many bad decisions and pan- icked too often. His numbers weren't bad, but they also weren't elite. And that sums up both the first six weeks of PSU quar- terback play this season and also the Allar era in State College. Grade: C Running Backs Allen boosts this unit's grade. When given an opportunity, the senior has thrived. He entered the Iowa game on Oct. 18 with 70 carries for 467 yards and a team-high 7 touchdowns. His average of 6.67 yards per carry ranked 35th nation- ally after seven weeks. Allen has indisputably been Penn State's best player on offense and proba- bly overall, too. But that's where the posi- tives end for the running backs room. Se- nior Nicholas Singleton has not thrived as expected under first-year position coach Stan Drayton. He was averaging a modest 3.7 yards per carry through six games, and while he had scored 6 touchdowns, he rushed for only 259 yards. Beyond those two players, there's not much to say about the Lions' back- field. Due to injuries and inconsistency in practice, no one has taken hold of the third-team job. Of the team's 202 carries through six games, the running backs be- hind Allen and Singleton accounted for 11. Grade: C Wide Receivers Penn State tried to fix its pass-catch- ing problems during the offseason by bringing in Kyron Hudson from USC, Devonte Ross from Troy and Trebor Peña from Syracuse. That trio replaced outgo- ing transfers Harrison Wallace III (Ole Miss) and Omari Evans (Washington). The three seniors, plus redshirt senior Liam Clifford, were the only players in position coach Marques Hagans' room to see significant action in the first half of the season. The results have been middling. Hudson has been plagued by drops, while Peña is used extensively on end-around plays behind the line of scrimmage. Ross is having the best season of the three with 240 yards and 3 touchdowns on 16 catches, but he was not the focal point of the offense through six games. Hudson's 19 catches, inflated by the 11 he had against Nevada and Florida In- ternational, led the way heading into the Iowa game. Clifford caught just 1 pass for 11 yards and was at least partially at fault for Allar's critical first-quarter interception against Northwestern. It's been the same old story for this position group so far. Grade: D- Tight Ends There was never any question that Tyler Warren was going to be very hard to replace in the Penn State offense. However, it did not appear to be an in- surmountable task, with redshirt se- nior Khalil Dinkins and sophomore Luke Reynolds both returning, and redshirt sophomore Andrew Rappleyea having recovered from an injury that cost him nearly all of the 2024 season. Despite having a seemingly deep tal- ent pool, it's difficult to paint this group in a positive light at midseason. Dinkins continues to be an effective blocker, but he has been absent in the passing game with just 7 catches for 105 yards. Reyn- olds gets more of that work, and while he had a position-high 18 catches for 197 yards at the midway point, he also led the team with 2 drops, per Pro Foot- ball Focus, and had a fumble to start the second half at UCLA. As for Rappleyea, his role has been minimal to date. This group has not yet lived up to the expectations set by those who came before them under position coach Ty Howle. Grade: D Offensive Line Penn State returned every starter from last year except for guard Sal Wormley, who is now with the Jack- sonville Jaguars. It was somewhat con- cerning that the staff was adamant in the spring and summer that it would play seven blockers regularly, suggest- ing they might not have a top five they could rely on. So far, it seems that was indeed the case. Aside from Ioane, whose 92.0 pass-blocking grade from PFF is the team's best by a wide margin — the Nit- tany Lions have been very inconsistent. Penn State thought its best five would be senior Drew Shelton at left tackle, Ioane beside him at guard, super senior Nick Dawkins at center, redshirt sopho- more Anthony Donkoh at right guard, and redshirt senior Nolan Rucci at right tackle. If that's truly the best combination that position coach Phil Trautwein has at his disposal, it means all of those players took a step back from their 2024 form. At times, this group has been hurt by either the play call or the struggles of those around them. But there is simply no attitude in the trenches, and there have been too many instances in which PSU has gotten pushed backward, sim- ply beat on a pass rush, or has failed to move the pile in a short-yardage situ- ation. Donkoh is banged up, which has led to more work for redshirt sophomore TJ Shanahan Jr. at guard. Sophomore guard Cooper Cousins is also hurt, with his long-term outlook unclear. Given the many questions it faces, this is another position group where it's hard to see the situation getting better anytime soon. Grade: D