Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546586
3 8 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M balance out a formation-heavy attack. Right now, Eskildsen is the guy we're betting will do it most often. He had 5 catches for 48 yards and a TD against Marshall but totaled only 2 receptions for 11 yards at Temple. 7. Carson Hansen | RB | Sr. Penn State fans might not want to hear this, but Hansen remains a core player in this offense, and that isn't changing. He missed a big chunk of preseason camp, which quieted the conversation around him. Even so, he's the starting running back on a team that wants to run the ball. Hansen is a true three-down back the staff trusts completely to run, catch and block in any situation. He was Penn State's leading rusher in both of its first two games. He totaled 48 yards on 11 car- ries against Marshall and had 84 yards on 19 attempts a week later at Temple. 8. Koby Howard | WR | So. Howard wasn't a part of this list coming out of preseason practice, but he dazzled against Marshall on opening day, catch- ing 6 passes for 161 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown reception. The 5-11, 203-pound sophomore was easily Penn State's highest-graded offensive player in PFF's game report, earning a 95.6 overall mark on his 28 snaps. That's an unsustainable pace, and no reasonable person would expect him to light up Big Ten opponents the way he did the Thundering Herd. But Howard, who also had a 56-yard catch to open the Tem- ple game, is off to an outstanding start for a Penn State team that needs its receivers to take a step forward this year. 9. Andrew Rappleyea | TE | R-Jr. This is where the list gets crowded. Honestly, you could move almost any of these players up or down a few spots. Rappleyea lands here mostly because it felt wrong to slot the starting running back and receivers behind two tight ends. That said, this outcome is a real possibility for Penn State. Rappleyea is a genuine playmaker with the versatility to man either tight end spot. He's also a tone-setter, the kind of player whose mentality lifts the players around him. Is he too low here? Probably. Is this whole exercise an impossible one? Prob- ably. 10. Malachi Goodman | T | R-Fr. All eyes have been on the redshirt freshman left tackle during the noncon- ference slate to see what kind of player he becomes. It's hard not to get hyperbolic about Goodman's ceiling because, realis- tically, it's sky high. Calling a first-time starter a future All-Big Ten or All-America player invites ridicule if he doesn't get there. But purely from a physical-traits standpoint, he has the tools to justify such talk. Goodman took real steps toward reach- ing his ceiling in the month leading up to PSU's opener. And against Marshall, he received the team's top pass-blocking grade from PFF (85.9) and the second- best overall grade among offensive line- men (77.3). 11. Brock Riker | C | R-So. Riker had a checklist this offseason. He needed to get bigger, and he did, add- ing 35 pounds since arriving at PSU and checking in at 305 to start the season. He needed more confidence in his commu- nication. Clanton said he's gotten louder making calls at the line. The final box was learning the playbook, and given his foot- ball IQ, that was never really in doubt. All of that has made him Penn State's starting center. His 77.4 overall offen- sive grade from PFF was tops among the Nittany Lions' offensive linemen. Given time, he could become one of the best the program has produced in years. 12. Chase Sowell | WR | R-Sr. Sowell has every chance to make me look foolish, and he should take it. The Seeing his first game action since sustaining a season-ending knee injury last September, redshirt junior linebacker Tony Rojas played 35 snaps against Marshall and led PSU with 7 tackles. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS