Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547107
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 6 13 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State signed Rivals' No. 68 re- cruiting class in 2026 between December and February following a coaching change and considerable ros- ter turnover. Little was expected in Year 1 from the 15-member group. However, early returns have still been interesting. The bad news is that the class' high- est-rated signee, four-star defensive end Elijah Reeder, has been held out of action due to an injury. Other freshmen who didn't see the field in the first half of the season were quarterback Kase Ev- ans, linebacker Keian Kaiser, offensive linemen Pete Eglitis and Mason Band- hauer, receiver Ben Whitver and run- ning back D'Antae Sheffey. Whether any of those players see action in the season's second half will depend on their health and readiness. The NCAA's new "five for five" eligi- bility model has given coaches more f re e d o m to u se f re s h m e n i n ga m e situations, eliminating the restric- tion that previously capped players at four regular-season appearances if they wanted to avoid using up a year of eligibility. The star of the group so far has been defensive back Josiah Zayas. The former three-star prospect from Piscataway, N.J., made one of the most spectacular defensive plays of the season when he returned an interception 51 yards for a touchdown against Wisconsin on Sept. 26. Through six games, one of which he started, Zayas had made 13 tackles, in- cluding 2 for loss, and he also had a quar- terback hurry. He was the leader among true freshmen with 225 snaps — 204 on defense and 21 on special teams. "We just find different ways to try and get him on the field," Penn State de- fensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn said. "He's probably been the most improved player from spring to now, and he's still getting better." Defensive end Jackson Ford, mean- while, is looking for an expanded role in an edge-rushing corps that received a major blow when redshirt sophomore Max Granville sustained a season-end- ing injury in September. Ford played all 22 of his defensive snaps in the noncon- ference season but has been on the field for all six games on special teams. "He's improving each week," Lynn said. "He's in the rotation. He just needs to keep on showing it in practice on a daily basis so that we can keep on trust- ing to give him those reps on Saturday." On offense, receiver Amarion Jackson took on a bigger role after sophomore Koby Howard was forced to miss the first three games of the Big Ten season with an injury. Jackson had totaled 50 offen- sive snaps through six games, catching 1 pass for 10 yards. The biggest freshman contributor on special teams has been Lucas Tenbrock, though not at his listed position. Ten- brock was brought in to compete for the punting job but was tapped to handle kickoffs after redshirt senior Cristiano Rosa suffered an injury against Wis- consin. Through six games, eight true fresh- men had seen action on either offense, defense or special teams. ■ True Freshmen Are Contributing For Nittany Lions This Fall G R E G P I C K E L | G R E G . P I C K E L @ O N 3 . C O M FRESHMAN SNAP COUNTS* Player Pos. Games Snaps Christian Askew CB 1 6 Mason Bandhauer OL 0 0 Tyrell Chatman S 3 31 Pete Eglitis OL 0 0 Kase Evans QB 0 0 Peyton Falzone TE 2 18 Jackson Ford DE 6 49 Amarion Jackson WR 6 108 Keian Kaiser LB 0 0 Elijah Reeder DE 0 0 D'Antae Sheffey RB 0 0 Lucas Tenbrock KO/P 5 18 Ben Whitver WR 0 0 Bryson Williams S 2 19 Josiah Zayas CB 6 225 *Source: Pro Football Focus First-year cornerback Josiah Zayas provided Penn State with an early touchdown when he returned an interception 51 yards against Wisconsin. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS