A T T H E 2 0 1 8 N I T T A N Y L I O N S
the 11 scholarship wide receivers who are
expected to be on the roster this coming
fall,
seven will have freshman eligibility.
Two others – Darien and Polk – have seen
only
limited action. Polk has 14 career
catches, while Darien has none. The latter
could be ticketed for a move to defense.
This looks to be an area where a fresh-
man or two will have to step up. Frier-
muth and Kuntz are both four-star
prospects at tight end, and at 6-5, 250
pounds, Freiermuth already has the size
needed to play the position at the Big Ten
level. At wideout, the 6-4, 220-pound
Shorter appears to have the potential to
make
an early impact.
OFFENSIVE LINE
KEY RETURNEES C: Connor McGovern,
Zach Simpson; G: Steven Gonzalez,
Michal Menet, Charlie Shuman, C.J.
Thorpe; T: Ryan Bates, Will Fries, Alex
Gellerstedt, Des Holmes, Sterling Jenkins,
Chasz Wright; OL (positions to be deter-
mined): Robbie Martin, Mike Miranda
KEY LOSSES G: Brendan Mahon; T: An-
drew Nelson
NEWCOMERS OL: Nana Asiedu, Bryce
Effner, Juice Scruggs
OUTLOOK The Nittany Lions are bring-
ing almost everyone back here, but ques-
tions remain unanswered after a season in
which they simply didn't run the ball with
enough consistency to reach their goal of
making the College Football Playoff. The
Lions finished sixth
in the Big Ten in
rushing, a disap-
BIG BANG John-
son fights for
extra yardage
against Wash-
ington. The
sophomore
wideout fin-
ished with six
catches for 66
yards and was
one of the key
reasons for
Penn State's
success on
third down
against the
Huskies.
Photo
by Steve
Manuel
