Blue White Illustrated

At tight end, Penn State had a future 7rst-round NFL dra9 choice in Brady heading into the 1992 season, but there were no other prep All-Americans on its depth chart. In 2018, the Lions may be in a better spot. It would be unfair, of course, to place Brady-sized expectations on any one player, but they've got a number of very good prospects with the potential to eventually give the program its best depth situation here in close to a decade. What needs to take place is for Jonathan Holland and Nick Bowers to enter preseason practice healthy and for redshirt sophomore Danny Dalton to build on what he was able to accomplish in spring practice. In addition, the Lions will need Class of 2018 freshmen Zack Kuntz and Pat Freiermuth to be ready to make an early impact. Rivals.com rated them among top six tight end prospects in the country for the Class of 2018, so the potential exists for both to shine at Penn State. At wide receiver, the Class of 1991 brought Engram and Freddie Scott. By the time the 1994 season began, prep All-American Joe Jurevicius had been added to the mix. Engram, Scott and Ju- revicius gave the Lions one of the best three-man rotations in the Big Ten. This year, Penn State is looking to re- place career receptions leader DaeSean Hamilton and frequent starter Saeed Blacknall. The situation is analogous to the early 1990s. The Nittany Lions have the kind of depth they had in 1992 with the potential to develop the kind of re- ceiver corps they had in 1994. Penn State has recruited outstanding wideout classes the past two years. In 2017, the Lions signed a four-star receiver in K.J. Hamler and two three-star wide- outs in Mac Hippenhammer and Cameron Sullivan-Brown. Hamler and Hippenhammer both impressed in prac- tice this spring and should be in the 7ve- man rotation, with Hamler pushing to replace Hamilton as the starter in the slot. Accompanying those young players are veterans Juwan Johnson, Brandon Polk and DeAndre Thompkins, and another batch of blue-chip wideouts is on the way, with Penn State having recruited the nation's No. 3 wide receiver class. That class features one 7ve-star prospect in Justin Shorter and two four- star players in Jahan Dotson and Daniel George. The Lions have the potential to enter the coming season with the No. 1 group of wideouts in the Big Ten. Ri- vals.com rated Shorter as the third-best receiver in the country for the Class of 2018. If he, Dotson and George play up to their potential, PSU could have the best group of wide receivers in the Big Ten for the next three or four years. That same situation could exist on the o8ensive line with the players Penn State has recruited the past three years. The Lions went into spring practice in OFFENSE QB Trace McSorley Tommy Stevens Sean Cli7ord Jake Zembiec RB Miles Sanders Mark Allen Journey Brown Jonathan Thomas WR-slot K.J. Hamler Mac Hippenhammer DeAndre Thompkins WR-Z DeAndre Thompkins Mac Hippenhammer Brandon Polk Cameron Sullivan-Brown WR-X Juwan Johnson Brandon Polk Cameron Sullivan-Brown TE Jonathan Holland Nick Bowers Danny Dalton Zack Kuntz LT Ryan Bates Will Fries Alex Gellerstedt LG Steven Gonzalez Zach Simpson Mike Miranda C Connor McGovern Mike Miranda Zach Simpson RG Michal Menet C.J. Thorpe Mike Miranda RT Will Fries Chasz Wright Des Holmes Defense DE Shareef Miller Yetur Gross-Matos Shane Simmons Daniel Joseph DT Robert Windsor Antonio Shelton Fred Hansard DT Kevin Givens Ellison Jordan Corey Bolds Damion Barber DE Ryan Buchholz Shaka Toney Shane Simmons Nick Tarburton Torrence Brown** Sam OLB Koa Farmer Jarvis Miller Dae'Lun Darien Brelin Faison-Walden MLB Ellis Brooks Jan Johnson Jake Cooper Jesse Luketa Will OLB Cam Brown Micah Parsons Jesse Luketa Brailyn Franklin CB John Reid Zech McPhearson Donovon Johnson Jabari Butler FS Nick Scott Lamont Wade Isaiah Humphries SS Garrett Taylor Ayron Monroe Jonathan Sutherland John Petrishen CB Amani Oruwariye Tariq Castro-Fields D.J. Brown Trent Gordon K Carson Landis Blake Gillikin P Blake Gillikin Carson Landis PR John Reid K.J. Hamler Mark Allen Brandon Polk KR Brandon Polk Miles Sanders K.J. Hamler Mac Hippenhammer PHIL GROSZ'S POST-SPRING DEPTH CHART* * Does not include incoming freshmen | ** Denotes injury; player's future availability uncertain O F F E N S E D E F E N S E S P E C I A L T E A M S

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