NCAAF
It’s almost Blue-White weekend, which means we’re one step closer to … the next transfer portal window.
Once Penn State jogs off the field Saturday, the focus will shift to roster retention and the staff making sure players understand where they fit in and expectations as they exit spring ball and ready for the next phase of the offseason.
(Note: Submitted questions have been lightly edited for clarity and length.)
Who’s ready for some football!?
BLUE-WHITE GAME 🔵⚪️
🗓️ Saturday, April 13
🏈 2 PM Start Time
📍 Beaver Stadium
📺 B1G Network
↓ 2024 Blue-White Central ↓
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) April 5, 2024
What do you think is the over/under on incoming and outgoing transfers after spring practices wrap up? — Austin M.
Cornerbacks coach Terry Smith put it best this week when asked about the quick turnaround between the final spring practice on Saturday and the portal opening on Tuesday. Penn State’s coaches usually have pretty straightforward meetings with players after spring, and out of those conversations, sometimes players decide to move on.
Advertisement
“We got to recruit our locker room come next week,” Smith said. “After spring ball, who knows who the hot guys are in the locker room, we just got to talk to each guy and show them their value and worth to our program and hope that we don’t lose a guy.”
In terms of numbers, Penn State should have more players leaving than those, if any, coming in. I don’t write this to cause panic, but it’s the reality of having a 25-person signing class coupled with very few players who departed in January.
When I crunched the numbers in January after the last wave of portal additions (Jalen Kimber, Julian Fleming, Nolan Rucci, A.J. Harris) and subtractions — and accounting for the rest of the scholarship freshmen who will enroll this summer — I had Penn State at 99 scholarships. Now, these things are always fluctuating, and most of the time the staff isn’t caught off guard by departures, but there’s going to have to be some attrition.
They’ve got plenty of time to get to the scholarship limit of 85, and when I asked coach James Franklin about it, he said they’re in “great shape” and doesn’t anticipate getting to 85 being an issue.
Something to keep in mind — and something I’ve been asked a lot about: Does the scholarship limit even matter for Penn State or any football team thanks to name, image and likeness? Could Penn State get a little creative with the construction of the roster thanks to NIL?
Penn State’s collective, in theory, could have resources dedicated to helping compensate athletes in all sports. For example, scholarships are viewed as a four-year agreement, renewed annually. There could be NIL packages constructed that essentially cover an athlete’s tuition and room and board. It wouldn’t technically be one of 85 scholarships, but the perks could be similar. Again, this could happen with any sport.
Advertisement
There are 10 weight classes in wrestling and 9.9 total scholarships allocated by the NCAA. Do we expect Cael Sanderson to be attracting some of the top transfers in the country and not having the resources in place to help cover the cost of their education?
Another way to think about it is, if a player were on scholarship elsewhere, would they still be willing to transfer to Penn State and be a walk-on here under the assumption that through NIL they’d be taken care of? It’s an idea to keep in mind. Is it sustainable though for any collective? That’s the murky part.
I asked Franklin this week about the possibility of a non-traditional route for scholarships and if it’s something he could see Penn State doing. Like most things that are NIL-related, though, he didn’t want to show his hand.
“I understand the question. I appreciate the question,” he said. “I’m not going to get into the details of our strategy on offense, on defense, on special teams — definitely not going to talk about a collective that we don’t really control or work with in that type of way, but I understand the question.”
If you notice, he did not say no. I wouldn’t stress on the 85 number as much these days, but I do expect there to be players who move on, as always, after the spring semester ends.
Audrey, we’re hopefully about a month away from finding out Penn State’s White Out opponent for the 2024 football season. What is your guess on who the White Out opponent will be? — Aaron W.
The expanded Big Ten will bring new White Out opportunities, but Penn State doesn’t need to stray too far for the opponent this year. Penn State could be well positioned for a White Out game against Ohio State on Nov. 2.
That would be my pick, and it seems feasible, too. Some other notable games that day are Oregon at Michigan and USC at Washington.
Advertisement
Now, could Penn State try something new and go for a White Out against UCLA on Oct. 5 or do so against Washington on Nov. 9? It could, but if the goal is to use this special atmosphere to try and win the best and/or toughest home game on the schedule, then it needs to be versus the Buckeyes. The Stripe Out has become a nice alternative game-day theme, and PSU could easily use that for UCLA or Washington.
Are you more worried about offensive tackle or wide receiver this coming year? It sure seems like those are the two spots that will hold us back. — Bill M.
The good news is Penn State solidified both positions via the transfer portal. But, wide receiver is still more concerning just because arguably the two best options in Fleming and Harrison Wallace III have both had trouble staying healthy. Injuries have been the theme of Fleming’s collegiate career, and Wallace was banged up for most of last season.
Where does KeAndre Lambert-Smith fit into all this? He wasn’t on the practice field during the media viewing window this week. He also hasn’t been made available to reporters since late last season, making it difficult to gauge what he’s thinking. The way he faded down the stretch last year was problematic. How he views the addition of Fleming is important. Franklin did praise Lambert-Smith a few weeks ago and said he’s seeing more consistent flashes from him.
Beyond that top group of receivers, it’s anyone’s guess, which feels eerily similar to where this roster was last year. Certainly on Saturday, we will be watching who stands out among the next wave.
It’s notable that Penn State, even knowing that offensive tackle Drew Shelton would be out all spring while recovering from an offseason procedure, still put Rucci at right tackle. That tells me the coaches are locked in on Shelton at left tackle, and though Rucci can play left tackle if need be, they have him competing with Anthony Donkoh on the right side. Don’t forget about JB Nelson, who has versatility, and highly coveted redshirt freshman J’ven Williams. Williams has been the beneficiary of more left tackle reps this spring in Shelton’s absence. He’ll certainly be worth watching Saturday.
OK, I’ve heard enough people (perhaps correctly) mentioning quarterback or wide receivers play possibly costing the Lions this season. To flip the script, in your opinion, what is the biggest reason to think that Penn State might go far in the playoffs? — Tim
If you’re thinking Penn State is going on a playoff run, then you’re banking on Andy Kotelnicki’s offense to be the real deal. He has a history of doing more with less talent, and many of his former players loved that he tailored the offense to whatever that particular group did best. Penn State’s players have been raving about the offense already this spring and how many different looks it can give a defense. They’re excited about Kotelnicki’s creativity, they seem to be meshing well from a personality standpoint during practices and they’re already seeing results during practice. That’s what several players have said. We’ll see for ourselves in the coming months.
There is still a lot of talent on this offense. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen both should be special. Kotelnicki has had two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season before. There are some intriguing tight ends both old (Tyler Warren) and young (Andrew Rappleyea) whose athleticism should bode well in this offense. Backup quarterback Beau Pribula, who said he’s more confident this spring, could be an X-factor, too.
(Photo of James Franklin: David Reginek / USA Today)
Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.
Audrey Snyder has covered Penn State since 2012 for various outlets, including The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Patriot-News and DKPittsburghSports. Snyder is an active member of the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM) and is the professional adviser for Penn State’s student chapter. Follow Audrey on Twitter @audsnyder4
