Penn State Football Q&A
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| (Photo: Penn State Athletics) |
1. Who is one player nobody is talking about now
but will play at an All-Big Ten caliber throughout the season?
a.
I think Jonathan Sutherland is a good candidate
for this one. Penn State fans know him as he’s been with the program for 5
years. Sutherland made the switch from safety to linebacker this year and I think
within the new Manny Diaz defense that will be a good transition for him. I’ve
been critical of him at times, but Diaz likes to blitz, a lot, so I think this
will provide him the opportunity to really have a stamp on this defense. Does
that mean he’ll be All-Big Ten? Not necessarily but I do think he’ll turn some
heads which could put him on that list.
2.
Can this team go +15 in take aways this year
and if so, do we win the B10?
a.
That’s a big number but I think it’s very obtainable
with the style Diaz brings. We might give up some big plays more so than in the
past, but I don’t think the risk outweighs the reward. If we go +15 in turnovers,
you’d have to think our chances of winning the Big Ten are high.
3.
Will kicking and punting be a strength or
weakness of this team?
a.
Could go
either way. I know that’s not a yes or no answer, but we haven’t seen any of
the punters in game situations and Jake Pinegar made minimal appearances last
year so we don’t really know what these guys can do. Pinegar is going to
be the starting kicker but as for the punter, that’s a toss-up and it might
take a few games and live action to get a real feel for who gives us the best chance.
We were spoiled last year with Jordan Stout being both one of the nation’s best
kickers and punters so there are some big shoes to fill there but I think
overall both will be a strength. We have three punters; you’d have to think one
of them will be able to do the job. A lot of that also has to do with how our
coverage teams are if our kickers and punters struggle.
4.
Who will have more collective rushing attempts
and more rushing yards the first half of the season, underclassmen or upperclassmen? What about the second half of the season?
a.
This is tough. I think the upperclassmen (Lee,
Ford, Holmes) will lead the way all season but not my much. One of those guys likely
won’t get as many carries as the other two so I think that gives the true
freshman, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, a good chance to “keep up” if you
will. From what we’ve seen and heard about the young guys, they’re ready to go.
When will they get their chance to shine? I’d anticipate that to be very early
in the season so this could be a good and friendly competition between young
and old for running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider
5.
What 3 positions (not necessarily individual names)
must exceed expectations for this team to make the CFB Playoffs?
a.
I’m not going with obvious choice here and say
offensive line and quarterback. I’ve mentioned some of these positions before,
but one is tight end. You can get a ton of production from the receivers and
running backs and still have a great season. If you want to take that next step
and really make a run however, getting that extra production from the tight
ends is crucial. We have three that can help in that area. Another is defensive
line, specifically the defensive ends. I wouldn’t say there is “pressure” on that
group, but I think with Adisa Isaac coming back and still having high expectations
from 2021, Chop Robinson transferring from Maryland to provide a similar spark
Arnold Ebiketie provided last year, and 5-star Dani Dennis-Sutton adding to that
depth the defensive end spot could be one of the real strengths of this team.
Penn State will face a lot of good quarterbacks this year and some who are mobile,
and that group will have to exceed their expectations in order to win those games.
The final group are the defensive backs. I personally feel like we’ll have the best
in the country so this might be a sexy pick, but if they exceed the already
lofty expectations, we’ll be in a great spot at the end of the season to be where
we want to be which is in the College Football Playoffs.
6.
Does Sean Clifford start 12 games in the
regular season?
a.
If he stays healthy, yes. I think it would take
an extremely poor start (a la 2020) to the season to bench him.
7.
What’s the ceiling for Sean Clifford this
season?
a.
I personally think he’s capable of being an
All-American, definitely All-Big Ten. There’s a lot of elite quarterbacks across
college football so he’s going to have to put up massive numbers but with as
much talent as we have on offense, it’s his second year under Yurcich which he’s
never had before, and an improved offensive line, there will be no shortage of
opportunities for Cliff. One thing I’ll also mention about the sixth-year man
and his OC, Yurcich has coached some EXTREMELY talented college quarterbacks
(Mason Rudolph at Oklahoma State, Sam Ehlinger at Texas, and Justin Fields at
Ohio State), and he’s put those guys in great position to have big seasons and
lead their team to 10, 11 wins. I don’t see why this season would be any different
having mentioned the things I did that he has going for him. Last thing I’ll
mention, I know Clifford has had his struggles and people have criticized him,
but look at this example of him having what it takes:
i. In
2019 while Fields was at Ohio State, Clifford through the first 8 games of the
season was right there with Fields in terms of productions.
Fields: 68% completion
(186 attempts) 1,659 yards, 24 TDs/1 INT
Clifford: 62% completion (216 attempts) 1,931 yards, 20 TDs/3 INT
It’s there for Clifford and having that second year and a ton of weapons don’t be surprised if it’s beyond a record-breaking year for him.
8.
What do you think are realistic expectations
for this defense under Manny Diaz?
a.
High. Very high. Top-10 championship-level defense type of expectations. Penn State’s defenses under Brent Pry
were always at or near the top in total defense and scoring defense. That won’t
change under Diaz. Under Pry the defense also had huge sack numbers and that’s
something else that won’t change. In fact, I see that number being higher than
it’s been. Diaz is aggressive and he’s going to use every which way to get to
the quarterback and disrupt the offense and we have the guys to do it. I
mentioned before that we’ll face a lot of talented quarterbacks this year so it’s
imperative that the Diaz defense gets going early and often.
9.
Which freshman do you think makes the biggest
impact this year?
a.
Three names I’ll go with here and I think two of
them are no-brainers. Nick Singleton, Dani Dennis-Sutton, and one name that a lot
of people might forget in Kaden Saunders. Much like Singleton he was an early
enrollee and Saunders was Penn State’s first commit for the 2022 class and
really got things going. I think we all know what Singleton and Dennis-Sutton
are capable of (more so what we want them to be capable of) and while Saunders
might not have the same expectations as those two, I think he’ll have a bigger impact
than most fans think. The depth at receiver might not allow for him to see the field
as early as his freshman counterparts, but I think he’ll work his way up and
get more and more touches as the season goes on.
10. Which
game (besides Ohio State) are you most afraid of this year and why?
a.
I wouldn’t say I’m “afraid” of any games this
year simply because I believe we can beat everyone on our schedule. Obviously games like Purdue and Auburn on the road early in the season provide a challenge but everyone knows how high I am on this team. I know I
say that every year, but I feel this year is different for just about every
reason I’ve said this offseason: second straight year with same OC, more
freshman that can play right away = more depth, improved offensive line, more
aggressive defense. I think this team more so than previous years has the chance
to go the distance.
11. How
do you see Penn State recovering from the recent decommits?
a.
This is part of college football. With the NIL
landscape now, it changes things a lot, and you’ll start to see it happen more
and more unfortunately (or fortunately if it happens to us). I think Franklin
and his staff do an unbelievable job of recruiting that there’s always a plan-B
should they lose a commit. It stings when it happens of course and you never want
that, but it’s just part of the game. We’ll be fine.
12. How
you think Franklin’s game management will improve this year compared to last?
Last year it was a consistent theme that play calls were either bad ideas or
just poorly executed. It was especially tough to see these mistakes happening
week after week, as well. How do Franklin can regain control of this team and instill
confidence in the fans once again?
a.
I don’t think he’s lost control of the team per
say, but this conversation revolves around the performance of the offensive
line. Plain and simple. I think as that improves as the season goes on the play
calling will get better and better and the headaches that we all have week after
week will go away. To answer that last sentence though: beat Ohio State (I know
every game matters, but this one matters the most 99.9% of the time), win the
Big Ten, and go to the playoffs. Those are the expectations every year. No less
than 10 wins even on a down year. I think the fanbase still has confidence, but
we get so far each year then come crashing down. First step in 2022, beat Purdue
and let’s take it from there.
Notice how many questions there are? One for
each regular season win we’ll have this year. We Are!
- Stephen
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