Penn State predictions for West Virginia matchup and 2024 season

welcome back into the lions 247 podcast I am Tyler donu we have spent this entire month of August and the month preceding it leading up to this moment Penn State miny Lions set to hit the road take on the West Virginia Mountaineers kick off their 2024 Campaign which of course if you've heard by now has college football playoff expectations all around it we've heard from a lot of players this week we've heard from James Franklin multiple times we have seen Penn State practice and I was joined at all those different events by Mark Brennan and Daniel gallon who now join me on the Lions 247 podcast you heard from our three-man group here on the podcast late last week kind of recapping preseason camp evaluating the nitty line step chart gets very very real now fellas by the end of this episode we're goingon to give our predictions for not just game one but for the entire regular season and whether this Penn State Squad punches its ticket to the college football playoff but first and foremost Mark before I get carried away with all the content and Intel we're going to provide our listeners make sure they know what they can find at lines 247.com in case some of you out there listening have not yet joined us over at the site yeah we're running our best subscrip subscription special of the Year 75% off an annual pass I mean it comes out to less than 225 a month so you really can't go wrong and this will get you on board of VIP level which means recruiting uh you know Insider Intel access to all of the uh VIP discussions on the Lions Pride board which I think people will find invaluable during uh football games and during the season especially um transfer portal Intel all that sort of stuff great time to do it season's about to kick off you come on now for 75% off again it's less than 225 per month that'll take you all the way around to next year hopefully by that time we'll be talking about a college football playoff appearance I'm not being a homer I just want to cover the college football playoff for once I just want to get in there and cover that thing as pain as painful as the travel may be uh but I'm looking forward to to hopefully getting opportunity to do that but if you're a Penn State fan great time to come on board Tyler calvaruso does a great job Brian Don our national guy who helps us goes way overboard to help us with on the recruiting side and the entire team does an awesome job and then the other thing to remember is you get readon access to every other message board on the network and during the season that's just unbelievable because you can go over and see what the folks at West Virginia are talking about before during and after the game you could go over and see what the folks at Ohio State are talking about I don't want to leave other opponents out but you get the point so it's a great time to come on we don't go heavy pitching on this show all the time but it's a great opportunity and we don't want to let it go by 75% off limited time yeah then and you covered it there that we got a large massive network uh you know we're engaged with CBS we're engaged with r entire 247 Partnerships all over the country we had Chris Anderson The Insider down there for 247 Sports West Virginia site he was on our last podcast if you missed that we spent about 20 that's an excellent site too man that is an excellent site go check it out we spent about 20 minutes breaking down this West Virginia team coming out of their own preseason camp we're not going to talk a lot about the Mountaineer specifically more matchup related content and Penn State in this time around but if you missed the last episode which dropped on Tuesday highly encourage you to check that one out for a full perspective on what Virginia coming out of preseason camp and I'll note we do a damn good job of covering basketball season around here too Daniel and Mark uh covered that team as closely as anyone and we're also covering basketball recruiting as closely as anyone so with this 75% offer it takes you all the way through next August and so you're talking about just a ton of coverage coming your way we we'll nip that in the butt I'm gonna remind Folks at the end of the episode though better believe about this offer but let's focus in on the Penn State football updates that have surfaced this week Daniel you and I have spent quite a chunk of time earlier this week reviewing some of the early week Rumblings some of the takeaways from James Franklin's Monday press conference and we said let us go to practice and let us bring you back some Intel and we'll lead off with some good news in the receiver room Kaden Saunders Liam Clifford neither of which were uh out there at practice last week when we took our last look at preseason camp they were both active participants with the wide receiver group we've heard a lot of good things about Liam Clifford really based on feedback never worried about Liam Clifford being you know his status being in Jeopardy for this matchup but Kaden Saunders was categorized as more of an expanded absence during uh during August so to see him back out there we know what he can do at the slot receiver potentially but also really important to note here Road opener punt returner it's a really pivotal spot potentially on in this matchup and so Saunders looks like a step in the right direction Liam Clifford don't lose any sleep over it what do you make of that for this wide receiver room and what we've learned about this group overall because James Franklin made sure we know the buzz is not just directed towards a couple guys Omari Evans needs some Spotlight as well yeah I I think looking at Saunders and and Clifford being back at practice uh it's it's only a positive with a lot of these positions you look at them on paper and you can see a lot of bodies and feel good about the depth then you take one guy away then you take two guys away like we didn't see at practice last week and then things can start to feel dicey things can start to feel uncertain but with those to back I mean Liam Clifford had maybe one of the buzzier camps maybe the buzziest camp on the offensive side of the ball outside of maybe Luke Reynolds um I think Clifford was really up there in terms of the positive feedback we got from coaches and teammates there Saunders is someone who when you think about Andy codal Nikki and you think about this new Penn State offense he is sort of the archetype of the player that can really benefit when you talk about motion horizontal movement getting players players in the space letting them make things happen with the ball in their hands and like you said you can't underrate him as a punt returner I think that that's something that's very valuable when you talk about a team like Penn State and the level that it wants to compete at this year can't lose games on the margins you can't lose a game when um you you fumble a p or you give up 20 yards a field position by letting one bounce I think special teams is something that when you look at it from that perspective super valuable then like you said we got a pretty hearty endorsement uh for Omari Evans uh from James Franklin last night or on Wednesday night Evans is someone whose name has come up every once in a while uh along with Trey Wallace Liam Clifford Julian Fleming and then Kaden Saunders but uh Franklin said that Evans has had a great Camp he's someone that I think we all had high expectations for going into last year uh didn't see him against West Virginia in the opener barely saw him the rest of the way until the very end of the season so I I I think the the term that James Franklin used was that Evans was someone that could take off this year make a couple big plays early uh change the perception of him show what he can do utilize that uh and then go from there so I think where we are with the wide receiver room right now I mean I think we're all still in Pro it mode uh when it comes to this group as a whole when it comes to some of these players individually but you do you do some of that confidence that emanates from from James Franklin from Drew Aller you internalize that a little bit and it does make you feel a little bit more secure but we'll see what happens when the lights go on Saturday I'm not sure if externally among Penn State fans among Penn State reporters that the needle has moved all that much about how we feel about receiver compared to you know March or even going into August but internally taking the temperature of the people who are within this process day by day there's a different level of confidence than we've sensed regarding that room in a while and it's not regarding new guys it's not all centered on well we have Julian Fleming now and he's going to be our wide receiver one it's not oh we brought in tyer Denmark and he's going to be a starter tyer Denmark is gonna have to fight to see the field this year as a freshman at least early on um but Mark I think what's really compelling is is as Daniel laid out there with Omari Evans a few big plays a nice stretch of the season and all of a sudden the perception about one guy or this entire position room can really change you talk about Harrison Wallace and we will later Omari Evans Kaden Saunders Liam Clifford very little to show for body of work consistently at this college level and yet if one or two or three of these guys hit our perception of what this offense can accomplish can change in a hurry I think Omari Evans is the poster child for James Franklin's complaint last year that Mike yuch wasn't getting the ball in the hands of their best Playmakers Daniel had a stat can you tell us what that stat was about about Amari Evans I mean it was unbelievable I don't want to steal it because it was fantastic no I was looking through the the P stats uh last night to get the the feel for how much Omari Evans actually played last year and I saw that he was on the field for more snaps than than Liam Clifford last year which something that surprised me but then you look at the breakdown and Omari Evans was on the field for more run snaps than pass snaps last year you know when he got into the game it was garbage time that's when he got that touchdown against Delaware but when he was on the field it was when Penn State was trying to run out the clock get to the Finish Line they weren't necessarily looking for those big plays and I thought that was something that was was pretty striking to me when you think about Evans who he is as a player and what he does well but also just how little he played and then once yich was gone what happened you know 25 yard catch versus ruter 60 yard catch at Michigan State and it's like where was this guy all year you can't really say that about Trey Wallace Tyler and I have have been having fun about it could he be a breakout player this year could he not be you could look at it either way but in all honesty I think we all thought that had he been healthy last year he would have been you know one of those key guys that would have been dependable and I think I don't want to talk for you guys but I have a sense that as a staff we're looking at it is he's kind of a proven commodity knock on wood if he can stay healthy so I think it's more about the Amari Evans I think it's more about Kaden Saunders I mean we saw Kaden Saunders but you know the thing I loved about him he goes out does some nice things at the end of that Ohio State game so many of of their so-called leaders did not come out and meet the media afterward and uh I know that people some people took issue with what the way Drew Aller handled himself I thought that's ridiculous I thought he was fantastic after that game taking ownership but Kayon Saunders guy barely plays all year you lose the biggest game of the year and that guy's out talking to us that told me something he's been a program kind of guy for a while Mark I remember his recruitment process you had I think Alabama Ohio State started you know the shark started circling a little bit and he knew his role as a leader within that 2022 class which we know proved to be a huge class for Penn State he was the first commitment there and he was always out front whether it was coming on the podcast with us or whether it was putting stuff on social media doing the best he could to put that class forward and and to make sure everyone knew how locked in he was so I'm not surprised it has translated this way as he's grown up a little bit Within this roster but now these guys and Liam Clifford these guys have to be consistent okay and part of that is staying healthy and part of that okay you didn't get the opportunities last year we have a pretty good sense that cotal Nikki he doesn't care he is going to get his best players the ball the guys in as Daniel said in space doing things so you're going to have the opportunities if you can do it I think I think and and now it's we're back to the point of this is the one position I think on the entire team that we're looking at and saying okay the vibe is Right M but we've had Good Vibes about other positions going into seasons and it didn't play out that well I mean how many straight years did we go with oh this is going to be the year the offensive line is going to play well and then finally was it two years ago that Franklin finally said I'm done talking about the offensive line and then they finally played well so maybe that's the case this year that that they can actually step up but hey this is major college football they're going to have to prove it to themselves the coaching staff and the media to the fans and guys perhaps we've been getting this wrong and searching for the number one target for the passing game from the receiver room because they've got Tyler Warren on board and James Franklin on Wednesday night did not hold back in his praise of the fifth year senior who's taking another step forward after being a co-starter with Theo Johnson last year Johnson's now a rookie with the New York Giants he said that Tyler Warren is the most complete tight end in the country we followed up with Ty how the tight ends coach uh th morning as well and he reiterated his thoughts and both of them really kept coming back to the same bullet points with why that is the case not only is the tremendous receiving threat go turn on the film from that peach bow I know there was a lot of low lights involved there but his performance was one of the highlights and and racing away from Defenders down the field at at certain points at his size is pretty remarkable and then his ability to be a Bruiser in the blocking game to to open holes for Nick Singleton and KRON Allen to get from a defensive end to a linebacker on the same play and handle his business I mean this is a what is he listed 6 foot6 260 pounds he's fast um Daniel they are beating the drum and and I I think we all anticipate there will be other tight ends involved there will be more two tight end sets but for the first time in a while I I don't know if maybe going back to probably 2020 with Pat fouth it feels like they have a true individual Vocal Point at tight end and that is Tyler Warren Warren's definitely the guy at tight end there there's no one a one B this year he's just the number one and I think it's very deserved the way that Ty how phrased it Thursday morning was that it's rare that was that was the word that he used to describe war in terms of what he's able to do in the passing game and what he's able to do in the running game and I think that that's something that when you look long term that can permeate down throughout the room and set the standard for what these young guys need to do uh in terms of stepping up and given what Tai how said what James Franklin has said it seems that that's worked a little bit but but with Warren I think that he's definitely in position to have a a big year I think that he's a little bit under the radar nationally um when you look at some of the the preseason All-American teams even preseason all big 10 teams um Coulson Loveland at Michigan has gotten a lot of love out of this conference um and then the the Georgia tight ends as well and I think that part of that is what they did last year Brock Bowers going through there um the prominence of that program but I think by the time we get to the end of the year Tyler Warren is someone who will be in that conversation um will potentially be in the mix for that Mackie award obviously when you get to some of these individual Awards and on a team like Penn State the counting stats thing always comes up uh because of the way that a lot of guys play the way that they they utilize different players um but I just think that time we get to the NFL draft next year Warren will be in that conversation for one of the first tight ends off the board it's because he's able to do so many different things and he's willing to do so many different things we've seen that uh since 2021 when he really started getting playing time as a gadget player near the goal line um and that's just expanded so I think he's someone that I'm I'm really excited to see this year and I think that when you hear Praise like this you know that James Franklin doesn't give it out too often um at the same time sometimes you wonder is is this just building up a guy is this uh kind of trying to stake your claim on the national stage but I think that this is is very deserved and and very true with where we're standing right now and you can understand why Penn State maybe needs to go on on on the pr attack here with with with guys you know trying to get the name out there and this happens with Heisman Trophy final that contenders you want your stars as National Parts as National Conversation Pieces it's so your brand is attached to that and I think the most obvious reason why Tyler Warren maybe is isn't discussed nationally like he's discussed here in Happy Valley is you look at the statute last year was his breakout year right but it was 29 catches 295 yards you work your way to the seven touchdowns it looks prettier but I don't think a lot of people who are covering trying to cover 120 teams at the national level are gonna see that statline and say this is one of the top tight ends in the country we Al have to remember people that Theo Johnson last year 32 catches 325 yards six touchdowns as they were sharing that load but the tight end conversation got even more interesting on Wednesday even in my opinion because I followed up with James Franklin as we moved on from Tyler Warren to ask about the absence of khil dinkin it's now three consecutive looks for us going back to pretty early in August that we have not seen Khalil dinkin out there with the team obviously that's not trending in a good direction for West Virginia and so with that in mind James Franklin says Andrew Raper is going to quote play a ton in game one the red shirt freshman who I think he had fewer than 50 total snaps uh last season collectively he could approach that total this Saturday we'll find out and then Mark even more compelling Luke Reynolds will play according to James Franklin he's still wearing his number 85 Jersey out there this was the week where we keep tabs on which freshmen are now wearing scout team uniforms and it's most of them now that are representing West Virginia players on the field but he's got his 85 on and he is somebody who has put on 30 pounds Ty Howell Tyler Warren both say he's already been an established pass Target a weapon in the passing game for a long time but what is has kind of won this staff over along with the physical gains is his willingness to get engaged as a run blocker he's not where he wants to be he's not where they want him I don't think he's going to play 25 plus snaps by Design but the former number one overall tight end recruit that all three of us saw multiple times here in the camp circuit last summer is going to be active and he is going to play against West Virginia I think that is a significant deal yeah you could look back to Pat fouth who was a summer enrol Lee as a freshman but he was a post-graduate kid and he was already 250 whatever pounds I think when you look at at Luke how important was it for him at that position at his weight what did he weigh when he got here 220 I 24 yeah yeah so to be a midyear enrol e and to go through the strength program and go through spring practice and to be able to slowly but surely build yourself up I think was obviously just gigantic for him he ends up being the touchdown King in preseason which I think opened all of our eyes a little bit I would say this I think the fact that they that James didn't declare him a green light hopefully that bodess well for dinkin hopefully that means that because if dinkin if they thought dinkin was GNA be out for a long time I mean Reynolds would be like a no-brainer green light and Mark before we go too far I just want to say this dinkin was getting serious Buzz uh from this team about being a versatile piece a guy that can move around gonna play I think he went into the preseason camp as the as a slight favorite for the number two job we were all wondering what Andrew raple would do but he's unavailable the last few weeks and this is a heck of a room so he's gonna have to work his way back I just want to note that because dkin really did set himself up well here as a rard Jr although I will say in the blue white game it it sure looked like Rapier was getting the first team so I mean you don't know what happened in between there I mean and dinkin you know last year we saw he was like Chris Carter all he did was catch touchdowns right so and that's for for our for our younger viewers it's old buddy Ryan referenced that it's actually pretty cool if you look into it was actually a compliment I think to Chris Carter but no I mean the point being look at the depth that they've developed that you're able to bring a kid in and you know James Franklin says he's going to make you know he's he's going to see a bunch of action but then if you're able to get dinkin back well then that gives you the flexibility to do what you did with Raper last year even though he was good enough to play I don't want to they didn't you don't you didn't want to waste him when you had the amount of talent that they had so just a really good spot and I think as we look at that wide receiver position and you kind of hinted at this Tyler as you look at that wide receiver position I think this gives them just a little bit of wiggle room that if they aren't quite there right off the bat there are some other places they could look whether it's the tight ends whether it's the running backs who I think both are now both of the key guys KRON Allen and Nick Singleton are quality receivers out of that back field so there is some wiggle room but ultimately if this team wants to be as good as it's going to be and compete against the level of teams that it wants to compete against you're going to have to have consistent play from those wide receivers and this team's number three running back cam Wallace very natural receiver as well someone who can do multiple things out of the back field and and Franklin did tease as we're talking about maybe not seeing three wide receivers out there with regularity he did talk about last night looking at those two back uh looks uh whether it's cam Wallace and Nick Singleton or Nick Singleton and K Allen he said the most important thing there is that you have a back who is an outstanding Ball Carrier but also an outstanding lead blocker and uh sounds like they have the pieces it's gonna be fun to watch because codel Nikki I just don't think anything's off the table I whether that's venga Yan running a motion in the back field as a lead blocker nothing is off the table and that that starts this Saturday and that extends through the season Daniel we we got a pretty long look and I would say our our longest look really at this offensive line of August on Tuesday and U really gives us a good sense of of how things have have materialized really matches up what we projected on our depth chart last week at lines 247.com as well the first group that we saw out there from left to right was Drew Shelton wenga Yan Nick Dawkins s Wormley and then Anthony dco the second group that we saw from left to right uh was Javin Williams JB Nelson Dominic rouy Cooper cousins and uh and rushi Nolan rushi at right tackle and some people are like who is Dominic ruy he's a walk-on player he's been a a valuable reserve for them at the center position but in the situation where they're in a game Daniel I think we're going to lean towards either wenga Yana your Cooper Cousins being next man up at Center uh behind Dawkins so knowing what we now know about this offensive line and James Franklin has acknowledged a couple times that there will be an ongoing competition at right tackle I think we're going to see both of them involved early and often Ruchi and Dano uh against West Virginia how do you kind of view this group I mean we've been talking about it for a long time what would the what the you know the shuffled deck was going to end up looking like in week one we're going to see maybe eight guys involved but your thoughts on the initial five and then what comes after I think that you start at left tackle and when you talk about Drew Shelton and I think the fact that Javin Williams got all of those reps in the spring uh I think James Franklin his quote was at some point in either in the spring or the summer was that Williams did enough to earn legit time at left tackle and so we had that penciled in as a competition coming into fall camp and for Drew Shelton to I think assert that for us to drop the ore off of our depth chart projection and lock him in there I think that speaks to the job that he's done in coming back from injury you had some quotes on the message board from Nick Dawkins I believe about the work that Shelton did very glowing um you know response from from Dawkins about Shelton and I think that's really where a lot of this starts you're replacing the number 11 overall pick in the NFL draft and an All-American at left tackle and Ola fashanu who was pretty set it and forget it I mean it's it's the the irony where when you have an All-American offensive lineman a lot of the time you're not really talking about them that much um and and that's what Olu was last year and for Shelton to come in assert himself there um I think that you take that as as a positive moving into the year um but I I'm just curious as to how you're going to play eight guys you're going to keep these rotations going um you know Cooper cousins is a green light so we're we're gonna see knocking he's pounding on the door is is that gonna be at at s wormley's expense at Right Guard is that gonna be at center with Nick Dawkins how does JB Nelson fit into this um James Franklin went out of his way ear earlier in Camp to emphasize how they view JB Nelson and and what his role could be um there's a lot of this that I'm really curious to see and obviously that right tackle battle too Kaden Wallace did such a good job locking down that position and playing at a really really high level last year um that is that something that you're you noticed this year do you notice that drop off um and Ruchi Dona two guys who have not played uh a lot of football uh in their careers uh especially at at right tackle when you consider uh where they were playing where they began their careers and and where they played last year um so I'm really interested to see I'm we've talked about how the Phil trout line in this offensive line gets the benefit of the doubt now but I'm still kind of wait wanting to wait and see uh once we actually get there because um we haven't seen these five play together yeah and I think you brought up Dawkins on on um you brought up Dawkins on Shelton talking about his Improvement this year says he sees a very different player at left tackle and of course remember this whole team has seen Drew Shelton a bunch at left tackle he started the final five games of his freshman year he was much different physically then you got to remember he was a summer and rolly back then it was playing catchup in a hurry the Phil troutwine and him moving week to week trying to get better and ultimately all the way through the Rose Bowl then he starts last year in the Peach Bowl and I know there were some concerns about his performance overall but then we learned well he was banged up he needed surgery you're not going to see him in the spring and so I I want to share one more note from Deni Dennis Sutton that we got coming out preseason camp because Deni knows him pretty well not only were they you know classmates in that 2022 group uh but they tend to battle quite often on the practice field at their respected positions and Dennis Sutton said that this kind of The Scouting Report early on Drew Shelton when he was a freshman was bull rush him into the backfield bull rush him into the quarterback overpower him got of get his feet out from underneath him and push him into the back field and he said you know defensive ends could find success that way he said you try that now you're going to get stood up and he said that is the the biggest thing he's always had tremendous feet we've always noted that that he almost you know moved like a a basketball forward with his with his footwork in high school that was always a a positive trait for him but the power that he's been able to do and also fundamentally from his base I know Phil Tran has been really pleased with his progression so uh I think you're right Daniel that is really the the the kind of what my biggest takeaway is that Drew Shelton has come back from a setback and come back very strong also very good if Nick Dawkins isn't the top leader in that room and he is then it may be Drew Shelton which which is I think saying something because they have other guys with experience Mark you referenced it earlier on the show there are so many years where the offensive line just didn't meet expectations Phil Trine has won himself the benefit of the doubt there's legitimate depth we've covered a lot of ground on Shelton is there a different point a different talking point within this offensive line that you'd like to address before we move on no I think it was Deni who who also mentioned that you know he has seen them go some unbalanced or six offensive linemen which could be a way I mean I'm not sure exactly who was in that role but that would seem like something like a Nolan Ruchi or even a Javin that you could use either of those guys as an extra offensive linemen in short yardage so I think the fact sometimes people look at and say hey you're talking about playing eight offensive linemen that's not necessarily a good thing it's it's best to have that NFL model I don't agree with that I think if you have eight guys who are good enough now we've covered a lot of Penn State football teams where they didn't have five guys who were good enough on the offensive line know in all seriousness I mean early in James Franklin's career they had to bring you know Derek Dowry and and Gia over from from defense because they had so few offensive linemen due to the sanctions and the way Bill O'Brien was recruiting and it took them a while to get out of that but I think if you're in a position where you have guys who are that good why not keep them fresh why not rotate people in so I think that's actually a bonus for them and I think the job that they've done recruiting and developing Phil troutwine when he first got here he just wasn't at least with the media he wasn't the most outwardly kind of confident guy and over the last couple years and I mean this in in in a positive way because when when you come from a program like BC and then you get uh you know now you're at Penn State and you have 20 reporters around you or you're on a zoom call with all these reporters that's not necessarily the easiest thing even for a former NFL player because as a coach you have to be careful in what you say you can't mention certain stuff you don't want to throw your kids under the bus he has developed over the last few years that if you have an opportunity to talk to him just a tremendous informative intelligent you could tell the guys played at the highest level and you can tell that he knows how to get that across some some guys who were NFL players aren't good teachers and we see it at Camp when he's out there with Frank Leonard and I think Frank Leonard's been a very positive influence uh when when you see those guys out there working with linemen I don't know how to teach an offensive lineman but you can tell that these kids are kind of absorbing what they're doing and for people who don't realize when we go to some of these Penn State camps they will take out four or five of the best linemen and work specifically with them for a little bit just to see how they do and to to watch that whole process and what they put them through and then that he is able to bring over we saw it with Shelton a couple years ago and this year we saw it with Cooper cousins where Cooper cousins is there now teaching to me you're a great teacher if you're bringing in a true freshman and he could come and help you teach these young campers and I know I'm kind of going off there but I just think the development of Phil troutwine we haven't talked about it enough and not not we I mean the Penn State beat we've talked about it a lot here but I mean the Penn State beat I don't think he has gotten enough credit for his development as a coach at this level he's the real deal and I'll tell you what if they do it again this year in this offensive line is a strength three consecutive years where it's not an issue I mean you got to put him in the conversation of the best hires that James Franklin has made here at Penn State for 11 years because how many years was it we need the offensive line to take the next step it has to happen and it didn't happen with other coaches didn't happen in other offense and we've now seen Phil trapline produce with with a couple different offensive coordinators he's got another one to work with here that's never an easy thing in kind of matching identities uh but he has done a hell of a job and I think what's even more impressive or we should just add along with this two deep that they've cultivated is you know they've got a lot of interesting pieces developing in the background this year as well Egan Boer Garrett ston Donnie Harbor Caleb Brewer um Chim Diono just a lot of really compelling pieces they may not all long-term emerge for this team but Phil trout has done a good job and TI of recruiting as well I mean don't don't look at some of the kids that they've landed including for for the 26 class I mean so when you're playing when you have guys playing well and when you're sending guys into the league that keeps building on itself the better you do the better you're going to recruit at those positions and the more of these linemen like Cooper cousins uh who are able to contribute fairly early are going to start showing up on campus yeah top 247 offensive lineman Malachi Goodman coming up near his decision Penn State's one of those hats on the table we'll see if another guy jumps on board Daniel spent far longer on the offensive line topic than I anticipated jumping into it but before we get into our uh focus on the West Virginia matchup and our predictions for that and the upcoming season uh just wanted to mention we got our final conversation with Drew Aller on Wednesday morning um there have been a lot of conversations with and about Drew over the course of this entire year um what is kind of the final makeup that you're seeing here uh last look before the curtain opens what are you buying into with Drew Aller in terms of improvement and what are you still really curious to see on Saturday this was our first time talking to Drew Aller since he was named a team captain earlier this month and we had the opportunity we've had the opportunity these past two weeks to ask a bunch of his teammates uh and his coaches about what that means and I think this week hearing from Nick Dawkins Devon J Thomas and KJ Winston especially those last two Winston and Jay Thomas because with Devon you're talking about a sixe senior who has seen a lot uh during his time at Penn State and with Winston you're talking about a captain from the defensive side of the ball um to get that perspective I think to have those endorsements to hear them talk about how they've seen him step out a little bit more be more vocal um I thought was really interesting Aller explained that a little bit uh on Wednesday in his Zoom call with us he said that it came up in his exit interviews with James Franklin Andy codal Nikki and Danny O'Brien and it was something that he wanted to work on this offseason so he went ahead and was in communication with Chuck Losi about how things were going for the team what was working what wasn't um and so I think that we've seen a little bit more of a confident Drew Aller we've seen him um talk about being more vocal we haven't had the chance really to see him be more vocal I think think Devon was saying that you know we'll we'll see it eventually that they see it all the time all the time in practice we might not get to see it during our brief windows but on game days we'll see how how he's being more vocal how he's leading more I did think the more one of the more interesting things that came up on Wednesday was the conversation about being in that sort of Fishbowl as the Penn State quarterback came up and and Drew was pretty open about it he said that he's deleted his social media uh now that his agents they're going to handle posting the tweets if he's got to do a brand obligation something along those lines um and he said that he did that last year but he kind of feels like he might have waited too long to do that and we know that when you're the quarterback in today's day and age there's a lot of attention on you um and you know maybe having that direct line into your psyche in your pocket at all times might not be the the best way to manage things and so Aller was I thought pretty candid about that and he said that you he loves the fan base and that he likes being on campus and having kids come up to him and talk about being in class that sort of thing but you know he said that I think Audrey Snider posed the question and it was something along the lines of you know now versus last year and he said that you know last year his answer would have been completely different from what it is now um in terms of handling that and approaching that so I think that that you are seeing a little bit more of a mature Drew Aller I've always thought that he's been pretty mature in all of his interactions with us but another year older um you know more experience he said that the you can't really measure how much that experience means to you how much that helps you um so I I think that from we've heard from the mental side um the off the- field stuff it it's all been positive with Aller this offseason um I think we're all still waiting to see what it looks like in the offense and what it's going to look like on Saturday and if he's going to throw the ball down field if he's going to take risks if we feel like he's taking every checkdown to avoid throwing interceptions there's all of that stuff that we're still waiting really waiting to see but I do think that you feel pretty good about where things stand and I think that Aller is probably in a position we talked about this earlier this month when he spoke but when things aren't going well he does seem like that he is in a better position this year to potentially pull himself out of that skid and to help the team pull out of the skid too and I think that if you want to get to where Penn State wants to go that is something that's going to be really really important I think Drew just like all of us know there's only so much he can say uh right now in August or back then in March or in the middle of the summer that it doesn't really matter to so many people it's going to matter what happens during those 60 Minutes uh this upcoming Saturday and then the several Saturdays to follow for qb1 with Penn State football let's dive into this matchup a little bit more again if you didn't hear it uh we had Chris Anderson on Tuesday with us uh breaking down the Mountaineers for about 20 minutes we're going to focus on this from more of a Penn State perspective naturally and and Mark when you look at the the clear strength vers strength uh outlook here it would be West Virginia's rushing attack they ultimately were the top rushing team in yards per game uh by the end of of 2023 among power five teams and then of course Penn State we know they ranked among the elites of the elite in college football last year in terms of rushing defense we talked about their defensive tackle group with James Franklin yesterday they really feel they can go at least five deep there Alonzo Ford's emergence has been huge for them and so with the the tandem like West Virginia has and the Dual threat quarterback no quarterback in the country last year ran for more touchdowns than Garrick green he had 13 scores on the ground we saw that he was Fleet of foot in the opener and then you got those Edge rushers chasing him so I'm GNA throw throw it all your way Mark here what do you make of this matchup this test for the defensive front of Penn State we've talked about the depth we've talked about the losses there's been a dismissal that impacted things it's a heck of a matchup for them to begin well I think discipline is going to be the key and I don't think just for the defensive front I mean I think those guys are going to have to do what they do and maybe they're not making every play but when you have a quarterback who averages 6.4 yards per carry and remember that factors in sacks I mean quarterbacks at the college level it's it's not like the NFL their sack yardage goes against their rushing total so 6.4 yards per carry is kind of you know ridiculous now fortunately Penn State has seen this guy and knows what he's all about but you know how do you combat that you have to go you have to have your athletes know where he's going to be and uh you know whether that's Tony Roos whether that's Jaylen Reed from that lion position and that's why I'm saying I don't think it's all about you know whether it's Abdul Carter if you're not necessarily playing off the edge are you dropping him back and making sure that he can spy him a little bit I think the whole key to to stopping this offense because you're looking at last year 53% of the passes completed they're not going to really kill you with the passing game so you have to be absolutely disciplined and that's not always the easiest thing to do they're not going to be able that defensive front that you're talking about they can't just cut loose and get after this guy they have to maintain their you know gaps and everything and uh just be accountable for for their area uh and I think if they do that they have enough athletes that they're going to be okay but it's going to be interesting to see do they try to spy him with a Roos or with a Jaylen Reed or the again could you imagine this is the the Intriguing thing about Abdul Carter all the different things you can do with him and all the different places you could put him to try to combat this so to me that's going to be the most important part is being smart and I would have to imagine Tom Allen has been looking at a lot of this West Virginia film for the past six months because as much as they say it's one game at a time we've already heard Franklin pretty much discussing this being a big game and then other bigger games down down the road Tom Allen's gonna want to come in and make a positive first impression and you have to imagine the way that that guy ingests film and lives in his office watching film that he's want to have this thing game planned pretty well but Green's a really good quarterback I was shocked last year on the field after the game how small he was but that doesn't matter the guy's Nimble makes people miss so they have to stop him and I think if they can do that or just contain him I think they're going to be in good shape he's a dynamic threat there's no doubt about it um you I I think if you can restrict him to the pocket he becomes a different kind of threat much less of one um because his completion percentage was not good last year and they we heard from Chris they really kind of just did you know throw it deep rather than trying and hit short intermediate routes and so if he's not much better in short and intermediate routes uh if they can get him into a passing situations with consistency as this game goes on that's where the game can really turn for West Virginia's offense in a negative way and and you make a good point about if you got Deni den of sudden and adal quarter going vertical every play well Garrick green will will take the bait and or we'll give them the bait and and make the slip and go off for a first down so uh it's going to be fun to follow what Tom Allen dials up in terms of green they've also got that Dynamic running back Duo CJ Donaldson Jahim white you get a nice blend of speed and power from both of them and we saw Corey Smith and Quinton Martin the The Freshman deal here for Penn State playing those roles for the scout team last week I think it's important to note here though the we're talking about the Russian attack for West Virginia Daniel and we just spent all this time you know breaking down Penn State's offensive line as as they recover from losing three guys who are now NFL rookies well West Virginia lost a really good Duo of offensive lineman Doug Nester Zack Frasier they combined for more than 80 starts for the Mountaineers Frasier was arguably the best center in the country he I think he's going to be a starter for the Steelers this year as a rookie at Center and then Doug Nester played a lot at guard and at tackle for West Virginia so just as we're kind of eyeing up things I know they have confidence down in Morgantown about their group they had they have guys who were backups last year who' had playing time but I look at that and I say well if West Virginia doesn't have his act together up front because of some new pieces this defensive tackle group in particular can be a battering ram that makes life very difficult for them to get off the ground on Saturday kind of reminds me of how we we talk about Penn State a little bit when you're you're talking about losing these key pieces on the offensive line but you're trusting the seasoning that some of these other backups have had and the experience that they've had in terms of of stepping up um a little bit that that was something that that struck me a little bit um but yeah I mean this State defensive tackle group is going to be really interesting to see I thought that I like James Franklin's baseball metaphor uh on on Wednesday night after practice where he said that when you're building a baseball team you build it up the middle catcher pitcher Short Stop center field uh that makes your team strong and you can go from there and he said that you build a defense in a similar way that defensive tackle middle linebacker safety that that's places you want to be strong and he feels that Penn State is really strong there um but you know we know this Penn State offensive l or defensive line these Edge rushers they can wreck a game um they can make things unwatchable they can make life miserable uh for opposing offenses and so I am intrigued to see if West Virginia has it together Wyatt mhum is a preseason all Big 12 selection at left tackle um that should be a fun matchup whether he's getting Abdul Carter Deni Dennis Sutton Smith filber to mean vanover I think that that's a that'll be a good measuring stick for those players to see where they are right now especially Abdul in his first game we think as a as that edge rusher somewhere where we think he can have a lot of success um but yeah I think that the the way that you can kind of present this is is which team is is going to weather those offensive line losses the best which ones have you this is a good way to see development within programs I think I think it's going to be pretty interesting but you know if this if Devon oise is playing or Devon J Thomas is playing like he did the close last year if Hakeem Bean takes that step forward if Alonzo Ford uh you know brings what he's been doing on the practice field over the game day I think that things could and obviously Zay Durant is Zay Durant I think that things could get you know pretty dicey pretty quickly and if you're you know flushing the flushing the quarterback with an interior Rush then you've got those defensive ends and those linebackers and Jaylen Reed at the lion there to clean it up it could be a long day for West Virginia we we I think we spent some time here on on what the Outlook might be for Tom Allen and what he might be dealing with but Mark let's go over to Andy codal Nikki it's a big debut for him he was named 247 Sports offensive coordinator of the year last year for his work with the Kansas Jayhawks he is stepping up into a bigger Spotlight and it's in this noon window on Fox there's going to be a lot of eyes on it everyone knows what happened last year for Drew Aller in this offense when there were a lot of eyes on them on a few different occasions and and and here we go it's West Virginia and and last time this happened Drew looked fantastic but ultimately was an outlier on the season for what this passing game was going to accomplish what are you most curious going into this matchup with cotal Nikki and generally speaking what are your expectations for what the offense can go out and do well first of all I don't know if you guys realized it but throughout preseason camp when we were at uh when we were at practice uh cotal Nikki was really kind of light I mentioned flipping off players calling them by different nicknames whacking them with boxing gloves doing all flexing for the camera when he was wearing the the the sleeveless shirt when we were at practice Wednesday I got none of that man he was dialed in I mean he was dialed in so I think we're seeing gameweek Andy cotal Nikki where all the goofing off and I don't mean that in a bad way I think that's a way that he relates with the players and I think it's actually a good thing to have some F but I think all that is off to the side no listen this is we've heard it all right everything has sounded so good up to this point misdirection you know make them think something's coming one place and you're going to another place uh the lingo it took a while to learn but it's like building blocks with Legos get the ball in the hands of your best Playmakers great it all sounds tremendous let's see what it's all about that's why I'm so anxious to see this game more than any other as ECT of it is to see how this offense plays I don't think it matters who makes the plays I think it it matters that they make plays because listen this wasn't a West Virginia Defense that that stifled Penn State last year I mean they had some big plays so if you come out and lay an egg in this one and I'm not suggesting they will how does that Bode for the rest of the year so I think it's important for them to come out and play well we've seen you know under Jomo against the the first couple quality opponents that they faced it took a while for the offense to get going I don't think I think it could take a while within this game you know maybe a quarter or so but I think it's G to be kind of a red flag if if they don't come out and produce over the course of the entire game and get up there into the 30s points wise because I think if they get to 30 I don't think West Virginia can score 30 and I don't care if it's Aller making plays I don't care if it's Singleton I don't care if it's uh KRON Allen I don't care if it's Tyler Warren I don't care if it's a breakout player like uh Trey Wallace uh whoever's making plays I just want to see it in action so I don't know exactly what to expect Tyler but I'm anxious to see it and let's see if it's all it's built up to be well when James Franklin went hunting for his next offensive coordinator what do we know is on the top of that list explosives explosives that's what they were desperately searching for last year and I'm really curious to see what they do aside from Drew Aller airing the ball down field how are they creating explosives by Design on on when the ball is maybe traveling behind the line of scrimmage or it's a quick pattern and then through the blocking downfield and the play design you're getting big chunks out of it you know something that you know self-starting moments that that can drive you forward in in a in a possession or on a third down play and Daniel maybe we're complicating this a bit because we're 50 minutes just about into this podcast and we haven't even talked about what maybe the best tandem of running backs in college football I know they feel good about the one they have down at West Virginia but here it's KRON Allen and Nick Singleton year three together is it as simple as hey Andy you know what you've gotten these two running backs and and like I called for so often last year with Mike yuch feed them the ball do it consistently yeah I mean it doesn't feel like we'll get out of a game and and look at the box score and they'll each have nine carries or whatever it was in that Ohio State game I I don't think that'll happen again um but yeah it it is kind of funny when you think about you've got these two running backs both of whom should be draft picks next year uh Nick Singleton could potentially be a pretty high draft pick depending on testing and the way the board Falls and you know the inscrutable NFL perception of running backs um and we're not really talking about those guys too much they they feel very set it and forget it the more interesting thing in that room has been who's going to be number three and what Quinton Martin can do but when we talk about Nick Singleton I think that he can be a really big beneficiary of what Andy codal Nikki's MO is in terms of getting guys in the space utilizing your best players um Drew Aller talked about it with both Singleton and Allen getting them the ball downfield in a one-on-one matchup uh against the linebacker and Aller said that that's pretty much automatically a 10 to 12 yard gain given how these players are the one wrinkle that is really I'm really interested in that James Franklin hinted at Wednesday night is seeing a little bit of a 20 Personnel or 21 Personnel where you have both Singleton and Allen on the field together um I believe it was in the Peach Bowl last year they they both started on the field together um and we didn't see that too too much under Mike yich uh but I think that that's something that could be really interesting mixing and matching them over the course of a drive um is there still going to be a similar sort of rigidity like we saw um in terms of one guy getting one drive another guy getting the other one guy getting a quarter one guy getting another um so I think that both of these players can do a lot of different things I think Allen at this point we've talked a lot about Singleton's Improvement as a receiver I think Allen is a little underrated as a receiver at this point give what he's done during his first two years but I think both of these players could have huge years for Penn State and I think a big reason why will be Andy cotal Nikki and how he's utilizing them and the positions he's putting them in neither of these guys for as big of stars as they've been since the start here uh they're not big Personalities in front of a camera and so I don't think a lot of people you know have a good sense for Singleton or KRON Allen all that much but every time that you bring up cotal Nikki to them this year and ask about that change there's a smirk there there's a freshness to the conversation about how they feel they're going to be utilized and you can maybe pick up on that some frustration of how they weren't utilized in the past so year three is gonna be big for them I know jaywan slider has high expectations for that duo and others in the room as well let's dive into our players to watch we've mentioned a bunch of them so I'd imagine we could make this one relatively rapid and we're gonna start with you mark Brennan uh when it comes to this matchup in particular which player is in the spotlight I'm going to go with Tony roas so I think as much as West Virginia runs the ball as well as West Virginia runs the ball he's going to be in a position to make a lot of tackles as one program person told us about his ability to get to the ball it's just the natural ability to defeat blocks and be able to see stuff and be able to understand what gaps are empty and what the running backs are all about so it's basically talking about a guy who is has an innate ability to get to where the ball's going which probably isn't surprising given that he's a for High School running back himself and I I just think he's going to be running all over the field and have have an opportunity to make a ton of tackles in this game we have a little bit more on roas coming here as we get to our big picture season picks but Daniel who's your player in the spotlight for this matchup I'm really interested in Jaylen Reed sort of what we highlighted earlier in terms of the being sound on the edge not letting Garrick green Escape uh the pass rush and and get out into space I think that that lion spot which is going to function as that hybrid nickel Sam linebacker third safety uh well I guess we'll know more about that once we get through Saturday how that is actually going to look um but I think that Reed is someone who can play a pretty big role in this game and I think that he's someone who's going to play a big role in every game for Penn State this year he's very well regarded for how he approaches the mental side of the game um and we've seen him make plays before I I think he's someone who can kind of quietly have a have a big year KJ Winston has gotten a ton of the hype at safety this off season um but Reed is someone to watch on that defense and also interested to see if we do see him back there at Pont returner uh given what we heard and I think seeing Kaden Saunders at practice uh I think points in in One Direction but I'm just curious to I would be very curious to see Reed in that role just because it's something that we haven't really seen him in before and it wasn't really anything we'd heard too too much about before this offseason that's a good point and I want to I want to mention I think I said we had our last look at Penn State before kickoff that's not true you both will be in the Press Box down at West Virginia early on Saturday morning when Penn State gets on the field you'll be ready you'll have binoculars we have a lot of loose ends to kind of tie up who traveled who didn't who's dressed who's not and also you know who's out there and actually active once they get to the point where they have the pads on so go to line 247.com for that latest information as we get near kickoff on Saturday morning certainly encourage you to to do that um my player to watch I think all of our players to watch have established it drew all is everyone everyone needs to watch him so I'm going to go with another Drew Drew Shelton already explained the the the strides he made this preseason rebounding from an injury he's got a lot of snaps under his belt this is going to be a a big eye-opening experience for a lot of players in the roster traveling to West Virginia encountering that atmosphere to kick off a season that won't be the case for Drew Shelton this guy started in the Rose Bowl as a freshman uh so I think if we get through the 60 Minutes of football on Saturday and he's solid and essentially we're not talking about him we're not talking about that Blind Side being impacted and Drew and Drew Aller scrambling and having to use that increased athleticism to escape the edge off off from the left side then you think that that you you kind of weathered that storm in losing maybe the best offensive tackle in football last year what's it going to look like when you have to replace him I think Drew Shelton and and kind of the litus test of what we see for these four quarters at West Virginia is going to go a long way into whether we think Penn State's gonna have to sweat some matchups out with that position or whether they've really stabilized it with the next man up and Drew Shelton and now we'll get to our predictions as promised a while back we'll talk about uh not just the score here but we're going to offer our bold prediction on a weekly basis how bold I guess that's to be determined by our listeners but we're gonna start off our predictions with you Daniel I feel like this has happened to me a bunch of time since I've I've worked for Lions 247 where I I make a prediction and then I check the weather forecast after it gets published and I'm kind of like oh might have done things a little differently there um but we we'll see Saturday it looks like it could be a little little messy especially uh later on in the afternoon with some storms but I have I have some points on the board I have Penn State 35 West Virginia 21 uh I see this game going a little similar to last year I I think that um Penn State pulls away late I think that it might be a little bit slow goinging early on you I am know not concerned but I do have some I have some caution about three new coordinators uh in their first game on the road in a hostile environment with new methods of communication you can do all the dry runs you want but when you're you're out there it's something completely different um but I do think that Penn State is the more talented team and I think that Andy cot Nikki will probably have some tricks up the sleeve uh for a you know game one week one um to catch West Virginia off guard and I think Penn State ultimately pulls away and covers um bold prediction I'm going to the Drew Aller well um and a little bit of a call back the last year season opener Aller threw for 325 yards three High never threw for that many again I don't I forget how close he came I think he was in the 290s once maybe but it wasn't super close I think he exceeds that 325 even if it is thunderstorming and and pouring in this the second half um but I think we'll get a a really good start from Drew Aller kind of an announcement that he is he is back that five-star stuff that's legit those games against Ohio State in Michigan last year that's not who he is uh and I think that's what we'll see Saturday all right um I think people would appreciate that outcome um Mark what do you got for us I got a 3117 uh Penn State winning would not be at all surprised again if it takes a quarter or so for that Penn State offense to get rolling I think fortunately you have a coordinator on the other side of the ball and Tom Allen who's operating with more weapons than he's ever had and as as anxious as I am to see what the offense looks like it's also going to be interesting to see what he's able what he's been able to come up with remember Tom Allen has been here since last December so he didn't take over as the DC until after the bowl game but what has he told us he loves to immerse himself in film study and I can't imagine how much he's looked at prepared ing for this game so I think the defense is going to be solid throughout the game the offense will finally get going pull away a little bit key for Penn State do not turn the ball over a punt is far better than a turnover in this game West Virginia a great possession team they'll kill you with time of possession with limiting your possessions so even if you don't get points out of one you have a great punter reserve the right to go at them on your next possession my bold prediction Penn State st's longest run from scrimmage last year was 50 yards by KRON Allen I think as this game goes along somebody is going to bust one longer than that I don't know who it could be KRON Allen it could be Nick Singleton it could be one of the young backs it could be a receiver on a Jet Sweep or an end round but I think somebody's got I think the Penn State offense is going to get this defense confused in late in the game in second half some point somebody's going to bust a really long run I know that's pretty bold but I'll I'll go out on that Lim I'll follow up here um I also have Penn State improving to one and0 uh and and getting through this early hurdle and and what I think will set them up really well to midseason if they can get through this game I got 30 to 17 Penn State I guess I should have mentioned before this the spread is eight points um I believe it opened back in the spring around 12 it was in the double digits for almost the entire summer there's been a late Rush of money on the West Virginia side and so it's dropped down to eight uh we've all got them clearing that comfortably so 30 to 177 is my pick I think that we're going I think you make a great point with Tom Allen being around since December so is Andy Cal Nikki and there's we have a lot of excitement about what these two guys can do Tom Allen getting back to his defensive Roots he's been a head coach in the Big 10 the last seven years Andy cotal Nikki viewed as this ascending Mastermind on the offensive side of the football I think what Penn State fans and maybe we need to remind ourselves with their track record all this excitement is based on rosters that were coached at Indiana Buffalo and in Kansas I mean these guys have reached a different Stratosphere in terms of what's at their disposal and how they can utilize different pieces from an athletic standpoint and they got to go up against a power four opponent right off the bat here they don't get to test out their new toys against uh you know kind of the cupcakes of the world but I I think it it's going to get you know we're going to see why these guys are good fits at coordinator you're GNA come out of this game and see flashes of exciting stuff I don't expect either to be firing on all cylinders both sides of the ball But ultimately I think Drew Aller will look steadier look cleaner than we typically saw him on the road as a sophomore and ultimately I think Nick Singleton you mentioned the fstar buzz being back for Dera with his performance I think Nick Singleton has a real chance in a national Spotlight to remind people that he is a home run threat from anywhere on the field he has this new receiving pedigree to him now and I think after you know what you can really categorize as a sophomore slump statistically uh you could now really see him shake that off in a big way as he started to at the end of last season for my bold prediction uh I I I'm going to go with Harrison Wallace surpassing 100 receiving yards he's obviously a guy that everyone's expecting to step up as wide receiver one but what will that look like I think it'll look really good and I think it'll look really good right off the Jump uh to this point his career high in receiving yards 72 yards in a single game for stack came last year season opener against West Virginia so we we got our predictions out there we got a few more to get to because we have our forecast for the entire 20 24 season so if you stayed with us for the first hour and you need a break this is probably your good your chance to do that but if we're gonna roll through you guys don't get breaks and we're gonna jump right into our big picture 2024 talk right now uh because things look different for this team 12 team playoff they've been the poster child for the program that's been left on the doorstep of the modern day college football setup that ends now it's a new look big 10 you're no longer dealing with what had seemingly become a brick wall of sorts in the Big 10 East Michigan's non the schedule USC is Washington is UCLA is but Michigan is not for the first time in a long time we'll tell you where we think they finished in the 12 games and their college football status but we're going to go through a different different categories here offensive MVP defensive MVP offensive breakout defensive breakout um it's gonna be some of the common themes that You' already probably heard on this show and so maybe we can summarize it a little bit but Daniel you're kicking us off with offensive MVP I'm GNA follow you and then Mark will round us out for this category I went with running back Nick Singleton uh as my pick he is in that time share with KRON Allen so maybe the counting stats might not be there but I do think that when you talk about Nick Singleton the type of player he is he is a home run hitter going into this year I think that he's really the only proven home run hitter you have on that offense and I think that Andy cotal Nikki is really going to use that to his Advantage um sort of what I talked about a little bit ago with Singleton and the the type of impact he could potentially have um I just think that when we think back to moments of the season when it's when we're in December it's going to be similar to 2022 again when you think about Singleton busting the big gain at Auburn when you think about him getting loose and putting teams to bed uh I think that that's the type of impact he's going to have this year not just the big plays but big plays in big moments um I'm next up and and last year my pick at the end of season was KRON Allen I was tempted to to pick him because he has been truly Mr consistent in his through throughout his career but if this team gets to the playoffs and and spoiler alert I have him getting there um I think Drew Aller is really gonna be a catalyst for that I do I believe the Nick single's in for a rebound but you think about what Allard maybe didn't accomplish last year uh you know two he didn't throw for 250 passing yards again after that first game until after Thanksgiving he was under 50% completion in three in all three of those losses and yet at the end of the year this is a team in the new year six they had 10 wins he had 29 total touchdowns with two interceptions so in my mind it doesn't need to be him making a major leap and looking like a slam dunk number one NFL draft pick like he was a number one quarterback prospect coming out of high school but if you have true marginal and maybe incremental as the season goes on improvements in in all areas of his game leadership confidence throwing the ball downfield uh know chemistry with his receiving group his ability to maybe avoid pressure more and create plays with his feet all that stuff starts to rise him up and it's going to rise up this entire offense so that's kind of my forecast I'm not ready to say he's gonna go out and look like you know this the next Andrew Luck next year's NFL Draft but I do think he's going to improve enough in all facets of his game and his demeanor in the game that it will Elevate this offense to where it needs to be in this particular season and and what do you have for us Markus you've got pick number three at offensive MVP yeah I was tempted to go with KRON but I think there may be an element of KRON Allen and Nick Singleton kind of balancing each other out so I went in a little bit different direction uh you know clearly a veteran player well established uh to me uh Trey Wallace you know you look at what he did last year M I'm not laughing at hold on I don't I'm not laughing at your pick I I just you're well established and this is going to set up something for yeah it's setting it up folks it's it's a bad joke but uh in all honesty uh you look at what he did in the first two games and then the bowl game last year so the two games to start the season and then a game to end the season 14 catches for 165 yards in the middle of the season when he was banged up four catches for 67 yards so I think he is poised again knock on wood let's hope he stays healthy let's hope everybody stays healthy I think he's poised to become that wide receiver number one if he is healthy I think he could be the kind of consistent wide receiver they haven't had since Parker Washington and then Johan Dodson before that Keandre Lambert Smith wish him well down at Auburn but what we saw from him was a roller coaster every single season I think Harrison Wallace has an opportunity to step up be that wide receiver one get it done game in and game out but he just has to stay healthy but definitely you know a veteran player well-known everybody knows about him so it's an opportunity for him to step up and even fur further expand his well-known thank you for that Mark but don't go anywhere you're starting us off on our next category defensive MVP so who are you starting us off with well this was like to me the easiest one of all Abdul Carter I think a fair argument could be made that Abdul could have been defensive MVP for the team last year at the bank with the team selected Adisa Isaac which I don't really have a problem with but I think if you look at the numbers and what both guys did Abdul Carter was unbelievable I am just another one of those things that I'm really looking forward to you know this guy was so good that they decided to move him to defensive end in in uh the off season and then He adjusted to that so well that they decided to add linebacker back in and I think you add in what I was talking about before with Tom Allen this guy has been brainstorming I'm sure since last December on how to unleash Abdul Carter on opposing defenses or opposing offenses it'll be something if he's Unleashed on the defenses too then it'll be really versatile but on opposing offenses and I just think it's going to be really fun to see all of the different things that they're able to do uh with him anxious to see what he does against West Virginia if they're some somehow able to win this game relatively Comfort comfortable comfortably and they don't have to show everything it could be unbelievable when we get to the Big 10 and what they're kind going to do with this guy so I just think to to me this was an easy one that Abdul Carter I think has an opportunity to have just an an outstanding Year got one look at one-on-one work with ABDO Carter and it came on Wednesday night and it was well worth the wait at the expens of Anthony donco but that jump that get off every bit of good of what we saw from chop Robinson last year we know what that meant for Chop Robinson even though he didn't put up the pile of sacks that he had hoped to you know he was a a first round pick and so yeah really really excited to see ABD cter in action Daniel your next defensive MVP I think I'm pretty well established that I'm a big fan of this player I went with safety KJ Winston um I think that he has that versatility that you can move him around your defense uh you can he's not afraid to be physical in in run support we saw some good ball skills last year he's long he's rangy on the back end and I think that playing alongside Jaylen Reed and zachie Wheatley will help him I think it'll help help all of those guys make plays but I I just think Winston has all of those tools to be able to do a bunch of different things um I don't know if it'll quite be to the level of what we saw Jer Brown do uh in his last two years in terms of literally doing everything uh on that defense but I think that Winston is someone that Tom Allen can use in some interesting ways especially when you get into passing Downs with sub packages um and I think that Winston is going to make the most of it and be one of these guys at the end of the year that you know really shaped how this Penn State Defense played and Leadership will be a big part of KJ Winston's DNA same deal with with the my pick here Kobe King I mean he was selected a team captain like Winston for this defense and you think about the the steps he has made uh on the field as a he was in the wrong end of a 6040 split a couple years ago with Tyler ellon Tyler ellon started every regular season game I believe and the Rose Bowl at middle linebacker in 2022 then KOB King you know flips that takes takes advantage of Tyler Ellen being sideline last spring and just asserts himself over the course of the year he's just starting Mike linebacker but when you you we review those snap counts on on a weekly basis and when we were reviewing them really the first half of last season he was more of a you know a part-time piece even though he was a starter he wasn't really out there on the field as much one as as as some of the other players who were in that starting group but that changed in a big way he became a main stay for this defense during the second half of the season in Big 10 action really proved himself finished second on the team in tackles and I think although I was really tempted to go with Tony roas here I looked at the N den of sudden I looked at Jaylen Reed and that kind of speaks to the depth of this defense because there's a lot of names you can go with I just think Kobe King is going to have a production Spike so the stats will look good and I think he is going to be the extension of Tom Allen on the field KJ Winston certainly is going to be an extension of the staff too but he's going to have that inh helmet communication and Kobe King really just feels like the guys whether it's defensive tackle or a cornerback In the Heat of the Moment when they got to find their footing and they're looking to somebody I think he's going to be that guy often so I think the combination of those two things make him my MVP pick and we'll go to breakouts now and this one sticks with me and I know that that that Mark built his case for Harrison Wallace's MVP and mentioned several times there him being well established and well- known and Mr popular but I think we're at risk of of of living in our own bubble here in Happy Valley there's not a lot of people talking about Trey Wallace as one of the reasons Penn State's going to contend for a college football playoff spot I mean I know people are know he's existed here he's done stuff here but he's never had 20 catches in a season he's got fewer career touchdowns than Omari Evans and Kil dinkin and he's a guy that for one reason or another and it's really been injury related has just not been able to string together the kind of games that I think is necessary to establish yourself as a well-regarded member and a Top Flight member like of the star cast here and I think that changes in a big way I think he goes from a guy who had a consistent role as kind of the the fourth wide receiver of Mark's getting his binder out over here now but I think when it comes to Harrison Wallace what I'm projecting here Mark and and this is the most important part I think breakout it can mean a guy who's going from a bench roll to a starting roll or it can mean a guy who's going from he's on the field and he's and he's involved to he's a big all big 10 player and so I think Harrison Wallace has a chance to double up his career totals for receptions I think he has a chance to double up his career receiving yards which is 501 yards and I think at the end of the day I'm projecting him to have the most productive season for any Penn State wide receiver since Jan doson back in 2021 became an All-American and a first round draft pick and so for a guy that has 500 yards through his first three years here and has really struggled to put two consistent games together over the course of his career again due to injury for the most part for him to go from being that to being Drew all's number one Target and the guy that defensive coordinators are going to have to really account for at receiver unlike anyone that Penn State has had that that position for the last three years that's where I'm basing the breakout on I think there's different levels of breakouts from which point you're going to the next point and I respect your views and I like the MVP pick but that's why I'm going with the breakout and and we can have maybe a poll up on the site to determine whether Harrison Wallace is a breakout pick but I think regardless people whether he's MVP or breakout uh people will be very happy one way or another and I think we're all channeling Daniel included a lot of optimism about what Trey Wallace is gonna do for this team in 2024 that's the main point you should take from this you don't have to respect my views we could have fun with this you could make fun of my pick and I can make F fun of yours I'm next though and you know I was gonna go with Nick Singleton because he only has 1,800 career rushing yards and you know that's nowhere near what some of the the Penn State greates have but uh instead I'm going to go with somebody who had no stats registered last year only played in three games and yeah I'm taking it a little different obviously what Tyler's saying is absolutely correct Harrison Wallace has an opportunity to emerge on the national stage I'm going with somebody that Penn State fans really haven't seen and I think has an opportunity to become a household name in Happy Valley and maybe even Beyond this year uh he's gonna be playing behind Tyler Warren but I think Andrew Andrew Raper a guy who uh again spent an extra reclassified in high school so he got to to he spent an extra year at the high school level came in Pence into Penn State last year physically mature could have played but they didn't need him because they were so deep at tight end and now you're looking at a guy who you know when they talk about him they're talking about him the same uh breath as uh Pat friou in the sense not that he's the second coming but in the sense that he loves doing all those different aspects that a lot of times tight ends don't love to do obviously pass catching is one of them but he came in really just getting into the whole blocking aspect of it so I think you're gonna have Tyler Warren playing really well and then right below him you're goingon to have Andrew Rapier a chance to do some really good things he's big he's athletic everybody talks about his attitude and just kind of outgoing they call him baby grank because he's a little crazy in a good way we're told and I just think he has all those tools to be a guy who really emerges again I I look at that wide receiver group and if they aren't quite what they need to be early I think Andrew Raper is another one of those guys who could help offset that so I'm going with Andrew and little different kind of a breakout player but that's the fun of doing these things is we could look at it in different ways and then bust each other's you know what's over it Daniel has been kindly sitting by as me and Mark have been texting Jabs at each other and exchanging them in person and on the podcast this week and made his pick with without any drama to it where did you land well I want to say I went and I I checked the numbers uh in in the poll that that Mark put in the bottom of our uh uh of our of our post and Harrison Wallace is leading the way right now at 35% as a the breakout player because people are all taking that false notion of what a breakout player is pushing false narrative Daniel what kind of narrative are you I set up the poll by the way so if the if the votes are wrong it's it's my fault I can't I can't argue this isn't political I accept the poll reev results I think they're perfectly fine well my my pick's coming coming in second with with 24% right now and that's Liam Clifford I think that every time James Franklin got asked about Harrison Wallace this fall Liam Clifford was right there those two were pretty attached at the hip anytime that um anytime that the wide receivers were talked about and I think that Clifford we've heard good things about him uh not just from James Franklin but from Trey Wallace from other teammates I think there's a level of reliability there there's a level of experience his quarterback background in high school has come up being the little brother of Shawn having all that experience with someone who is in the NFL right now playing quarterback that has come up as something that has helped form Clifford uh as a receiver I do think that he adds a good level of Versatility uh to this Penn State offense he can play on the outside he can play in the slot he's got good size if he plays in the slot um and so and we've seen him do some nice things I mean that catch against Illinois last year along the sideline was probably one of the better moments for the Penn State wide receiver Corp last year um so I I think with Clifford I think he's very very well positioned um he has 21 career catches for 219 yards hasn't found the end zone yet in his career um but I think that he is definitely in position to be that number two wide receiver you you think about when that season Jan doson had where he went over 1100 yards one of the best receiving seasons in Penn State history Parker Washington was right there with I think 820 yards um I don't necessarily think any wide receiver will get that high or to will get that high given what Penn State has on the running game but I think that it'll be something similar where you're getting just really solid production from these two players and I think that Clifford is really going to take that step forward in year four at Penn State Daniel it's your turn to double dip you finished off that category and you get us going for our last one before we give our season predictions defensive breakout picks and Daniel lead us off yeah I was when you were talking about uh being in our bubble and kind of having perceptions of these players as already being broken out or already being kind of known Commodities uh that one struck me with with my pick because even though we didn't hear about him until the spring uh o davien Collins the cornerback who transferred in from Mississippi State last year um didn't really play last year uh a lot in front of him but by all accounts came out this spring knowing that there was an opportunity there and really tried to grab it by the horns um we'll see we've talked about it putting together the step chart where to put the ore at cornerback how many ores to put in where to put guys try to figure out what what the combinations are going to be it's something that I'm just interested to see on on Saturday just so I know that's what a lot of this stuff is for waiting to see Saturday like I just want to know how you know who's where how this is going to work um but by all accounts Collins had a great Camp great summer the wide receivers were quick to mention him uh as one the most improved players on the team and I think that that's something that can really shine through so I think that aavan Collins someone that probably you know a decent number of Penn State fans he probably isn't on their radar but he can break out put himself in that position and I think that you know he'll be that that dictionary definition of a breakout player by the time we get to December and has there ever been so much public praise for a guy who had eight defensive snaps the year before it's been unbelievable what we've heard about this guy with with Franklin repeatedly calling like pointing to him as his breakout and and Terry Smith saying he could be the best cornerback in the room it's just it's remarkable and now we'll see what comes to light as the season arrives I got the next pick and it feels like you know this was Taylor Made for Tony rohas considering the way we've talked about him since he showed up the campus in January of 2023 I I would I would compare him a bit to Andrew Raper situation A guy who walked in with the abilities and the physical tools to play at a high level at the power four power five level but he didn't need to because of what was ahead of him they stayed healthy they were productive at linebacker at the top of the dep chart it was one of the best defenses in America and so most of the time when we saw Tony roas the game was a bit out of hand but guys we noticed him every time right I mean whether it was the peach bow later Maryland when he had two takeaways I mean he was just a presence on the field and it sounds like that's what he has been on the practice field really going back to his freshman year he's already seemingly achieved this respected veteran status it feels like on the roster and it's kind of crazy he hasn't even started a game yet but I think he's going to become one of the faces of this defense maybe of this entire program eventually maybe it's sooner rather than later ultimately I I think you really can push for that mvp kind of acknowledgement by the end of the season if he stays healthy and he's out there and he's flying around with the speed that he brings it's just at a different level and on top of that I think he just wants to be great you hear about some of these guys that we've seen with the program over the years saquon Barkley uh Micah the guys on the current team you hear it about too mik Singleton just show up the campus they want to be great we're hearing about Cooper cousins that's what we're hearing about Tony Ross too and I know it's one thing to have that mindset the next to produce but I have confidence he's gonna go out there and really be a game Wrecker in a way that you know some of the other Blue Chip linebackers who have come to campus maybe didn't always materialize into that during their career and went to the NFL and had opportunities I think this is a guy that we will see him make that transition and become someone who can swing momentum at any given moment uh Mark where do you finish the conversation for defensive breakouts I want to apologize if my uh text message sound is coming across I was wondering who the hell that was you're not gonna believe who it is it's Dave Jones we finally retires he's texting me about the Phillies sure you you sure you want to share this I I'm trying to turn it off on my laptop and I'm worried that I'm to shut everything down so I apologize that Dave is texting me about the Philly so we thought we were reti we were done with him yeah he retires and now he's horning in sending like Morris code on so I'm like looking at this he's telling me about Taiwan Walker and I'm like I'm trying to say dude I'm doing a podcast here you know so anyway that's what's happening I figured people would get a kick I knew Daniel especially tell Dave I said hi yes Dave he's making his way back into a podcast one way or the other hey I'm gonna go with the guy who I think a lot of us figured could be in this position last year and Zaki Wheatley uh you know he was coming off a season the previous year which he had 373 snaps a couple of interceptions a fumble recovery and then last year it just wasn't there it was limited to 257 snaps the defense as a whole didn't play a ton of snaps but he was clearly behind jayen Reed and KJ Winston and it it just wasn't there for him uh this off seon Franklin James Franklin said the lights come on for him now it's just the level of maturity and when we talked Anthony Poindexter back in June I think it was he actually referred to Zack weat Zaki Wheatley as one of their three starters at safety which I I think we all realize that even though they may not start in a 425 I think we're going to see a lot of that with Jaylen Reed playing the line position that you talked about Zaki Wheatley was a two-time uh takeaway King back in 20122 I believe it was it was in the spring and the pre-season and then he reestablished himself as that in this pre-season so I think he's poised for a big year this is a little bit more along the Trey Wallace a guy who has played some football and has been in big games but I think he really has a chance to elevate things to a whole different level as that Center Fielder I I think there's going to be a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks maybe not this week with a running quarterback but I think it's a situation where uh he's going to be in a position to benefit from that uh you know maybe snagging interceptions or running up and picking up fumbles I think he's gonna make a bunch of big plays for them so I'm going with Zaki wheelie all right good stuff gentlemen uh fun to get that all out in the open we we'll see how silly or smart we look uh come Thanksgiving time and on these picks and this of course is the one that we're going to be measured on the most is our regular season picks for Penn State and that's how we'll finish this episode we hope this episode has done well to set the stage for you for season opener on Saturday uh Mark you're leading us off season record and whether or not Penn State makes its first playoff I do think Penn State makes its first playoff I'm going 10 and two I'm to the point now where Penn State's going to have to beat Ohio State under James Franklin to to to for me to believe that it's going to happen uh it should be a great opportunity for them to do it but they just seem to not function properly in late game situations so I'm gonna have to see that to believe it and then you know there's some other potential landmines but the game that is really sticking out to me is that USC game uh I've mentioned this I think I may have mentioned it before in the podcast even but Penn State's only traveled more than a thousand miles for an inseason game so we're not counting that very first game going over to Ireland because you have a different runup to that back in 2014 it was the Nebraska game back in 2020 they lost that game this is going to be 2500 miles each way they're talking about potentially leaving from Harrisburg maybe leaving earlier in the week anal the one thing we've learned about this program for better or worse and a lot of times it's for better is that they creatures of habit structure is the key every week being the same helps them be successful uccessful successful successful successful I wonder getting taken out taken out of that comfort zone how they're going to react so I know pen State's favored in the fpi I think given a 60 some percent chance to win that USC game but I just wonder with all the different things going around how they're going to adjust to making that trip and if it isn't that game there are some other landmines out there I mean Wisconsin is always a difficult place to play Minnesota Penn State didn't have a great trip there the last time it went and never sleep on Purdue I don't care how good or how bad Purdue is they can give people fits in that stadium so there are some different L Minds I look at them being 10 and two maybe right there on the cusp of getting a home game I think you could potentially sneak into a home game uh if if you have two losses depending on who those losses are to and that and and that you talked about oh you're willing to travel as far as you need to for a college football playoff game you might need to travel about two miles Mark you know if if that were the case here in Happy Valley I would that it would be the weekend before Christmas and what a setting that would be first round playoff game Daniel do you have Penn State putting themselves in the mix for such an outcome I do have Penn State making their first college football playoff I'm in I'm right along there with Mark 10 and two I thought that one of our commenters on on the Lions Pride on lions 247 pretty astutely noted uh maybe a little bit of gun shyness from us when it comes to picking Penn State to go 11-1 um but I'm in the same boat as Mark um I need to see it to believe it when it comes to Penn State and Ohio State and also I think there are some other landmines in here I know Mark talked about USC I think the Wisconsin game stands out to me coming off that bye uh if you go out to USC score a big win you come back you have a week off you know reamping to go to Wisconsin uh at Madison which is always a fun environment I think those Minnesota and Purdue games in November um those can be potentially dicey uh just being on the road and the sort of unpredictability when it comes to those opponents and you know Big 10 West teams getting up every once in a while um but I I just think that this Penn State team though is too talented to be outside of that top 12 um I think that you're going to see with Andy kod Nikki and Tom Allen know two playoff level offenses and defenses and I think that that is that will get Penn State in and I think that they can be in that 78 range maybe up towards six um to host that home playoff game all right well we're three for three on thinking that we're GNA have some extra coverage that it's not going to evolve a bll trip in December I do think they will punch their ticket to the college football playoff I also am going with 10 and two and the season will be defined by I think that three- game stretch uh at USC by week it's a it's a three- game stretch over four weeks at USC the bye week at Wisconsin in Ohio State Daniel you bring up all the potential factors at Wisconsin uh you know that could be a tremendous environment for the Badgers at home for that matchup a couple years ago Penn State got out of there by the Skin of Their Teeth um but like you said if they come out of the USC game we all have them beating West Virginia and I think that's probably the biggest hurdle that we see on the schedule before mid- October so if they were to be on beaten coming out of USC and ranked very highly hearing a lot of great things about themselves during the bye and and being featured nationally a bunch that does scare me because not only are you trying to come up and and reamp as you said but you've got Ohio State so there's every reason in the world to look past Wisconsin it's the very next Saturday Ohio State comes and visits you so I don't think that if you put these two teams on neutral field on Saturday Wisconsin and Penn State Penn State would have much of an issue I'd like them in that matchup but psychologically we've seen this crazy things happens and it can really mess with those matchups and I think just over the course of the season I haven't seen an 11on 11 rep from this offense I've heard a lot of nice things about how it's progressed how it's trickier all the great things Andy C nck he's going to do to put the best weapons in the best positions possible and how Drew all is going to take the next step but I haven't seen Drew Aller react to facing pressure from Abdul Carter I haven't seen Drew Aller Trust In Trey Wallace to throw a deep matched up against AJ Harris at cornerback uh I haven't seen Drew Aller you know take on Kobe King and and and hit Tyler Warren uh by reading the play just there's there's a bunch of stuff that I I can't just imagine and say it's going to happen in games and so for that reason I'm going to go ten and to I'm not faulting Penn State for not letting us in for a full scrimmage I'm just gonna be honest if we had seen some of this stuff and seen some explosive plays and seen Jal take a big step because I don't think Penn State's going to face a better defense than what they currently see in August I probably would have been more willing to go put my two feet on the bandwagon and say they can win 11 games they can win 12 games but I I can't do it just based off anecdotal evidence so I'm going to go 10 and two for Penn State I do think they get in the college football playoff and from there I think it's going to depend on the offense I think by the time we get to November this defense will really be at a similar level to where they were last year I truly believe they have the talent and I think Tom Allen does have the insight to get that done my question is will the offense be buzzing by November because if it's not then it could be a Repeat Performance of last year where you know they face a talented team in the playoffs and they're just not ready offensively but if that offense is buzzing this team can win the Big 10 title this team can win a college football playoff game in advance in it uh but but so much of it coming comes down to let's see it and that happens on Saturday and guys I appreciate you sitting with me for this Marathon edition of the Lions 247 podcast I know we've had a bunch of them in August but really try to give our listeners our viewers and our readers the best picture that we have of Penn State and the best way we could possibly do it this month and so I appreciate you both for for doing it alongside me and Mark Daniel any last words before you guys hit the road to Morgantown no it'll be fun I mean we'll be there typically several hours before the game so as you mentioned earlier be prepared for Notes From The Press Box uh something different to to to realize is that it's a larger travel roster for a non-conference game than it would be for a big 10 game so the guys who do travel some of the freshmen it may be a different look than what we see when the Big 10 schedule rolls around but look at forward to coverage before during and after the game yeah I'm definitely looking forward to getting out to Morgantown I covered a game there back in 2015 when I was covering Maryland and it was a great environment a ton of fun uh really enjoyed my time there uh and I think that Saturday's atmosphere as a season opener on national TV with two teams that have a lot of high expectations is going to be a ton of fun and I think that it's a game that can really live up to the hype so excited to get out there excited to get some answers and uh excited to get going and we'll get our first postgame podcast of 2024 coming your way Saturday win or lose they'll be plenty to talk about we'll do that Daniel will be down in Morgantown I'll be here at our Happy Valley headquarters and we'll break down what we saw and there'll be plenty of coverage coming out of this matchup snap counts coming your way on Sunday a lot of analysis on on this game one that we've been waiting a long time for on behalf of our whole crew at lines 247 want to quickly encourage you get over there take advantage of the 75% offer with our kickoff special but that's it for this episode on behalf of Daniel Mark Grace Brandon our photographer Tyler calvaruso our recruiting Insider big season ahead I'm Tyler down H this has been the Lions 247 podcast