Penn State adds another four-star prospect; exploring Lions’ depth chart on offense

welcome back into the lions 247 podcast I am Tyler donu we have a jam-packed show for you today we got another commitment to discuss got a lot of recruiting notes to review we've also got a basketball recruiting pickup that we'll get into a little bit later and then Daniel gallon and I are going to go position by position on Penn State's offensive personnel and start to work our way through what the depth chart could look like when the nitty Lions return to the practice field in early August from quarterback through offensive tackle you'll hear our take on everything uh some evolving circumstances across the positions including newcomers to the roster via transfer freshman class and then you've also got some veterans making strides there are injuries in play too uh so we'll break down that offensive depth chart a little bit later with without hesitation we'll bring in a familiar voice for everybody who's followed this podcast lately and that's Tyler calvaruso because a day doesn't go by anymore Tyler where we don't have Penn State football recruiting news to get into and lately it's been of the commitment variety that continues today we're recording on a Thursday figured we wouldn't go three consecutive days with the show but we came to you Tuesday in case you missed it breaking down the additions of top 247 quarterback Troy Hune out of California in the 2026 class and then Max Granville one of the Premier Edge rushers in the 2025 cycle at out of Texas committed to Penn State on Monday so go back to that uh Tuesday episode if you want to hear more about those two editions and if you want to hear about the weekend where Penn State added three commitments and lost two commitments go to our Monday episode all right fast forward to where we are now Thursday afternoon about 24 hours after Jaden Woods became the latest edition to the NY Lions 2025 class another top 247 Prospect fourstar out of Kansas another Edge rusher as well Deon Barnes is Catching Fire yeah it's been a heck of a run for Penn and Deion Barnes and specific here recently you go out and you get Max Granville on Monday and then 48 hours later you've got another top 247 standout in your class woods man when you look at his athletic profile multiport athlete everything that he's accomplished throughout his prep career it's it's another really really good get for Penn State there are people who think that he has first round pick potential at some point physically he is where he needs to be at around 63 and 240 one of those potential freak athlete freak build kind of guys for Penn State he's different than Granville in the sense that he's bigger but both are top end Edge rushers and Barnes wanted both these guys he's got them on board now it's starting to get a little bit crowded on the edge but it's getting crowded in a really positive manner here for Penn State you and I will will'll break down when we think they've got cooking right now in the 2025 Edge rusher class but getting back to Dion Barnes this is a guy who got the job as defensive line coach with the NY lions like the day before Spring ball of 2023 it was right before Spring ball started John Scott Jr left to take a job with the Detroit Lions at that point and so he he gets elevated he'd been around the program not just as a player in the past and an all big 10 performer in the past but as a a an assistant coach in that defensive line room here he is a year later we talked about what he brought in especially at defensive tackle in the 20124 group and that's going to really pay dividends I think long term for Penn State on the field in years to come but now the focus and the spotlight for us has to be on what they've accomplished at the defensive end position uh and so with that and the versatility going to different parts of the country and doing this how quickly is Dion Barnes elevating his stature not just as a coach but as a recruiter there were plenty of people who felt that once Barnes got really settled into an onfield role that he'd be able to recruit at this level and consistently get guys at this kind of a clip and now you're seeing it come to fruition now he has a lot to sell on the trail and not just in the sense that he played in the NFL and knows what it takes to get there from own personal experience he has now coached guys up and gotten them to the NFL too just had chop Robinson become a first round pick Adiza Isaac went off the board in the first half of that 2024 NFL draft going to the Ravens so it's just a matter of his own personal experience he's young he can relate to these guys and now he's got some pedigree too here early in his coaching career year one as an onfield guy and you're sending two guys off to the league as relatively high draft picks especially Robinson going in the first round with the dolphins it's just he has a lot of working for him on the trail right now and again he is a relatable guy a lot of these guys have backgrounds where they can relate to Deion Barnes and everything he's been through throughout his career as a player they feel that Pense is the place they could go they could be comfortable with Barnes and they could develop under his watch as well you saw that with Granville where Pence did a really good job selling the developmental aspect and it happened again with woods and also with Woods you know we'd be remiss to ignore the relationship between Woods's father and James Franklin you know Franklin recruited his father to play for him at Kansas State he trusted him with his career now he's trusting Franklin with his son so it kind of comes off Full Circle here in this situation really cool that little nugget involved recruiting process obviously something that was pretty pretty a big deal when you think about it in the trust involved in that relationship now Woods he had just come off a visit to Tennessee Purdue was in that mix um Florida Wisconsin um from what you've gathered why was this the recruiting Edge in favor of the nitty Lions the relationship was definitely a big part of it you know goes without saying when you have that level of trust it works in your favor and that's what Penn say was a big feather in its cap with Woods another situation where they did well on the developmental front Barnes torren Brown they just meshed well with woods and Tom Allen played a big part in that as well I mean we saw it with our own eyes Allen and woods chatting pretty for an extended period of time during that seven on seven tourament during Woods official visit weekend Allen was even offering some pass rushing advice and woods was very receptive to that so just throughout his visit you got the vibe that it was going really really well Frank quite frankly though for a little bit I thought it was going to be Purdue for Woods I I wasn't sure he was actually going to leave the Midwest Purdue was presenting itself as a pretty intriguing option him Tennessee came on strong I know the balls wanted him so and Wisconsin got Woods for an official visit as well so I I thought really thought it was gonna be Purdue for a little bit but Pence gets this one done comes down to the relationships comes down to the development excuse me the developmental aspect of his recruitment Pence they really hit it out of the park in that pitch let's get into the prospect profile of jayen woods a bit you mentioned the size 63 240 this is not a guy who's going to come to town and and you're gonna wonder how long's it going to take to get the weight on him he's already got that physique he's already got the the ability to carry that muscle mass he's proven that already at this age he's a three time football state champ but he's a three-time track and field Champion as well Mr calvaruso and people be like well what's the correlation we talked about it with JV Williams a couple years back how he was a shot putt champion and one of the Premier shot Putters really across the country in his high school class and Brian Dome broke down for us what you're looking at and and and and from an offensive lineman um and the way you have to be able to contort your body and use that torque and then show that power and just a lot that you can kind of grab and pull from some of these things two times discus champion and also in the shop putut he won a state championship on the football field he gets done as well 120 plus tackles 20 of those coming for loss 13 sacks in the last two seasons combined he's also somebody that that we've seen get out in the field Force some fumbles wreak some Havoc so when you kind of look at him in a vacuum before we get to the other defensive ends what kind of a prospect is pen stake going to add in 2025 and then what kind of a player do you think we could here in Happy Valley come 2027 2028 he already has really strong hands so I think that'll play pretty well for him early on in his career he knows how to get off Blocks he's good against the Run that's always big you know when you're a young Edge rusher a lot of those guys are so Zone did on their pass rush ability and getting after the quarterbacks you know sometimes they suffer in the Run game a little bit not the case with Woods he contributes plenty in that regard he's he's a really physical kid I mentioned the strength but he's just really physical with the way they he goes up against opposing offensive linean he he sheds blocks quite quite well in my opinion you know on the developmental side maybe his Bend can improve a little bit coming off the edge but that's something Barnes will work with him on so I think right off the bat you're getting a kid who's really strong and has a lot of traits that you know maybe he could see the field a little bit earlier if he kind of takes off in his development long term if he improves his Bend and just kind of you know really becomes more of an all-around pass rusher in that regard to continues to develop his moves I think Penn State's going to get a really really good Edge rusher here I like the upside I think there's a lot to work with here from bton the staff especially from a strength and conditioning program as well we mentioned with Granville being already physically put together Woods maybe even more so you know two physically impressive kids here that Chuck is gonna get the chance to work with and to add these guys within a 48 hour window just uh tremendous for Penn State staff and and looking toward that 2025 incoming class Woods by the way in our 247 Sports rankings number 167 overall he's the number 18 Edge rusher nationally and he's ranked fifth among all Rising seniors in the state of Kansas where he attends mil Valley High School that's in the city of shaune um when I look at this guy and I and you know reviewing a little bit of his highlights and at first I actually put on a sophomore film and and and I was like okay this is good and then I realized oh I'm watching 2020 2022 film here but I think the speed I mean initially he's like a one-on-one speed guy right like he's going to beat you off the edge he's going to win battles in Camp because he's got that speed but then you start to watch the junior film and and there's more power involved there there's a little bit more of a moves in the tool bag I think that's still a long way to go but what excites me here is I think maybe early on he was able to win so many of those battles with his speed he probably still can he won't be able to do that against tackles in the Big 10 so to see him already establishing that strength that power and oh by the way he reached the state tournament as a wrestler which I always anybody who's a standout wrestler and you're a football recruit that that's a win like that's something that we have to know about somebody so the competitive spirit is there it's a nice blend of strength and speed I know he's currently ranked like 15 to 10 spots ahead of Max Granville personally if I can only pick one of these guys or if I'm ranking them right now I would pick Granville just because of the explosive nature of his game um but when you talk about the physique that's already in place and the growth that it looks like is still ahead of Jaden Woods in a lot of different ways and just the multiport success he's had I think as you project them long term I can understand why Woods might end up being the more desirable NFL draft prospect but first we got to get him to campus and we got to see the coaching staff work with them and they've got to earn opportunities but those are the kind of talents you're adding here guys that eventually at the other end you're expecting to be highlevel NFL draft prospects when we're discussing them as top 200 recruits you know measurably I think that's kind of what has Woods ahead of Granville in the rankings when you take into account how important metri bubles are in terms of projection you know the way we do our ranking projecting to the next level and projecting to the NFL it comes back to what we talked about I think earlier in the week with Granville there just so much chop Robinson in him and we saw Robinson as an elite recruit in Granville is at that same level he's a little bit smaller and maybe not your prototypical Edge rusher while Woods kind of is your prototypical Edge rusher from a physical standpoint in terms of measurables at 63 and 240 if I had to pick one that's tough I think i' go with neither does Penn State I just you know but it's an exercise and we like to do those on on the podcast yeah no it makes it fun I enjoy it it's just it's tough because it depends on what you weigh you can't go wrong with either I think personally I'd probably lean Granville right now just because whenever I watch his tape and I watch him win on the outside you see the first step he's twitched up he's got the bend that maybe Woods doesn't necessarily have right now but I think both could really be high level pass rushers for Penn State but if I had to go with a guy right now I'd probably lean Granville but man that's uh that's probably one of the tougher calls of the cycle when it comes to evaluating two prospects in the same class well the beautiful thing about defensive end and the game of football is you get multiple guys out there on the field we're not talking about a two quarterback class here in fact we're talking about as it stands now maybe a fourman edge rusher class and we'll get to to why that's a little murky but you've got the two guys that have come on board just since Monday and that we just discussed in depth but remember I mean if it feels like it was a long time ago but Penn State picked up an edge rusher and Cortez Harris on Sunday evening and you know that was that was a significant pick up for Dion Barnes and then the the the fourth name that we put in there and know we say kind of sort of because linebackers in play there but desan Bernett out of Pittsburgh's ammani Christian and I'm I'm just saying I was on The Fringe with this and we and I talked to Brian D National recruiting analyst after Bernette committed uh and we we broke down you know is he is a RI Fisher type where he comes to campus for a year plays linebacker and then all of a sudden shows up as defensive end for his second Spring ball but when we saw him in person at that seven on seven tournament in early June Tyler I just have a hard time not just fast tracking right to Deion Barnes and saying let's see what you can do at defensive end I think having the guys on board now on the edge that Pence does have on board it offers the staff a little bit more flexibility in what it wants to do with brunette you know if you want to keep him at linebacker now you have those numbers in place on the edge I think there's still very much a possibility that he lands on the edge his physical development I think is very well going to take him in that direction he's already pretty thick but again you know Pence to have de's linebacker the best spot for him now you can do that without to worry about oh we don't have enough edges or we don't have enough bodies at the position because that's not the case at this point Harris Woods Granville puts Penn State in the position that it needs to be and they would still welcome another Edge rusher on board if the right opportunity presented itself you know Zahir mattisse was on campus for an official visit last weekend same time as courtz say Harris and Penn State's gonna remain involved there so we're gonna have to see what comes about on that front I mean you want to talk about you know putting your money where your mouth is maybe for the pen State staff and saying you know zah here we'd like to have have you but we have other options and then you follow that by picking up three commitments at the position I'm not saying that's the conversation that was had but Zahir matys isn't exactly getting wasn't exactly getting like a treatment like we are not going to take any other Edge rushers until you make your decision there was no tiptoeing arounds to hear Mattis and and I just think as you mentioned there's probably room for him in the end at the end of the day regardless of what's happening and I'm not going to roll out the fact that Bernett maybe ends up under Tom Allen's watch for at least a year you know and and you see what he can do it linebacker and if it works there then all of a sudden you've got a really special specimen at the at the second level of your defense this is a class though that has 19 commitments as we stand on on Thursday afternoon remember it was at 11 commitments on the morning of June 10th number six ranking nationally number two among all big 10 programs and quite frankly it's Ohio State at number one it's Penn State there at number six and then there's a pretty big gap Ruckers is currently the third team followed by Wisconsin it's an 18 team conference there's a lot going on right now but do you think Penn State has been able to separate itself I think there's been some question about what this new era of the Big 10 is going to look like from a recruiting standpoint from a competitive standpoint you're bringing in some heavy weights from the from the West Coast how is that going to throw everything in flux it feels like in the past week especially with these top 247 guys and then you throw in Troy Hune Penn State really pounding their chest a little bit whether you want to talk about their nil cap abilities which are on the rise their coaching staff's abilities or what they can offer as a program because they're getting it done right now now I can only speak from my own experience this has to be the hottest I've seen Penn State get on the trail since I've been on the beat you know James Franklin has had some pretty impressive run of commitments in the past but this just has I mean we were talking about leading into today six commitments in five days and we're talking about multiple top 247 prospects among that group and then you go back even earlier in the month you're getting a top 100 guy in D dick you're getting another top 100 Corner in jir Joseph you're getting a borderline fourstar Prospect in Antonio Branch so you're hitting on a lot of really talented prospects you know these aren't marginal prospects where we're sitting here talking about H why is he in the class we're talking about guys who are really really strong prospects and it's pretty easy to identify their upside so it's definitely going well for Penn State on the trail right now I think that's just the best way to put it and you also have to take into account there's a good chance there's more good news you know coming on the trail for Penn State moving forward there are still multiple top targets out there for the taking and nitty lines happen to be in a good spot with the kind of a majority of those guys at this point I you get the sense that and we've seen this kind of annually now with the current recruiting calendar structure and the way Penn State has approached things the class feels full a lot by the time this team gets to training camp like by the time they're on the field with pads in August it's basically a conversation of two three spots maybe and they got to be really good guys to fill those spots so we'll see if they can get to that point obviously the staff would prefer to uh and there's decisions to come a decision actually came this week and Penn State fans have been spoiled but not everything has gone in the nney Lions Direction Brandon finny for a while felt like he was training toward Happy Valley a guy that the staff and specifically Terry Smith had built a strong relationship you've discussed in the past some comparisons there to Joey Porter Jr guy who could end up you know top 100 Talent top 247 guy right now goes to Oregon he's making a a cross- country trip ultimately is his plan in 2025 from Maryland the McD school which has been a pipeline out to join the Ducks I I think we got to keep tabs on this just because of the nature of the lack of proximity between him and his future campus but this was a bit of a surprise and we could be talking about an even hotter if you can imagine Penn State recruiting streak right now you kind of moved in the other way pretty quickly for Penn State I mean really going into the day Penn State felt like the favorite but Oregon made its late move as it as it tends to do on the recruiting Trail you've seen Oregon go from Z to 100 with targets who are high on their board pretty quickly and that happened here with finny we know Penn State's not going to go away with Finny the N lines are going to continue to try with him and when you factor in the geographical aspect of it although some you know aspects of that were alleviated when finny made it to Oregon for his official visit Penn State is still you know the closer option the relation ship at MCD are good so Penn State's not going to give up on this one they're not going to give up on finny until he signs so this is definitely one that will be tracking moving forward in the coming months he's off the board to Oregon though and really no matter how you slice it it's definitely a loss for Penn State n Lions have a great cornerback Hall but finny would have taken things next level he's he's a really really good Prospect he's a great player I've seen him in person and Oregon they're getting a good one it's one of those things like oh well we'll try to catch him during his college career if he ends out in Oregon have fun in the Pack 12 and then you're like oh wait like he could be playing yeah we're going to see him in the conference and it's just it's a whole different reality now and you know if you missed it last week on our last Thursday episode we had a conversation with our 247 Sports USC beat reporter about them coming on board and playing Penn State and it's just it keeps hitting you in different ways and getting reminded about the new reality of the Big 10 um looking at the class you can go through a lot of names at the Top This is how long you got to go to get to an offensive name Darius Dixon Jaden Woods Max Granville jir Joseph Dean Bernett and then you have Brady O'Hara which is an interesting one because he's the probably the offensive prospect that we know the least about in terms of what he's going to mean for Penn State Long Term but my point is this is skewed defensively as things currently stand and one of those big names that's been on the board for a long time at wide receiver is Jeff exer also out of the McDon school he's got a decision coming on Friday is it really possible here in the 2025 cycle for as hot as Penn State is that they could go 0 for two to at MCD I'd lean no at this point you know just more checking in throughout the day-to-day maryn definitely made a big push for exner coming out of its official visit TPS did a really good job with him but pens has been in contact with exner since that visit and I I think Penn State's still in the best spot to get this one done the relationship with Kenny Sanders looms really really large here and Penn State's favor and exner has formed a pretty good relationship with Marcus Hayes throughout his process and Penn State's nice job of pitching egar on his potential role in Anthony C n's offense and how they'll get him the ball in that system so I still lean Penn State at this point for edar he's gonna be going off the board seven o'clock Eastern Friday night it's funny because I just feel the question on the board why haven't we heard a lot of noise on offense specifically at wide receiver lot of these guys just frankly I mean they haven't announced yet we're kind of get into the thick of it with announcements and I think exner could be one that definitely goes Penn State's way yeah there's a bunch of guys we talked about as pass catchers and that have been important to Penn State maybe no one as important in that regard as Andrew Oles um even though you are so stacked at the tight end position this is an elite premium Prospect at that spot and he's in your home state um but reporting coming out of his official visit uh tour in June uh now indicating I believe it was and was it Brian Don who had the who had the story I don't want to miss Brian D who who he spoke with um Alabama and Michigan have separated themselves as he kind of huddles up for a decision that's he he hopes to make here within the next week that means that the two other schools he visited Florida and Penn State have not separated themselves they've drifted back a bit and so with that being said barring a surprise where Penn State Lea frogs the other two favorites at this stage what does it mean for the dney cin class and is another tight end still on the to-do list if olish isn't in the class you he was he's a top 100 inate guy the staff really wanted you know this just kind of The Facts of it they loved olish as a prospect they love who he is and they would loved to have him in this class but they're really bullish on Matt Henderson's potential you know the tight end Prospect from Virginia who's been in the class since a little bit earlier in the spring and really it's just a matter of Michigan did a really good job with all shers official Bama did a good job with all shers official visit and we didn't really get the sense I think coming out of his penate official visit to the nitting Lions made as much of a move as those two programs so doesn't surprise me if those two are the finalists it really doesn't you know those two they did well Florida got an official forish as well and they didn't make the cut either bman Michigan definitely trending here right now based on the reporting and when it comes to Penn State and their tight end class moving forward with Henderson Erie on board they've been shipping away at a two tight end class I think olish is really the center of that conversation there have been conversations elsewhere as well I mean we just saw another name who was popular in State tight end recruiting circles for a little bit Brody lennin he just went off the board to Ohio State he was going to be in state college for an official visit during this last weekend of June but he camped at Ohio State got the offer scrapped Penn State in in favor of a visit to Columbus and once Ohio State alord he just kind of got the sense of where that one was going he's a legacy his father attended the school so Buck guys that get that one done it's another potential name off the board and like I said there's uh there's conversations elsewhere as well at tight end so that's kind of the state of things with all this trending elsewhere but P if Penn State winds up sign just one tight end and Henderson they'll be fine with that and let's be real about it there are many many tight ends out there who would absolutely jump off a cliff to get a Penn State offer I mean they wouldn't have a hard time picking up a second tight end but they have every right to be selective the way they have recruited there Henderson is a developmental Prospect he's not a guy I think any fans should expect to come in and Flash as a freshman but let me give you a little reminder Here Andrew rap and Luke Reynolds both carry freshman eligibility here in 2024 so they're in a really good spot long term and short term at the tight end position but uh no can't sugarcoat it uh Andrew oish is is a miss here in in the cycle um let's go to a guy that that you can say that that oish was a major priority but maybe no one's as important from a positional standpoint right now than as Malachi Goodman top 247 offensive lineman ad of pamis Catholic he is ready to choose between well he's not quite ready yet but he is going to choose between Alabama Auburn Georgia Penn State and USC uh told Brian Don here this week that he's targeting a July August commitment timeline and also told him that he's done visiting these schools he's made his official visits uh he's made other visits in the past and he thinks that the info and the homework and that part is that chapter is over so we're entering the final stretch with Malai Goodman and when you look around what's left on the offensive line board for p State sure seems like an important piece of the puzzle here oh it's crucial he he's been the top guy on that offensive line board for an extended period of time now and we've kind of reached a point in the cycle where with Max Buchanan committing to Miami on Wednesday night he was on campus for an official visit over the weekend we've kind of reached the point where Goodman's really the only relevant name because Penn State's not going to go out and reach on a guy that it's not sold on so that makes Goodman kind of the whole board right now in a sense he's definitely the center of the focus for fil TR staff and Penn State has fared well with him it's been very clear to Goodman for a long time that he's a priority for this Penn State staff and they want to get him on board I think that has helped the nney Lions had maintain staying power with him while the SEC has come calling while USC on the west coast has come calling Auburn's done a pretty good job with Goodman kind of get the sense that Penn State and Auburn are probably the two fighting this one out the hardest right now USC is very much involved as well well maybe a little bit less likely because the West Coast element but Penn State and Auburn are they kind of offer a similar home feeling in a sense but I think at Penn State it's more of a regional option the relationship with the staff is longer standing and the NY allons have put themselves in a position to fight this fight and you know the staff is hoping it comes out on the right side but we're not going to have an answer to that until next month at least maybe even two months if he goes in August P State 19 commit on board I think we've done our best to go in depth on who they all are especially as of late uh but I know Tyler you're going to have some recruiting board reset type stuff coming maybe early next week uh we're going to do our best to do that here on the podcast too because probably gonna be time to catch our breath eventually but the decisions aren't done and Malachi Goodman is is a really really crucial one to follow deeper into the summer appreciate perspective there but we shift gears because Penn State basketball officially on the board with their 2025 class and and our segment will finish here we'll have Daniel gallon on in just a moment to break down the offensive depth chart for Penn State as we look ahead towards preseason camp but let's get into it with this nitty Lions Edition on the court it's an instate pickup and it's a big man yeah Justin Hower from Phelps School this is really an upside play for Penn State and I don't think that should be viewed in with a negative connotation or through a negative lens because Hower is essentially the modern day big he's a seven-footer who moves really well offensively he's a lefty he's got a nice stroke from three so he could space the floor stretch the floor you know he's not going to be knocking threes down like crazy but he's a threat from Beyond The Arc and if you think about Penn State basketball and what Mike RH is looking to accomplish specifically on offense one of the big reasons why he brought in yanic nouser out of the transfer Portal from Northern Illinois was the desire to get a stretch big who could shoot threes open things up offensively that's essentially what Hower is at this point and again I think he moves really well for a kid his size I think he controls his body really well for a prospect or a teenager at that his size he's gonna have to fill out physically there's no doubt about that defensively that's where the physical development is going to be the biggest because you can see the desire that he plays with he wants to be physical and he wants to be aggressive but he goes up against bigs who might be a little bit further along in their physical developments and they'll beat him more times than not so he's going to have to get stronger and that's perfectly fine no again he's a seven-footer still filling out his frame this is what Brent Scott wanted to get on board Howard didn't have a really a impressive offer list it was a lot of mid- major and low major programs Temple was probably the other biggest name on the sheet but this is one Penn State really really liked its evaluation they liked the developmental aspect here and they think Hower has plenty of upside that he could bring to the program so fact that he's an instate guy too I don't think this is a bad way for Penn State to start his 2025 class first get for Mike rhods and his guys before we say goodbye um Mike rhods I I would say by most accounts exceeded expectations with how the team performed during that first year they were right on the doorstep of the NIT one game under 500 and I think perhaps even more importantly building upon that the continuity they now have in place and and our colleague Daniel gallon has a story up on Thursday about that that that carryover from last year the fact that a lot of guys opted in rather than hitting the transfer portal or trying to turn pro or doing whatever with their eligibility and so I'm going to ask you on the recruiting Trail you've done a lot of college basketball recruiting coverage in the past I think you have a pretty good gauge of at least this region what is Mike rhods working with right now versus where he was this time last year when he was new to campus so anytime you could go out and have a decent first season I know it didn't really translate in the sense that Pence they was playing in the postseason and that's what some recruits will look at and see you know they be playing postseason basketball it's just kind of how it is but they can see the tangible strides that were made in year one I think there's an understanding that rhods had to build his roster a certain way through the transfer portal in year one it's a way that he has said himself that it's really not what he wants to do he wants the lifeblood of his program to be high school recruiting and then using the portal to supplement needs and you even saw his transfer portal approach this off season he was getting younger guys guys are multiple years of Eligibility kind of achieve a class balance not just have veterans and then a bunch of freshman running around he wants to achieve balance and I think he was able to do that with his transer portal recruiting now you're starting to see some high school Success I mean Penn Saint signed a top 25 class right off the bat in this first full cycle on board so I think you're starting to see the recruiting chops of this staff shying through I I think Penn stage's generating a little bit more buzz in the region as well for the nitty Lions to be in it with a top 100 point guard like kayen Mingo who plays in New York and has a pretty extensive offer list of regional options and programs who are more established as winners I think you're starting to see not necessarily a shift because it's too early for that and you know again tangible success needs to come but Penn State is definitely generating more chatter in Regional recruiting circles in my opinion and I think you're seeing it with a guy like Mingo being a perfect example where Pence is going to get that official visit locked in Jamal brunt does a great job recruiting in the DMV for Penn State so the n are going to be players for guys down there you're seeing that with Cam Ward who's a four-star Prospect who could very well wind up at Penn State for an official visit and either August or September we have to see how his timeline and his schedule winds up playing out but I think you're going to see Penn State be a factor in recruiting with this staff and they scored some pretty big wins in year one there were some signature wins on that schedule and if you could continue stockpiling that in year two go on the road win some big big 10 games and make some noise you know beating a team like Illinois in year one it sends some waves I know it's one game but it definitely sends some waves that it's a program on the upswing and I think you're starting to see the recruiting efforts reflect that The Versatile Tyler calvaruso he can do basketball he can do football he can talk about them both here for us and um We're not gonna talk to you again until July so I just want to say man you crushed it don't say that man you never know these days I don't plan on recording a podcast this week myself it's fine well we'll see but I don't think we will hear from you again until July so I want to tip my cap to you and and make sure our listeners understand that as well the work you put in this month was outrageous um we really appreciate it I know our members do at the site um and you absolutely crushed it man so thank you I appreciate that man you it's always a team effort man everyone does a great job here and uh I appreciate it definitely means a lot so we're going to keep this thing rolling and I'm sure we have a lot more for you guys here pretty soon my last note here and I think a lot of listeners are going to appreciate this one you are following in the footsteps of me Tyler Donahue and transplanting yourself from the Garden State of New Jersey to Pennsylvania you're Crossing that border in July welcome to Pennsylvania we'll put that out there too yep I'll uh I'll be one of you guys here soon I'm looking forward to it I'm already I'm in the process so pretty soon this background that you see if you're watching on YouTube it's uh it's going to be a little bit more I guess optim better it's going to be less Bland hopefully we'll see let's continue this episode of the Lions 247 podcast by going to Daniel gallon our colleague at lines 247.com and we are only about five weeks away from getting back onto the Penn State practice fields for the start of preseason camp uh Ready or Not Penn State media beat it's almost time to get back into it um we're going to do a bit of an exercise on this episode do our best here at Midsummer to piece together what we think the projected depth chart is going to look like when preseason camp does open now there's some injuries in play there there's some newcomers who were still trying to sort through what exact their role will be but Daniel the time is now you know Prospect camps are behind us June is wrapping up and when you look ahead you still got lash Bash that's a big recruiting event in Late July but coaches are going to take some time maybe get a little vacation players are going to get home maybe unwind a little bit but ultimately this is now a moving sidewalk it's getting Faster by the day and it's going to lead us into preseason camp that first week of August I mean every every single day on lines 247 we see Countdown the kickoff just get lower and lower and lower um and August 31st is going to be here before you know it a you know media day and early August that'll be here before we know it and so it's a it's a good time to kind of see where things stand right now maybe give ourselves a little bit of a refresher with the roster and kind of set the stage maybe for some position battle some Intrigue and everything else that comes along with the territory yeah we're about a month away less than that now from flying out to Indianapolis for Big 10 media days that's basically the fin final tuneup before we get to see this team on the field we'll get in front of James Franklin some players there'll be 18 different Big 10 conference representations out there uh but but that's still a ways off so we're working off of the information gathered through conversations with with staff members things we observed during spring practice and also just applying logic from covering this team for several seasons now and we're going to begin on offense it's worth noting as usual that both sides of the ball have a new coordinator working at the top of that order with the coaching staff on offense it's Andy codal Nikki made the move from Kansas in December he was named the 247 Sports offensive coordinator of the year last year so pretty splashy pick up for James Franklin and naturally the quarterback room it's not under his guidance we're used to that Daniel where the offensive coordinator also wears the head of quarterbacks coach around here that's not the case anymore you've got Andy codal Nikki as the offensive Mastermind and then you've got Danny O'Brien working intimately with those quarterbacks K Nikki very much involved with with the process with the QBs very much involved with recruiting the quarterbacks but this is a different dynamic in place before we get to the components of this room the structure of leadership although Danny O'Brien's been around the program for multiple Seasons it does have a different feel here in 2024 I I think we got a good look at that uh during Prospect camps where over the past couple of years when Mike yich was the offensive coordinator and we pretty much only saw him with the quarterbacks uh over the course of those afternoons over over at the the Lash Fields every once in a while while if there was like a particular Prospect who was getting put through the paces or that someone else was evaluating individually he might go over there um and watch that but you know it felt like mostly you know yuch was with the quarterbacks that was kind of his domain with Andy codel Nikki there we kind of saw him looking at a little bit of everything um over the course of of a camp you know whether that was lineman tight ends you know receivers spent you know a decent amount of time with quarterbacks but when it was quarterback time I mean that was Danny O'Brien you know that's who um that's who was kind of leading things that's who the these players were these campers were working under um and so I think that that's kind of a little bit of a preview um of of how how things could go I know that we we saw a little bit of that in the spring too but it's going to be an interesting interesting structure O'Brien still has the still a graduate assistant technically and added that those quarterbacks responsibilities and I'm you know really interested to see you know what this looks like I think that we've heard so much about the excitement from him both as a recruiter as a coach as kind of a strategist and I think that you know we'll really get that now um you know with him having that full quarterback's coach a title and everything so it's gonna be an interesting room I mean there's talent in it and so we'll see how O'Brien molds it and how that fits in with Andy codal Nikki does Danny O'Brien had a role in acquiring every single quarterback in this room Andy codal Nikki did not have a role in bringing any of them on board to campus and he has gained Steam and getting to know them since December he said a lot of good things about Drew Aller over the course of spring bowl and now into summer as recent as as late June and talking about his insatiable hunger to improve and his ability to look in the mirror which isn't always so easy for quarterbacks particularly coming from that five- star pedigree and we're not going to go give a player profile on every single guy in every one of these position rooms we're g this is more of a experiment to look at the competitive battles that are brewing in spots and so we know who qb1 is Daniel it's Drew Aller 25 touchdown passes two interceptions last year and as we've said time and time again that doesn't quite reflect the body of work that he put out as a first year starter uh three games that they lost under 50% a completion percentage two of those on on the largest stages that Big 10 conference play was going to offer them in 2023 naturally when you shift away from the quarterback coach and offensive coordinator who actively recruited you to campus and spent the first two seasons with you on campus there's going to be some changes so we're all looking ahead to what Drew Aller that might entail I think we've all noted fans out there have noted it he looks trimmer this year uh there has been some discussion from Chuck losy the strength coach from different members of the staff about the important nature of having a mobile quarterback with what they want to do does that mean they're going to run uh Drew Allard like he's Trace Murley no but there needs to be a threat presented there and there's certainly a threat presented by who we are projecting as qb2 Daniel in BO Andy codal Nikki told us a couple weeks ago that he views Pula as one of the most impressive weapons in this offense you just look just looking around guys who are ballers he he views pulla in that kind of a light because of his athletic uh holds him a very high athletic regard but not much about his passing ability from Andy codol Niki to this point so those are the two guys that we expect to see in game action the question really is how early how often is Bo prula involved as a red shirt sophomore and what exactly is he doing yeah I I think that that's something that has really carried over from last year uh given how much James Franklin teased the the involvement of pilo with the game plan and then that not really coming to fruition in the two biggest games of the season um I think that that's something that has has really stood out um you know as time has gone on and we saw what Andy cotal Nikki did at Kansas with you know the combination of Jaylen McDaniels and and Jason bean and any other quarterback you know he had a couple on the field at a time um and usually found success with that and so you know I think that that's kind of what we're going to look at you know the one note on Aller uh he was listed at 238 on the latest roster update um and I went back and I am pretty sure that that this is the first time he's been listed under 240 um since his first spring here in Spring 2022 um I believe he was announced at 225 on signing day he was at 229 um that spring and then in summer 2022 he was up into the 240s um and that's where he stayed so you I think that you know people have talked about seeing it um and you know seeing him be a little bit more trim uh and that's reflected um in that uh you know in the official roster weight um so but yeah I I think that these top two are are pretty locked in it's just almost a question of how much are they going to share the field together they came in together in January of 2022 Aller of course burned red shirt on likee pulo so now he's a junior and then beyond those two the qb3 conversation is about a couple players carrying freshman eligibility the red shirt Jackson smolik and then the true freshman Ethan grun who got to campus in January got through all Spring ball not just got through Spring ball Daniel but he was able to really benefit from a rough situation for Jackson smik we don't know the details but smik was unable to complete uh spring practices due to an injury we learned that he would miss a significant po period of time does that mean he's not out there throwing passes in August will wait to get there but naturally this has opened the door uh for gramer to put himself not just in in in play to be on the Travel roster but to really be if something happens with one of the top two guys he could really be in a situation where Andy Kel Nikki Danny O'Brien have to have the trust to put him insert insert him inside of a liveaction game yeah when when I was doing this exercise earlier today um I went ahead and penciled in grono Meer as the three um just because you know with smik I believe it was he was another one that's been out indefinitely um that's been the the langu anguage used around all the injuries this spring which you know I think that if you're the coaching staff and you're Penn State that's the word that you want to use um because it doesn't uh tie you into any timeline for us we'd like to know you know we'd like to have a timeline like to know a little bit more but it's not really how how things are going to work but you I think that grank Meer just had a great opportunity this spring and we got good feedback on him and you know we'll see where you know where smik is physically by the time we get to August by the time we get around to September but I think gram Meer is in a you know really nice spot um you know to to be in that number three spot obviously some of it has to do with smolik but you know given the type of prospect that gramer was and kind of the the early feedback that we got from him a little bit you know he seemed like that you know all things being equal he could have pushed you know to be in this position anyway and it sounds like ramar was able to get through the chaotic portion of hitting a a power five practice field and dealing with all the Defenders and and even your own teammates moving just at a different pace and the coaching staff demanding new things of you and by the time he got through Spring ball was was really able to be in command a bit more as much as you can be as a first semester freshman and we quietly heard some nice things about Jackson smolock and what he put together behind the scenes his first year on campus his deep ball was something that was kind of a topic of conversation whenever his his name came up but when you miss these spring practices uh and you open the door for a talent like Ethan grun my uh you've got some catching up to do you've got some rusts to knock off down the road it'll be something we watch closely as this team regroups in August uh moving over to running back uh it's a situation much like this where there's two names that we know we're going to see uh involved and and and probably a lot more than we'll see two quarterbacks involved but Nick Singleton and KRON Allen and then the conversation gets a little trickier but let's start at the top I mean we spoke with Nick Singleton over at lift for life just a couple weeks ago and you know I don't quite know if he realizes and we asked him this I feel like every time how unique and special the fact that him and KRON Allen have a three-year partnership in modern college football where you've got guys looking for bigger pieces of the pie whether it's bigger piece of the pie in the Playbook or a bigger piece of the pie in the nil conversation and yet here these guys are both have their statistics uh neither have had you know Bellow moments where they're a asked to carry the ball 30 times a game but the wear and tear has been limited for them they've been available they've made it work and through it all and I mean let's face it there have been tampering allegations and you better believe that that these running backs are are targeted in those tamper allegations they're still here they're GNA hit their third preseason camp together and I think it speaks volumes about their mindsets and really what jaywan cider has established in that room during the course of his career which goes back to 2018 I have to remind myself sometimes how long he has been on campus yeah I think when you talk about the the running backs and having these two guys partnered at the top top um you this is one of those positions where you can really do that and you know create that balance and and create that kind of partnership um you know quarterback obviously there's just one on the field at all times receivers you know you can have a couple on the field but a lot of that is kind of predicated on your your quarterback your game plan um you know there's there's a lot that goes into it but you know I think that running back it's kind of counterintuitively I think that is a position where you can keep multiple guys happy for a long period of time in this this current environment um just because you can you know get guys the ball and then you put the carrot out there that you want to be fresh when you get to the NFL NFL teams don't want to see you necessarily coming in with you know I don't know like three 250 carry Seasons uh or you know four 250 carry Seasons something like that um so I think that Penn State is just very you know nicely positioned right now uh at at the top of their running back dep chart and I'm excited to see what that looks like and I mean it's it's tough to to wrap your head around next Singleton because this time last year we were talking about him maybe being a Darkhorse Heisman Trophy kind of contender after being Big 10 freshman of the year and then it took a long time it really in fact took until Mike yuch lost his job for us to really see Nick Singleton in full effect and getting loose in big moments it happened against Michigan State it happened certainly in the Peach Bowl and and he put together a really strong finish meanwhile KRON Allen feels like Mr consistent from game one of his career to to game game 26 of his career but I know that something both of these guys are excited about beyond the potential to share the field together remember last time we saw them they were both actually starting we've called them co-starters but they never actually St started together except for that Peach Bowl but they have both hinted strongly Daniel that there's going to be opportunities to see them in other roles beyond the back field as pass targets and I think it's something they're very excited with Andy cotal Nikki and I think that Segways really nicely into the next couple of names because you talk about versatility and Quinton Martin has been described as this really exciting Swiss army knife piece for this backfield and for this offense and just hearing jaywan cider really Rave about what they have in Quinton Martin and going from a player that you know this time last year when he was coming to camps they weren't sure if he was going to be you know the next Mah parsons's at linebacker or a cornerback or a safety or a wide receiver which they certainly feel like he could play but he proved to be a running back and in those Camp circuits he showed that to jaywan cider but he went out and caught about 800 receiving yards as a senior leading his team to a state championship Victory he had a thousand yards rushing but this is truly someone Daniel that if we were talking about him on the receiver depth chart or the running back depth chart I'm not sleeping on him and he missed some time in the spring and so that's a little bit of a hurdle for him to clear I wonder what we might be discussing now if he had an entire spring but he finished it off with a couple touchdown runs in the blue white game everything we've heard about him is how far he's Advanced fundamentally and technically and we know where he's at in terms of what he's gotten as Arsenal from a versatility standpoint we saw it firsthand last year at Team facilities in a couple different camps so to me I I I'm burying cam Wallace a little bit and I'm gonna get to that in a moment but there's so much Intrigue about what he can do and at a lot of schools I think you have to turn to Quinton Martin as a primary ball handler for you in your back field pretty early but when you show up and you got junior Nick Singleton and KRON Allen it's a really nice situation to get a feel for what you have in preseason camp maybe he develops into a really dangerous Gadget type player for you in the regular season and then he's ready to blossome in 2025 when it feels like all bets are going to be off in the running back conversation with KRON Allen and Nick Singleton likely to move on yeah I I think when you look at at Quinton Martin uh it's and this backfield I mean there's only one ball to go around and you know Nick Singleton and KRON Allen are going to get theirs so you're you kind of try to figure out where he and and cam Wallace could come in but I think the one thing that they have going for them is that Andy cotal Nikki doesn't really strike me as the type of offensive coordinator the type of play caller who's gonna forget about guys you know who is going to allow talented players to disappear uh for stretches which is something that you know you see every every now and again um so I'm excited to see how they use Quinton Martin um I thought that he you know he looked like he belonged out there in the blue white game even with missing time in the spring um and you know we'll see what that looks like when it's full speed um you know the full you know full Playbook um you know how how he's being used and and by the way I mean I mentioned him but cam Wallace deserves to be right there front and center in that conversation Beyond Nick Singleton and K ralen I got a little excited talking about the the new arrival but let's face it I mean in in in our defense cam Wallace has as many college carries as Quinton Martin does right and even though he was on campus for a full calendar year at this point um we still don't know what it looks like when he lines up against Big 10 opponents but we do know I mean what it looked like when he lined up against Penn State defenders in the blue white game very physical and that's an aspect of his game that has really come on uh during his second year on campus and it sounds like he really was able to find confidence during the second third week Midway point of Spring ball and he never relinquished it and it carried over through the blue white game in front of a Bieber Stadium crowd and you know we've called that a glorified practice but I think for a guy like cam Wallace to go out there and deliver some moments and look the part in in that kind of a setting it means a little bit more and so as much as we can Rave about the versatility of Quinton Martin the availability wasn't always there for him in March and April it was there for Cen Wallace he came through the other end I think as a a favorite for the number three job I don't think there's much distance there I don't know if there's any distance there in terms of a gap between him and Quinton Martin but really excited to see cam Wallace because when you talk to jaywan cider again he just describes a freshman who was an athlete in every sense of the word last year and now he's describing a red shirt freshman who has found a home at running back and and I'll remind our listeners they brought this guy in with a contingency plan he was the second running back they they brought him in after they already had a commitment from Lon Montgomery who's now at East Carolina and they did so knowing that if they had a fall back and he wasn't really a fit for running back and it wasn't the right uh future for him there were other options receiver defensive back but he has found that fit so those are the two guys battling Beyond Nick Singleton and KRON Allen that that we're really expecting to see in August and and again could mean a lot more than rb3 this year could mean a lot for next year and and we have to mention Corey Smith got the campus he's going to be in a developmental kind of phase right now trying to to keep his head on straight and get on the field and and with everything moving fast around him so more of a back burner name a guy to file away for next year U but Corey Smith also comes to town with the four-star pedigree and I guess that kind of puts it in perspective where you can kind of file a name away despite that that highly rated recruit just because of what they already have in this room right now yeah I I set my my board up almost exactly the same as you did um with you know Nick Singleton and KRON Allen sharing line one cam Wallace and Quinton Martin sharing line too and then Corey Smith after that um yeah I I think cam M might be the might be off to think about you know a wide receiver but I think cam might be the player I'm most excited to see on the field this year you know to finally see it in action to kind of try to square what we've heard and what we've seen a little bit in practice with how that looks in game action against Big 10 competition um I'm really excited to see what he can bring to this offense you mentioned wide receivers I think we've avoided the subject long enough my friend let's dive in um and let's also put this out there we don't know that the base offense for Penn State is gonna feature three wide receivers we just don't know that yet we talked about the talent and and some of the different things they might be able to do and that running back room we'll get to the tight ends in a moment but we know that they have really flourished at times in two tight end sets and they have the tal there again it would seem to be able to rely upon adding a second tight end on the field with regularity so with that out of the way let's start with the outside wide receiver positions and and I think the the one that I'm ready to put the crown on as a starter and feel really good about it is Harrison Wallace you know we've heard about Trey Wallace now for a couple different years where he was a popular breakout pick I think we were all on board with that last year and the more we learned about him last year the more you know comfortable you felt he goes out there seven receptions in the season opener but has a about with injury in September has another run in with injuries later on in the season and we never really get to see him fully healthy but when he's out there it's clear that him and J have a connection you he led the team in catches in the first game and the last game he found the end zone late against uh against Old Miss and the Peach Bowl and he's just somebody that I almost wish we just had more I wish we had practice footage I shouldn't say more we have no practice footage but I wish I could see the Highlight Reel of what Harrison Wallace has done on the practice field with Penn State the last couple of Summers the last couple of Springs because we had guys like Theo Johnson we had Defenders telling us that he looked like the number one wide receiver coming out of preseason camp last year he looked like that guy to me in the spring game I thought he really when when he was kind starting to take over there a little bit at at different points he was clearly the the favorite pass Target that Drew Aller was looking for out in Beaver Stadium in April so Harrison Wallace to me and and James Franklin said it they need him to have a big year and this is you know as a red shirt Junior now with I think fewer than 600 career receiving yards you're reaching a point where you're you're veering on myth versus being a a real full-fledged College uh standout and so I hope for his sake and and certainly for Penn State's offense's sake that he's able to bridge that Gap and really show the world what he has shown this team in facilities the last few years yeah I I agree with all of that I think we talked about it a lot last year after Wallace got hurt and kind of the discussion around you know what his absence meant is that you know there's been a lot of uh you know we need some show don't tell uh when it comes to Harrison Wallace uh you know we need to see it um you know we we've heard enough about it but I was in the same boat as you uh in kind of putting together what this might look like I I had him at the you know in an unquestioned spot um in a in I kind of did I did like one two three four five six I didn't necessarily you know divided up by outside and and Slot but I had Wallace at the top of that um and then everyone wants to know about Julian Fleming we want to know about Julian Fleming I think one thing we we certainly have learned is he has made a positive impact on campus since he got here he's he's emerged as that leader he hoped he would be the guy that we heard a lot about at Ohio State you a 20 game starter there with the Buckey the production didn't come surrounded in a room by first first round talent in the NFL draft and ultimately now he lands here final year I'm not quite ready to say he's gonna be a starter I know people probably penel him in as soon as he got here to campus but I'm looking at Liam Clifford as well on the outside Omari Evans is another name but to me Liam Clifford we've heard a lot of the similar tones regarding Clifford and his leadership role and and kind of the guy who's out at the front and trying to set the pace for this group and they've hit the reset button a little bit because of some of the people they've lost because of some of the people they brought in they have hit the reset button from a cultural standpoint from a leadership standpoint so it sounds like Liam Clifford and and Julian Fleming have emerged and what is intriguing to me about Liam Clifford aside from the fact that he's Sean's younger brother and we've been waiting to see what he's gonna do at Penn State is he's got the ability and they will use him outside and inside so he's somebody that I think he could end up starting games in the slot he could end up Starting Games outside there'll be games where he doesn't start and I just think overall he may be a guy that among the fans probably among the media is flying too under the radar rad versus the reality of what he's going to mean for this offensive attack yeah we've talked about this a little bit too in terms of you in terms of in the media settings you look at what Penn State does sometimes and you know Liam Clifford was made available um after the blue white game and you know he's speaking for a he was speaking for a wide receiver group that was much maligned uh didn't have Keandre Lambert Smith that day and you know what was happening with Lambert Smith wasn't public yet um and you know to put him out there I think that kind of shows what they think of him um you know as a leader and also as a player um I think we've heard some of that feedback about him as a leader continue um but as a player I mean it is you know Cur I am curious to see where he does end up finding a home you know I do think they're going to move him around and use him in different spots but it's the type of thing where if say Kaden Saunders is coming on coming along really well in the slot you can move Liam Clifford to the outside if Julian Fleming really sees as an outside job you can use Liam Clifford in the slot um I think that that gives them a little bit of flexibility um in in this upper upper tier of wide receivers and then again Omari Evans it's just hard to figure out who he is he burned red shirt as a freshman he was the only one of of five freshman receivers back in 2022 you remember he was being utilized on the game-winning drive at Purdue week one and you're like okay well Amari Evans is clearly G to be a guy here we thought that going into last year and then he was a little banged up and then even when the snaps were there he didn't seem to be getting the targets and he just you know chalk it up as one of the many mysteries from that receiver room in 2023 once they fired Mike yuch you know here we go again all of a sudden Omari Evans is popping up catching passes racing down the field and he's a big play threat um and so much about him has been former High School quarterback Elite Speed you know big- time tracking skills if he can go get the ball and and so what does that mean this year I I don't know he may be the guy that that blows up the kind of wide receiver conversation in a positive way because if he shows up I think a lot of people have just maybe put him to the side or just kind of forgotten about him I think he's right there pushing to play a lot not just in the two deep maybe to get some starts over the course of this season um and then you go beyond him third-year guys who have done you know literally nothing in game action to this point and Tyler Johnson and Anthony Ivy we've heard some good things about both of them at different points of their careers here at different stages Johnson wasn't available for much of last season uh so those guys are lurking as well and then you throw in the freshman and when you're talking about guys in the perimeter I've said it before Peter Gonzalez with his physical frame they were really really excited about how he showed up to campus from that perspective and so I think if you can go out there play aggressive play assertive win some matchups against a really talented cornerback group he could be someone who pushes and pushes and pushes his way toward a perimeter opportunity um and jiah brown and maai flowers are just two that I'm going to kind of put in their own category here because we didn't see them in Spring ball they were both recovering from injury issues and neither of them have actually you know I haven't seen either of them play wide receiver for Penn State in any capacity because Makai flower spent the last couple years at safety Jai Brown just got here from high school so those guys I'm not going to take a big leap and say Here's what they're gonna be uh but that's kind of how I'm viewing that that that perimeter area the outside area some of the the different names and and kind of loose ends out there before we joke go over to the slot yeah I I agree with that too I mean I think Omari Evans is a really really intriguing player coming into this year into year three um I think that he's another one who you know theoretically should benefit a lot from Andy codal Nikki um and kind of the approach um of you know Finding what guys do best and then maximizing that emphasizing that um you know we'll see you know what this looks like in in practice but I was just really impressed with him as a freshman and last year I think remains kind of a mystery of uh of what happened but we saw how he closed the year you can kind of you know see the things that Penn State likes about him and it's just the key of uh projecting it forward a little bit let's talk about the slot position it was an area that we thought we'd see a bunch of Keandre Lambert Smith he remained with the team obviously he did not um that means again Liam Clifford big factor there but Kaden Saunders you know can he take that next step you look at that 22 class guys who were going into year three it's hard not to Spotlight Kaden Saunders as somebody who can really make a name for himself this year validate some of that hype that made him a top 100 overall Prospect and punt return situation is one thing it seems to be having a good footing there DeQuan Hardy moving on to the NFL but where's his confidence level as a pass Target he's had some run there he caught a late touchdown at Ohio State after the game was already decided and then the next week he was kind of put back on the shelf and he's somebody that I'm looking forward to and I'm anticipating this being the case what does it look like for Kaden Saunders when there's consistent opportunity when you know he's getting at least 25 to 30 snaps game in game out he can start to get a sense for who he is at the power four level you hope that happens over the course of September when there's some of the more manageable matchups and and then you can dial in more when you hit the harder stretch of your schedule but you know there's not going to really be room for hiccups here for for Kaden saers because I look at who's ahead of him or who's with him there in the depth chart what they what they trust in Liam Clifford and then I think about who might be nipping out his heels eventually and a guy like tyer Denmark who you know could come here and and and if he's as polished as he has looked at times and and and as we have heard at times then he may be making a case with a month of work on the practice field to get himself involved at the slot position so Kaden Saunders to me is really one of those guys who who's a central figure in where the pendulum swings at the receiver spot because if he's not prepared to step up then that slot position really the Dynamics Chang and if he is prepared to step up then he's the exact player that Andy codal Nikki has exploited opponents with you know down the seam with misdirection getting him in space and I think Kaden Saunders could absolutely go Bonkers with opportunities in the open field in this offensive setting but he's got to go out and do it he's got to go out and prove it to himself before he can prove it to us yeah I definitely agree with that I think that Saunders is someone who can really benefit from this offense um I think that he's someone that we know has that kind of speed shiftiness that he can be used horizontally and stress defenses that way um you know I want to see what that looks like um and then yeah I agree tyer Denmark is you know someone too I mean I think that anyone we're kind of looking at you know kind of anyone anywhere who who can step up at wide receiver uh you know looking at Peter Gonzalez and Josiah Brown like what might they be able to do um but I think that Denmark has that short area quickness um you know was super productive in high school and made made some plays um I think that kind of stuff can translate and I think that a lot of this is going to be how how consistently does Andy Cod Nikki keep these guys on the field and what kind of position does he put them in to succeed tight end very different conversation uh at the very top of the board you've got a guy who is getting allamerican certainly all big 10 projections as a fifth year senior in Tyler Warren uh really nice season last year splitting that starting role with Theo Johnson and not splitting but sharing the starting role and and Tyler War went out seven touchdowns uh had a huge game in in the Peach Bowl and it's really set up for him now to emerge as one of the Premier names in college football at this position Chuck Losi told us a couple weeks ago he thinks Tyler Warren by the end of the season is gonna go down as an all-timer at Penn State at the tight end spot and that's saying a lot considering the talent they've had come through here but as we said this is a two- tight end plan that's worked pretty well for Penn State over the years and they've had a lot of talent they've had the talent to do it looks like they still do and it's a battle between a guy that we've seen flashes from khil denkins he's been a big Target for whatever reason on Fourth Downs he kept surfacing and and all he does is catch touchdowns and and and you know move the chains on fourth down so far in his career but he has come a long way in his physical development since he got to campus and and we know we know that he's more prepared as a blocker that was something that we were told a lot last year during the off season and he got run as a as a third tight end but he never got a huge huge sustained amount of work and so that's what it might take and you wonder if Andrew raple is going to be in a position to kind of nudge him out Lea frog him a little bit in terms of the the veteran nature of that position room and as a red shirt freshman sees a real large opportunity and Andrew Raper I've said it before I think if he goes to a lot of different tight ends rooms last year he's playing a bunch of snaps he's burning his red shirt and he's probably going to improve along the way had to happen on the practice field last year and now it's happening on the spring practice uh field and I think what you hear about him is Relentless competitor hates losing reps and is very very much embraced what it requires from a big 10 tight end in the blocking Department he he he did that in high school part of that reason he transferred to a prep school was to get more work in a particular offense where he could block block block and that's what he's gonna have to do here and we know he's a really smooth route Runner a guy who has soft hands and we've seen it a bit on the practice fields we definitely saw it in the blue white game when he was the primary tight end with Tyler Warren getting that veteran day off I guess you could call it but this is one of those ma uh competitions that I think however it ends up you're in a good spot because the guy will have earned it but it's going to be really important for Penn State I think to to to when they make this call um to to keep using the third guy keep him fresh because whether it's injury uh whether it's performance I think all three of those guys Warren Raper and diens are going to have significant roles for tight endend and then I think you work your way through some of the others and and there's some wh ifs there but I just don't think it feels as concrete as we stand here in the summer yeah I mean it's it's a little bit different than two years ago when you had fron strange Theo Johnson and Tyler Warren um all all set for that 2022 season but I think the one thing that Mike yuch did a really nice job of um was uh you know using that third tight end was keeping um you know him involved whether that was Tyler Warren in 2021 you whatever combination in 2022 or even dingin last year putting him out there in certain sets and giving him certain jobs um so I think that no matter how that shakes out between Raper and dinkin you know I had it set up in a similar way too with Tyler Warren on his own line and then raple and dinkin uh sharing that two spot you know whoever ends up in that third spot is is going to see the field but you I do think that each brings kind of a you know an interesting thing and I think the raple is in a position that he could really really make a name for himself this year he told us on this podcast before he enrolled that he wanted to be the next star tight end at Penn State and I think he will get a shot here this fall as a red sh freshman to really begin to prove that narrative to to Penn State fans um the others that are involved there Jerry cross he's been around now for for three years um you heard some good things from Tai Hall about cross from this spring but it's just still hard because Cross isn't just trying to work into that top three he's trying to to battle back the younger Rising talents Joey schlafer I can tell you what he he looks way different physically than he did last year when he was kind of a thin converted wide receiver he's looking the part now a big tight Big 10 tight end and then Luke Reynolds you want to talk about growing up in a hurry he went from 215 to about 240 during the last five six months I think that's what you told us in speaking with Tai Howell so that is a big jump for Luke rolds because he has receiving skills that are just really unparalleled among a lot of peers that's why he was the number one tight end recruit in the country in the 2024 cycle but can you round that out with enough ability to go block to protect your quarterback to create lanes for your running backs because if you are a hindrance in that regard it's G to get weighted and balanced and you're probably not going to see the field but you talk about Quinton Martin being a gadget play Luke Reynolds could be a gadget Play and he doesn't have to go out and win some kind of game roll for himself in August Daniel it's a long season if you want to play in the college football playoff we're talking about you know games going all the way to December um and and so I'm sorry games going all the way to Christmas time so you've got games stacking up on themselves and you've got four games to use so Luke Reynolds could be a really fun he's probably gonna be the guy that we keep mentioning in like October and November be like could he pop up could he pop up in this game because he is that kind of a high ceiling wow factor Prospect but I just don't know what it looks like for him as a complete tight end uh this stage yeah I mean there's definitely an uphill climb for Luke Reynolds but I think I would be pretty confident that he can that we're going to see him on the field this fall and I wouldn't be surprised at all if he was somehow able to work his way up in into a role maybe Leap Frog some guys who have been here already and you know we'll be looking down and we'll see number 85 out there um you know I think that you know Luke Reynolds has I think the fact that he developed physically as much as he did over the spring I think that gives you um you know a lot of confidence that you know maybe you could see a little bit more out of him instead of you know writing him off as that oh he's a he's a wide receiver converting he needs to do all this stuff it's going to be a red shirt year I think that Luke Reynolds is positioning himself to to have it maybe be a little bit more than that um which I think if you're a Penn State fan is an exciting possibility let's get over the offensive line where they have to replace three starters three NFL draft picks including an All-American at left tackle and that's where our Focus will land first you got Drew Shelton now fully clear to get back to practice action he's already doing what he can right now before they put the pads back on but Far and Away the most experienced offensive tackle in this group uh 700 plus career snaps five starts in the 2022 season he started the peach bow as well although he was playing through an injury which he had taken care of and then that cost him the the Spring ball so Drew Shelton to me I mean if if he's there all spring and he's just kind of building off of what he's done the first couple years I think you'd feel pretty good about him being the starting left tackle but I think you got to put the slash there right now with Javin Williams Because James Franklin made it a point as soon as he was talking about Drew Shelton being good to go he said but Javin Williams is also gonna get his opportunities Javin Williams was the primary left tackle for Penn State's offense during spring spring camp we saw that in the blue white game where he got a ton of work on The Blind Side of Drew Aller and so the former five star in year two let's remember his high school offense didn't pass the ball they ran it and ran it and ran it so the pass protection aspect has been a big jump for Javin Williams during the last year and a half but he's gonna have a chance to go out there and and maybe put a rotation in play Maybe win the job out right if Drew Shelton has a lot of rust to knock off but this is going to be a competition and for for Javin Williams who spent last year you know a lot of it behind the scenes played three games uh I it sounds like he took opportunity of what was there for him this spring got about 00 practice snaps and I think he's done what he can to this point to make Drew Shelton sweat through August oh hold on Daniel you were you were muted there start start again for us all right we got it now finally there's I was hearing some little ambient noise outside so I wanted to to cut that off but um yeah I I think you look at this left tackle battle and it's potentially you know very intriguing and I think that you Shelton who's a former top 247 Prospect who has that experience from his freshman season you've got Javin Williams a five-star in five star Prospect both guys are were in the state of Pennsylvania and were very highly ranked and and very well regarded um and this is kind of what you recruit that level of guy for you want to you know put them in these environments where they're competing with each other you know they're they have huge shoes to fill in Olu fashion that's going to be a shadow that I think is over that position for for much of the season um it's you know maybe unfair to compare you know these guys to Olu but that's how it's going to work um you know in some respects but I'm just really interested to see what it does and to get this kind of longer look at Javin Williams uh and kind of see where Shelton's made improvements I I think that those are a couple things that could be um you know it's this is a position that can really you know shift The Fortunes um of a team and so I want to see how that looks but yeah I think that in terms of you know making a call in terms of a depth chart right now I mean I think we're gonna have to wait a little bit and even then when we get to the season we know they're not afraid to rotate and we know that they'll get their work from these Edge rushers that Penn State's gonna present on the practice field we'll talk about that defensive group we'll break down the defensive depth chart on an upcoming EP upcoming episode of the Lions 247 podcast but other names know at left tackle Nolan ruchie could emerge as a swing Factor we're going to talk about him at right tackle in a moment but the Wisconsin transfer who's put on about 20 pounds he's pushing 320 now at 6 fo8 red shirt Jr former five star in his own right though that was four years ago um he's gonna have a chance to compete he's only played in college game action on the left side but the majority of his work came on the right during spring ball and then JB Nelson remains a a versatile piece you could view him as a backup component at left tackle as well more of an emergency situation perhaps if they have some depth issues but he's in the mix there and then let's go the other side at right tackle Anthony Dono uh Nolan Ruchi and this may sound strange to some of our listeners and and I'm not even 100% sold in it myself but I'm almost feeling better about Anthony Dono being the soulle starter on his on his side than I am Drew Shelton being the soulle starter on on the left side and and that's because everything that we heard about Anthony Dona in January and all the good stuff I'm still hearing it in June uh the kids stepped up Phil troutwine tabbed him as the right tackle in waiting behind Kaden Wallace in December knowing that Wallace was putting together a plan that was going to see him play abbreviated action in the Peach Bowl before he turned Pro and this was a guy who didn't play tackle in high school played like three reps of it before December in a Penn State uniform on the practice field and yet went out and put together a strong half of work we didn't get to see him in the blue white game that day but over the course of the spring he's in name that kept popping up from defensive linemen from offensive linemen from coaches about you know who's showing up in a big way this spring who's asserting themselves a lot of Anthony Dono references and we got to look at him that live for life and I gotta say he may be the most physically imposing figure on this team I said it before on the podcast I told you it in person that day but he was standing next to Vega Yan and if I think you look large standing next to Vega Yan that's a real statement so I I think right now when you look at the physical aspect of this the fundamental game that he's made at tackle getting more comfortable there and then you throw in what he has on the mental end and that's something that's been really harped on uh to us about Anthony Dona since he was recruited from the high school level Nolan Ruchi is there and and I don't want to disregard Nolan Ruchi by any means and he's gonna push here and I think Anthony Dona has embraced his presence but I think that that right now there's a pathway toward him becoming entrenched as Penn State's right tackle for several years much in a way that we saw Kaden Wallace do a while back they've got Dona listed at 336 at at 6'5 on on the updated roster and I think based on what we've seen from him from live for life I I think that tracks that's like 30 pound like that's like 30 pounds heavier than Drew Shelton and and jav Williams just to put it out there yeah and it he just looks physically physically different than them I mean he Dona just looks hard to move and he looks like he can really really move you um and so yeah I mean I think that kind of how you framed it as you know feeling you know more comfortable that you'd be able to name a single starter at right tackle than at left tackle I mean I think I'm there for you too there with you too um I I think it's G to be I I'm really just I feel like I've been saying this a lot about some of these players but I think Dona is just a really exciting prospect um to see to get that kind of performance from him in the Peach Bowl um you know that no one was really expecting um I'm you know I want to see how that translates and you know I think it's good that there's competition there it's good that Nolan Ruchi is there pushing him and I think that that's what the staff wants I think they want Ruchi to be pushing him um but I think that Dona is you know probably in a position where he's rising to the occasion and when people in the Lash building are are making Whispers of Olu fashion new comparisons my ears perk up and we've heard that a couple different times this offseason uh let's focus on the interior spots left guard Right Guard you've got starting experience in fact you got three guys with starting experience in these different spots Right Guard sixe senior s wormley's back he wants to prove that he can take another step in his aggression and his physicality it was a big topic for him and Phil troutwine to work on this spring he wants to step up as a leader for this unit as a sixe guy and he's a third year starter now uh at the Right Guard spot but I think that we're gonna have to see at that guard spot Who's involved because Vega Yan right now V Yan I don't see leaving the field much last year he was a rotational component by the end of the year and doing part because JB Nelson wasn't always available he was a main stay at the left guard position for them down the stretch and So based on the results that you got out of him and and what we have heard about venga Yan I don't think he's leaving the field much so does JB Nelson get into play again as a rotational piece at either guard spot or is he kind of strictly a backup component for the entire left side a guy who can play left guard play left tackle that would be a bit of a step back for him compared to to where he was last preseason camp last September as an emerging player as a starter after they lost Lon tengell to to retirement and then you know the the other name that is prominent in this discussion is Cooper cousins there's been a lot of attention on him at Center and trying to push Nick dokins but we saw him start at Red Guard in the blue white game for the Varsity squad uh Sal warmley like Tyler Warren was an observer that day Nick Singleton was observing that wasn't the full roster but Cooper cousins was the next man up at r guard and we know he's going to get a lot of work there Phil troutwine said he may be the best freshman offensive lineman he's ever encountered we don't see true freshman offensive lineman factor in on Fall Saturdays often Across America much less here in Happy Valley but Cooper cousins seems to be in the thick of it so to me it feels like there are truly four guards who could play extensively although we may only see two three of them playing extensively when this thing kicks off yeah I'm really I really want to see how they settle this in terms of rotations and you know who who's on the field the most who starts um I think that that's going to be something that is very curious because you have a lot of experience and a lot of talent you know like you said s Wormley has probably played the the most snaps of anyone on the r on this offensive line right now um especially with how much he played over the past two years because he was not in a rotation um you know over over these past two years when when he started and then Vani Yan JV Nelson both started you know with Nelson Sidelines Yan I think really took advantage um of that opportunity and and got a lot of run and then Cooper cousins can just kind of shake things up a little bit by you know putting someone who is that polished um who comes in with you know this level of of talent and kind of you knowing what he needs to do um I think that's something that is is really significant for this unit too so you you've got four guys that if you kind of juggled it up and put out any combination of them uh as as you're starting guards you'd probably feel pretty good about it um but what is that actually going to look like and you know what will the offensive line look like in the second quarter in the third quarter uh in crunch time in the fourth quarter how is Penn State going to you know put those pieces together it's remarkable the Comfort level that seems to be in place and envisioning Cooper cousins out there on the field for Penn State you know August 31st into September when you just think about how true freshman offensive lineman are typically dealt with and we have a few of those to get to from a depth perspective by the way Garrett ston Egan Boer major weight gainers thus far early on in their Penn State Career ston is up from 260 range to 300 pounds Egan Boer is up from under 240 pounds to over 270 pounds their goal is going to be get to get on that travel roster to earn an opportunity to travel with the varsity Squad to these Road games and the same goes for for a couple newcomers at guard Caleb Brewer Donnie Harbor both in the Freshman Class you've got Addison Penn who transferred from duke last year as a veteran in the in the interior as well but Nick Dawkins the last guy to really get to here yes he will continue to be pushed by Cooper cousins he has been one of Cooper cousins uh largest supporters uh throughout this last five six months since he got to campus but Nick Dawkins is in a really good spot from a leadership standpoint from a schematic standpoint of being in control at Center um it's going to be a really fun opportunity to see what it looks like because Nick Dawkins has had so much cache with this community with this locker room with this roster as a backup offensive lineman as a guy who spent you know the entire 2022 season sideline because of an injury and to kind of get a chance to see what it might look like with him being the guy who snaps the football for this team on every offensive play and and what his presence could look like it is a a really important aspect potentially because because we don't know who the team captains are going to be yet James Franklin wasn't ready to tell us sounds like the team wasn't ready to vote on them sometimes we know a few by now but I would be very surprised if Nick Dawkins is not named a team captain if he is the starting center for this squad and so there it is I mean did we miss anything and we worked our way position by position uh it took a while but but this offense is influx between the coaching staff between some of the Personnel movements so wanted to work our way through it fair fairly diligently tell me did we swing and Miss on on any of this conversation in your opinion or or did we get it just about right I me I think if we missed anyone we'll hear about it but um no I think that we I think that we covered it I mean there's at this point in the summer there's a lot of moving Parts uh a lot of guys that we haven't seen even in practice in Penn State uniforms you know some guys who are injured that you we need to see in their those Penn State uniforms again but I feel like that the pieces are there to make for a you know a pretty talented and you know exciting offense with um you know another year of experience for some key guys and a new offensive coordinator and Andy cotal Nikki well we will break down uh the defensive depth chart and how we think that shakes out on another episode of the lies 247 podcast but for now thank you to everyone for listening to this episode on behalf of Daniel gallon I am Tyler down you follow our coverage at lines 247.com and stay tuned for another upcoming episode of the lies 47 podcast