5 Penn State Football Players Trending Upward Entering Week 2 vs. Temple

The world of football is paved with players who have done something great one week and struggled the next, never to really find their form by the season’s end. While this isn’t to say that every running back needs 150 yards and every defensive end needs four sacks each and every week, consistency is one of the biggest pieces to the puzzle of becoming a winning team.

So here are five Penn State football players to keep an eye on against Temple on Saturday. Can they turn their solid Week 1 performances into more of a trend?

Wide Receiver Chase Sowell

Sowell didn’t grab the headlines the same way Koby Howard did, but both of his catches were strong, physical plays. Howard looks the part of a home-run threat, but Sowell could check off that box of a tough possession receiver. If you squint you can see a bit of Jahan Dotson or Parker Washington in Sowell’s game, while Howard looks the part of KJ Hamler.

Wide Receiver Koby Howard

Koby Howard gets @PennStateFball on the board for the first time this season 👏

Watch on FS1 pic.twitter.com/1OC6waJvNE
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 5, 2026

Koby Howard has been among the most talked-about receivers in the Penn State system and has only just started the actual playing part of his career. There’s little question that Penn State’s staff thinks highly of what Howard can do and little question he showcased it against Marshall.

The competition is only going to get harder from here, and Howard is only going to grow a bigger and bigger target on his back. Temple might not be his stiffest test, but turning one solid game into two would be a welcome sight for a wideout room that has been void of much consistency in recent years.

Running Back Quinton Martin Jr.

Penn State isn’t short on options at running back this year. And while Quinton Martin Jr isn’t near the top of the rotation, his speed and shiftiness might earn him more and more looks as the year goes along.

Running back is more than what you do with the ball, but Martin is certainly showing off his skills when he has it. Carson Hansen and James Peoples might get the majority of the looks, but Martin could force the offense to look his way more often if he keeps it up. Either way, as a redshirt sophomore he has a long road ahead of him.

Defensive end Caleb Bacon

Six tackles, three for loss, and a sack defined Bacon's first impression for the Penn State faithful. There’s no reason to assume Penn State’s long history of quality defenses and elite defensive ends was going to disappear, but seeing is believing.

Bacon certainly looks the part, and at 6-4 and 242 pounds, he’s not shying away from making an impact on the game anytime soon. Bacon doesn’t look like a one-hit wonder, and opposing offenses are going to learn that sooner rather than later.

Defensive end Max Granville

Granville didn’t record anything more than a pass breakup, but his skill and potential are plenty evident when he’s on the field. Injuries kept him sidelined for almost two years, so it might take a week or three to get his feet under him again. But don’t be surprised when Granville arrives. It’s only a matter of time.

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