Observations From the Blue-White Game
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STATE COLLEGE | Penn State fans might be forgiven for having flashbacks at the way Saturday's Blue-White Game began. With a goal-line offense drill.
Did last year's Illinois game flash before your eyes? You likely weren't alone. It was an entertaining way to start the 2022 Blue-White Game, Penn State's first spring scrimmage in front of a full stadium since 2019.
Penn State announced a crowd of 62,000 for the game, with likely that many outside tailgating on a lovely State College day. But inside Beaver Stadium there was football. So let's discuss it.
Quick overreaction: Freshman running back Nicholas Singleton took the first carry Saturday, albeit during the situational goal-line drill that didn't count within the scrimmage. So that meant very little. Still, Singleton carved a quick place for himself this spring and will factor into the offense quickly next season.
Speaking of freshmen running backs: Kaytron Allen showed some power and a lively step during a live scrimmage period with the first-team offense. He broke one run up the middle that would have raised the building last season.
Though everyone wanted to see the freshmen quarterbacks, returner Christian Veilleux should have grabbed the most attention. He looked poised and accurate during a 7-on-7 series and popped notably during a scripted 3rd-and-7 play in a scrimmage period. Veilleux rifled a first-down pass to transfer receiver Mitchell Tinsley, who demonstrated some shiftiness to convert.
Penn State is appreciably better regarding quarterback depth this year, particularly considering Veilleux's strong spring.
Play of the game: Receiver Harrison Wallace III 7-on-7 catch from Veilleux.
About those freshmen quraterbacks: Really difficult to gauge from 7-on-7, but Beau Pribula appeared to have a slight edge on Drew Allar. Pribula threw a nice pass to receiver Mason Stahl, a converted quarterback, and seemed more comfortable with his throws. Allar's first throws were behind his intended receivers (one intercepted), and he later threw a pick to defensive back Dominic DeLuca. Both got the ball during the final scrimmage period and looked lively. Pribula in particular has some scrambling chops. Wouldn't read too much into any of that, though.
Sean Clifford got a lot more work than expected, running the offense during several scrimmage periods. He threw a touchdown pass to Tinsley and generally looked like a sixth-year senior. After the scrimmage, Franklin said that Clifford had his best spring at Penn State, pointing to a bunch of stat categories in which the quarterback improved.
Ultimately, though, none of the quarterback numbers were great Saturday:
- Sean Clifford: 4-7, 41 yards, 1 TD
- Christian Veilleux: 5-14, 75 yards
- Drew Allar: 6-14, 61 yards, 2 INTs
- Beau Pribula: 2-3, 7 yards
- Totals: 17-38, 184 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
Safety Zakee Wheatley had an MVP-type spring, leading the team in takeaways and generally confounding the offense. He did that Saturday, breaking up a really nice Veilleux throw during a 7-on-7 drill and nearly intercepting a Pribula pass in the end zone to seal a 17-13 victory for the defense. Wheatley was credited with three pass breakups on the day.
A converted corner, Wheatley has established himself as a standout at safety.
"The guy has a tremendous ability to find the football," assistant head coach Terry Smith said, "and those guys tend to play for a long time because they can change the game.
A host of former players made their way back, including Micah Parsons, Odafe Oweh, Mike Gesicki, Pat Freiermuth and more. At one point, LaVar Arrington conducted a stadium interview with Yetur Gross-Matos and Jahan Dotson, during which he predicted that Dotson would be the NFL's offensive player of the year next season.
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