Penn State Begins Winter Workouts With Some Shoutouts
Penn State football began the grueling, thankless and arguably most important term of the offseason Monday. The Nittany Lions opened winter workouts about a month after returning from their Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss.
Players will tell you winter workouts are their least favorite workouts. Understandably, since running sprints at dawn in the February cold sounds unbearable. They'll also tell you that championship teams form now. And for Penn State's 16 early enrollees from the 2024 recruiting class, winter workouts represent their true welcome to college football.
Following Day 1, Penn State's coaching staff took to social media for an annual tradition: highlighting the first-workout standouts. These posts offer a glimpse into who's trending on the Penn State football roster. Here's a position-by-position breakdown, with the Nittany Lions' new coaches joining the process.
At quarterback, workout star Beau Pribula earned the nod from de facto position coach Danny O'Brien. Though O'Brien still is a graduate assistant, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has said that he will be part of the quarterback-coaching trio (of which head coach James Franklin will be part as well). Pribula is no stranger to these workout mentions, as strength coach Chuck Losey has mentioned the quarterback's weight-room presence.
Running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider highlighted redshirt freshman Cam Wallace, who did not play last season. Wallace was a 3-star prospect in Georgia, but Seider has said that the back has "real juice" and is a player to watch.
Offensive line coach Phil Trautwein pointed to fifth-year senior Nick Dawkins, who will be instrumental to the line's success. Dawkins is the likely heir to Hunter Nourzad as Penn State's starting center, though he can play guard as well.
Tight ends coach Ty Howle pointed to redshirt freshman Joey Schlaffer's "great effort and intensity" on the first day of workouts. With Theo Johnson headed to the NFL, Schlaffer has an opportunity to work into the rotation with returning tight end Tyler Warren.
Penn State needs receivers to step forward this offseason, and Liam Clifford was "setting the tempo" Monday, according to position coach Marques Hagans. Clifford caught 13 passes for the Nittany Lions last season.
Defensive end Zuriah Fisher earned a shoutout from line coach Deion Barnes at a position where the Lions are replacing two NFL-bound starters. Fisher made 3.5 sacks last season, same as fellow returning end Dani Dennis-Sutton.
New defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Tom Allen awarded his first competitor of the day to Tyler Elsdon. Wrote Allen, "I loved the leadership and EFFORT," Elsdon delivered. Elsdon is a veteran Penn State linebacker having started in 2022 and having played in all 13 games last season.
Cornerbacks coach Terry Smith is busy replacing three starters, one of whom could be Cam Miller. Smith highlighted the junior who already has played in 24 career games and started in the Peach Bowl. Even though Penn State brought in two transfer cornerbacks, Miller has a head start on one of the corner spots.
Safeties coach Anthony Poindexter chose returning starter Jaylen Reed, who will be a core player on Penn State's defense in 2024. Reed tied for the team lead with two interceptions.
And new special teams coordinator Justin Lustig pointed to punter Riley Thompson as starting winter workouts strong. Thompson won the starting spot in 2023 and in December announced that the NCAA extended his eligibility for two more seasons.
Before winter workouts began, Dawkins described the process on the State Media podcast.
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