What to Watch as Penn State Begins Training Camp
Penn State begins a most unconventional training camp Friday, 29 days before the scheduled start to the 2020 football season.
The Nittany Lions will start practice not knowing whether the season might start, or when those practices might be shut down. Everything is voluntary, according to the Big Ten, and players can opt out should they choose.
On Wednesday, a group called #BigTenUnited, which said it represented more than 1,000 Big Ten football players, released a list of proposals regarding testing, medical care and economic support if they play through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amid that backdrop, Penn State will begin camp for its 134th season of college football with a team ranked seventh in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll.
The Lions bring plenty of promise, and no lack of questions, into however this 2020 season unfolds. So let's look at some of them.
About that linebacker room...
All-American linebacker Micah Parsons made his 2020 opt-out decision official, changing what still is an intriguing position.
Parsons is the alpha of a room ready to burst in the Big Ten, even though now it must replace three starters. The competition at middle linebacker between Jesse Luketa and Ellis Brooks began during preseason meetings and workouts but might shift. Luketa has experience outside as well and would be capable of moving to Parsons' spot, leaving Brooks as the lead inside.
Brandon Smith, who emerged as one of the defense's most aggressive hitters as a freshman, is the lead candidate at the other outside spot. Lance Dixon, a redshirt freshman, is ready to fulfill his recruiting promise as well.
Penn State's defense certainly will miss its most dynamic playmaker. Coordinator Brent Pry had plans to make Parsons much more available in the pass rush, where Parsons thrives. Those reps now will go to ends Adisa Isaac, Jayson Oweh and Shane Simmons alongside Shaka Toney.
Parsons' loss is tangible. But Penn State has a linebacker room poised to compensate for it.
Where is the offense?
After getting his first look at the offense during walk-throughs, first-year coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca can begin coaching the actual installations he did virtually this spring. There's plenty of work to do.
Players described Ciarrocca as an animated presence during video meetings, as he tried to deliver as much information about the offense as possible. But Penn State will start camp understandably behind, since spring drills were canceled before Ciarrocca could get onto the practice field.
"The one thing that our players have shown right now is their ability to respond to the situation," Ciarrocca said this past spring.
The Lions will need that resiliency in camp, and Ciarrocca will need patience. His offense relies on timing and repetition, traits that can't be mastered quickly.
Certainly, Penn State returns the pieces of a promising offense: four linemen are back, tight end Pat Freiermuth is an All-American candidate, Journey Brown was among the nation's top running backs in the second half of 2019 and quarterback Sean Clifford sounds emboldened by Ciarrocca's system.
But they all need to temper their expectations of a perfect installation. Which leads us to...
What happens at wide receiver?
No group at Penn State underwent more change than the receivers, who lost their position coach (Gerad Parker) to West Virginia, their top player (KJ Hamler) to the NFL draft and a former 5-star recruit (Justin Shorter) to transfer. And that was before COVID-19.
New receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield stepped into an uncertain situation, though there's talent to polish. Jahan Dotson, the team's top returning receiver, has two years of starting experience and reliable hands. Daniel George is waiting to bloom, and five freshmen could make themselves known quickly.
"I like challenges, and my guys like challenges," Stubblefield said. "There’s a lot of people who don’t expect a lot from this group, so the great thing is that you’re going to see a group out there that wants to compete their tails off.”
Can Journey Brown build in 2019?
Running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider said Journey Brown was among the best backs in the country during the second half of 2019. Brown, a rotation player early in the season, became the unquestioned starter by the Cotton Bowl.
He'll top-line a rotation again this season, with Noah Cain and Devyn Ford back and freshman Caziah Holmes entering the mix. But Brown is poised to be among the Big Ten's top backs.
Unless his fellow backs catch him, which in this competitive room could happen.
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