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As Penn State’s season-opening loss to Indiana last year proved, a split-second occurrence on the gridiron can have months-long repercussions.
When IU Michael Penix Jr. got the benefit of the doubt from the officials on his diving 2-point conversion run in overtime, it sent the Lions on a historic downward spiral. The collective psyche of a college football program can be a fragile thing, that’s for sure.
So, even as James Franklin and Co. carry plenty of reasonable optimism into the coming campaign, I have my worries. These 5 stand out:
1. Defensive end
With the recently announced loss of Adisa Isaac to injury, Arnold Ebiketie becomes the most crucial incoming transfer at Penn State since the portal era began 2 years ago.
With last year’s DE starters, Jayson Oweh and Shaka Toney, in NFL camps, Isaac had seemed poised to enter the starting lineup and the spotlight. The 6-4, 244-pound junior played in 20 games through his first 2 seasons, finishing last year’s 9-game slate with 13 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Many prognosticators pegged him for a breakout season, figuring that opportunity was knocking and he was ready to answer.
Then came the news, as the Lions opened fall camp, that Isaac was injured and likely to miss the entire season. Ouch. Among returning players, Nick Tarburton and Smith Vilbert are next up on most mock depth charts, and they combined for all of 3 tackles in 2020.
Enter grad transfer Ebiketie, who’s going to get every opportunity to gain a level of NFL attention probably not possible had he stayed at Temple. With the Owls, he became a starter last season and led the team in tackles for loss (8.5), sacks (4) and forced fumbles (3).
Linebacker Jesse Luketa will take reps as an edge rusher throughout August and might play multiple positions and/or a hybrid role this season, according to head coach James Franklin.
To say the least, the defensive end position is in flux with the season-opener just weeks away. If there are further injuries or if Ebiketie can’t handle the jump from AAC to B1G, other Lions might get thrust into on-the-job training way too soon.
2. Backup quarterback
Ta’Quan Roberson (feature photo) enters his third season in the PSU program having thrown 1 career pass (an incompletion) and run once for minus-1 yard. Those plays occurred in 2019. Last year, despite an 0-5 start, James Franklin and staff didn’t kick the tires on Roberson until the season finale, when he was allowed to take 4 snaps and practice handoffs.
With Will Levis and Micah Bowens having exited State College via the transfer portal — as Michael Johnson Jr. did the previous year — Roberson has ascended the depth chart by default. Behind him? True freshman Christian Veilleux, a 6-4 3-star recruit, and RS freshman walk-on Mason Stahl.
Sean Clifford, like Trace McSorley before him, has proved amazingly durable despite Penn State’s penchant for running its QBs as much as any team in the B1G. If that good fortune on the injury front doesn’t hold, things will get interesting in State College in a way not seen since Matt McGloin ascended from walk-on to starter in 2010.
3. Starting quarterback
In dealing with the QB position at PSU, new OC Mike Yurcich is taking on a high-wire act without a net. It’s Sean Clifford or bust, no Plan B, failure not an option. And that’s a hairy proposition, because the veteran of 20 college starts seems equal parts promise and problem.
Is he the leader who won his first 8 starts in 2019 and closed 2020 with solid stats during a 4-game winning streak? Or is he the guy who often looked rattled while throwing 8 INTs and fumbling the ball away several times during last season’s 0-5 start? Cross you fingers and hope for the former.
Penn State needs late-season 2020 Clifford. In the final 4 games, that version of Clifford completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 5 TDs with only 1 INT — and also rushed roughly 9 times for 38 yards per game, with 2 scores.
As Yurcich tries to steer the offense back to the dynamic, wide-open ways of the Joe Moorhead era (2016-17), he’ll need Clifford to run the show aggressively. Meanwhile, the new OC and everyone else involved will hold their breath, hoping for the continued good health of the program’s lone viable option at QB as this season opens.
4. The schedule
So much for easing into a season.
The Lions open as 4-point underdogs in Madison against Wisconsin and host Auburn of the SEC in Week 3. Sandwiched between those games is a home date against Ball State, which had itself a strong MAC season and a bowl victory to finish 7-1 in 2020 — and returns 18 starters.
If all goes right, the Lions will pull off a mild upset of the Badgers on Sept. 4, then build confidence and momentum at home before the calendar officially flips to fall. If not, things could go south in a hurry with PSU projected as road dogs against Iowa (Game 6, Oct. 9) and Ohio State (Game 8, Oct. 30).
5. Brandon Smith
Is he the next Micah Parsons? Can he make the step from solid contributor to clear leader of the defense?
Based on pedigree, it’s definitely possible. Like Parsons, Smith was the No. 1 linebacker in his recruiting class (2019), a 5-star per 247Sports, and fits the ideal mold for the position. At 6-3 and 241 pounds, he’s just about a carbon copy of Parsons circa 2019.
Smith started all 9 games in 2020, racking up 37 tackles, including a team-high 8 for losses with 2 sacks. Those are solid numbers. But the jump to Parsons’ sideline-to-sideline dominance of 2019 is a big one. Parsons produced 109 tackles in his final college season, including 10-plus in 6 of his final 7 games.
If DC Brent Pry puts Smith in position to play a similar role and the Virginia native thrives in it, Penn State’s defense should come together nicely. If not …
Luke Glusco is a Penn State graduate and veteran journalist. He covers Penn State and occasionally writes about other Big Ten programs and topics. He also serves as the primary copy editor for Saturday Tradition.