2015 B1G Conference Pre-Season
Preview
Penn State Nittany
Lions (East Division)
Location: State College, PA
Stadium: Beaver Stadium (106,572)
Coach: James Franklin (2nd year): 7-6 at PSU/31-21 overall, 2-7 v
B1G
2014 Penn State Nittany Lions
(7-6)(2-6) 2015 Penn State Nittany Lions
26 Central Florida 24 S5 at
Temple
21 Akron 3 S12 Buffalo
13 at Rutgers 10 S19 Rutgers
48 Massachusetts 7 S26 San Diego State
6 Northwestern 29 O3 at Army
13 at Michigan 18 O10 Indiana
24 Ohio State 31 (2OT) O17 at Ohio State
19 Maryland 20 O24 at Maryland
13 at Indiana
7 O31 Illinois
30 Temple 13 N7 at Northwestern
14 at Illinois 16 N21 Michigan
10 Michigan State 34 N28 at Michigan State
31 Boston College 30 (OT)
(Pinstripe Bowl)
Coach James
Franklin, as did his predecessor, Bill O’Brien, has done a fantastic job of
bringing back the Penn State football program.
A program that appeared dead three short years ago is now on the upswing
and poised to make a difference in the B1G Conference.
In 2013,
Christian Hackenberg became just the second true freshman to start at QB for
the Lions and promptly had three 300-plus yard passing games. Last year, he started off by averaging 361
yards per game in the first four games, but trailed off the latter part of 2014
with just 169 yards per game. However,
he finished the 2014 season with a flourish in the Pinstripe Bowl, throwing for
371 yards and four touchdowns, leading Penn State to their 31-30 victory over
Boston College. The sky appears to be
the limit for Hackenberg this year as he will benefit from a sturdier offensive
line, led by senior center Angelo Mangiro, who has started every game of his
PSU career, including three at guard.
The Lions also return experience at guard with sophomore Brendan Mahon
and junior Brian Gaia returning at left and right guard respectively. Andrew Nelson started every game at RT last
year and developed into one of their most durable performers, while junior
Paris Palmer performed well in spring drills and looks to take over the LT
spot. Last year seemed to be a running
back by committee, as Zach Zwinak, Bill Belton, and Akeel Lynch all carried the
load. This year, the Lions lose Zwinak
and Belton, but return Lynch for his junior season. Lynch seemed to run stronger as the season
progressed, as he finished with 678 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. The offensive coaching staff is also high on
a trio of redshirt freshmen in Jonathan Thomas, Nick Scott, and Mark Allen all
of whom performed well in the spring. TE
Jesse James left after his junior season to enter the NFL draft, but the Lions
return everyone else, including sophomore WRs Chris Godwin and DaeSean
Hamilton. Godwin hauled in 25 receptions
for 321 yards last year while Hamilton was second team All-B1G and Penn State’s
leading receiver with 82 catches for 899 yards.
Dependable senior Kyle Carter returns at TE who can block and catch
equally well (16 for 153). Sophomores
Mike Gesicki and Adam Breneman, returning from an injury, add depth to the TE
position. With better play out of the
offensive line and avoiding a rash of injuries, Penn State should have one of
the most productive offenses in the conference.
Penn State
has always been known for solid defensive line play and this year should be no
exception. They lose third-team all
conference DE Deion Barnes, who declared for the NFL draft, but return two
outstanding performers in junior NT Austin Johnson and senior DT Anthony
Zettel. Johnson led the defensive
linemen in tackles last year with 49 and had six tackles for loss, while Zettel
was right behind him with 42 tackles, a whopping 17 tackles for loss, eight
sacks ,and three interceptions, while making first team All-B1G. The bookends appear to be all set, with
senior Carl Nassib taking over at one DE spot and Garrett Sickles the
other. Both saw extensive back up duty
last year. Penn State loses
do-everything LB Mike Hull, but return solid juniors Nyeem Wartman in the
middle and Brandon Bell at the SLB position.
Wartman is the leading returning tackler with 75 tackles in 2014 to go
along with 3.5 tackles for loss and an interception and Bell managed 47 tackles
with seven tackles for loss, two sacks, and also had an interception. These very athletic linebackers should be
joined by sophomore Jason Cabinda at the WLB position. They will also have Ben Kline, who was out
last year with an injury and Koa Farmer, who moved to the strong linebacker
position from safety and has 4.4 speed.
Even with the departure of Hull, this unit could be just as strong as
last year. Penn State will enjoy the
return of experience at all four secondary positions, led by senior SS Jordan
Lucas, who had 58 tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks and also senior
CB Trevor Williams, a good shut-down corner.
Williams turned in 27 tackles, two interceptions, and five passes broken
up. Marcus Allen, who started seven
games a year ago, turned in an impressive 58 tackles at the FS position. Sophomore Grant Haley, who garnered 18
tackles, played in all 13 games last year and figures to take over the other CB
spot. They had one of the B1G’s best
secondaries last year and this year should be no exception.
Reliable FG
kicker Sam Ficken is gone, but the Lions should improve in special teams this
year with better team depth and increased competition for kicker and
punter. Redshirt freshman Joey Julius
has shown a big leg in spring drills, while sophomore Daniel Pasquariello
returns to handle the punting chores after averaging 37.3 yards per punt last
year. CB Haley will handle the kickoff
return duties, averaging 20.6 yards per return in 2014, while Jordan Lucas
looks to return punts.
Things are
looking up for Penn State as they have 15 returning starters and can now build
depth as they now have 83 scholarship players.
With better protection for Hackenberg, experience at receiver, and their
usually stout defensive line, nine or ten wins this year are very possible.
2015 Projection: 9-3 (5-3) 3rd
in East Division
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