PENN STATE NITTANY
LIONS (East Division)
Location: University Park, PA
Stadium: Beaver Stadium (107,282)
Coach: James Franklin (3rd year): 14-12 at PSU/38-27 overall, 6-11
v B1G
2015 Penn State Nittany Lions
(7-6)(4-4) 2016
Penn State Nittany Lions
10 at Temple 27 S3 Kent State
27 Buffalo 14 S10 at Pittsburgh
28 Rutgers 3 S17 Temple
37 San Diego State 21 S24 at Michigan
20 Army 14 O1 Minnesota
29 Indiana 7 O8 Maryland
10 at Ohio State 38 O15
31 at Maryland 30 O22 Ohio State
39 Illinois 0 O29 at Purdue
21 at Northwestern 23 N5 Iowa
16 Michigan 28 N12 at Indiana
16 at Michigan State 55 N19 at Rutgers
17 Georgia 24 N26 Michigan State
(Tax Slayer Bowl)
After
back-to-back 7-6 seasons, Penn State is free and clear of NCAA sanctions, has a
full number of scholarships to work with, and had another good recruiting
year. During the off season, Coach James
Franklin found new offensive and defensive coordinators in Joe Donovan (offense)
from Fordham and Brent Pry, who moved over from coaching the linebackers..
The offense
will turn to Trace McSorley at quarterback after Christian Hackenberg left for
the NFL. McSorley offered a glimpse of
his talent with two touchdown passes and stellar play in their Tax Slayer Bowl
loss to Georgia. McSorley will be
handing the ball off to perhaps the best returning RB in the conference,
sophomore Saquon Barkley, who averaged almost six yards per carry. Barkley gained over 1000 yards and heads into
the 2016 season on the Maxwell and Doak Walker watch lists. Good news for the Lions abounds at the
receiving positions as well. Junior WR
Chris Godwin led the team in reception with 69 for 1101 yards and five scores,
and was second in the conference. But,
if opposing defenses double down on Godwin, McSorley also has junior WR DaeSean
Hamilton who was second on the team with 45 receptions for 580 yards and six
touchdowns. With another good year,
Hamilton may set the school career record for receptions. The offensive line, however, will need some
work. The Nittany Lions have allowed 83
sacks over the past two seasons. New
offensive line coach Matt Limegrover will work to find the right combination
and it will likely revolve around senior RG Brian Gaia and senior LT Paris
Palmer. Also figuring to land starting
spots on the revamped line will be freshman Connor McGovern at LG, freshman
Ryan Bates at center, and junior Andrew Nelson at RT. The success of the Penn State offense and
their talented playmakers will likely rest on these latter three and how well
they can mesh as a unit with the other two linemen.
The
defensive line will need to rebuild after losing the outstanding Carl Nassib
and Anthony Zettel, but the Lions have junior DE Garrett Sickles ready to step
into a leadership role. Sickles came up
with 35 stops, five tackles for loss and three sacks while also recovering two
fumbles. The new DC Brent Pry hopes he
can provide leadership to the three new starters, who figure to be sophomores
Torrance Brown at the other DE spot and Antonie White at DT and junior Parker
Cothren at the other DT. Of the three,
Brown had the best year with 11 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks to
go along with a fumble recovery. Cothren
and White chipped in 13 and 12 tackles respectively in limited playing time
last year. A year ago, senior MLB Nyeem
Wartman-White tore his ACL in the opener against Temple. Now, he is back and figures to reclaim his
MLB position and will be playing alongside junior Jason Cabinda and senior
Brandon Bell. Cabinda led the team in
tackles in 2015 with 100 to go along with 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and
an interception. Bell contributed 65
stops, with an impressive 12.5 stops behind the line and 5.5 sacks. Junior Marcus Allen is back at one of the
safety spots. He played a big role in the PSU defense being able to get many
“coverage” sacks and with Jordan Lucas leaving for the NFL, Allen’s role will
increase. In addition to his outstanding
downfield coverage, Allen contributed 81 tackles last year, good for second on
the team. Malik Gordon figures to start
at the other safety and played well in mostly a backup role, with 40 tackles
and an interception. Junior Grant Haley
and sophomore John Reid will be at the corners.
Haley had a very good year with 42 tackles and two interceptions, while
Reid chipped in 29 tackles and also had two picks.
The Lions
return both of their specialists for 2016,
Joey Julius was 10 of 12 on his field goal tries with a long of 40,
while punter Daniel Pasquariello averaged almost 40 yards on his 58 punts.
Penn State
has a big September after their season opener against Kent State. They renew a rivalry of sorts with Pittsburgh
at Heinz Field; their first matchup since 2000.
Then comes the rematch with Temple, where the Lions will look to avenge
last year’s season-opening loss. The B1G
opener features a tough road trip to Michigan, but Penn State gets three tough
ones at home against Ohio State, Iowa, and Michigan State. This is where the rebuilt offensive and
defensive lines will be severely tested and will make or break the season.
PROJECTION: 7-5 (4-4) 5th
in East Division
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