The offseason is all but over for the Penn State football program. The Nittany Lions will fully transition into the preseason this week when camp starts on Wednesday. Since the 2023 regular season ended, there has been transfer portal movement, three new coordinator hires, winter workouts, spring practice, summer workouts, and now Big Ten Media Days, which took place earlier this week and served as the unofficial kickoff to the 2024 season.
Before we also fully turn our attention to camp and the season ahead, we’re looking back at the top seven storylines that shaped head coach James Franklin’s program heading into camp in no particular order.
1. The three new coordinator hires
Some of you would argue that there’s another place to start this list, and you’re probably right, but we’ll get to the most talked-about position of the last six months in a bit. First up are the three new play callers. Franklin, over his 10 years at Penn State, has never found himself needing to hire an offensive, defensive, and special teams coordinator all in one offseason. But, that’s what had to happen after he fired Mike Yurcich in November before Manny Diaz left for Duke in December and Stacy Collins moved on to Boise State in January.
Penn State won a negotiating battle with Kansas to pry offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki away in time to bring him in to evaluate things during bowl season. Tom Allen, who was loaded with free time after being fired by Indiana , spent weeks in State College observing things and meeting with Franklin before both sides decided he was the right replacement for Diaz. And, Justin Lustig was plucked away from Vanderbilt in very short order after Collins left.
By all accounts, the trio has transitioned smoothly into their new roles, fit in with the returning staff, and are well-liked by the players.
2. Fleming in, KLS out
Penn State reversed a recruiting loss in the transfer portal when it added Julian Fleming to the roster this offseason. The Pa., native and former five-star recruit has taken on a leadership role in the receivers room now after gaining the trust and respect of his teammates throughout winter workouts and spring practice. He may not transform the room all by himself. But, he’s an extremely solid member of it, and that’s the floor for his potential contributions this fall.
Fleming always had a path to the field. He would not joined the Nittany Lions otherwise. But, a three-way battle to be the team’s No. 1 receiver was reduced to two when KeAndre Lambert-Smith hit the portal after spring practice and landed at Auburn . It leaves Harrison “Trey” Wallace III and Fleming as the likely Nos. 1 and 2 for position coach Marques Hagans this fall.
3. Let’s continue the receiver talk
You, our beloved reader, may find yourself thinking, “Why are there two sections in this story dedicated to receivers?” Allow me to share a secret: Nothing was discussed more by our team here at Blue-White Illustrated and members of ‘Nittany Nation’ this offseason than the receivers. In fact, I am somewhat confident that if we posted a story with a headline of “Penn State receivers” with absolutely nothing in the body of the story, it would still be the most-read story of the day. That’s how much conversation there’s been about this position over the last six months.
It’s not without good reason, of course. The Lions added Fleming, lost ‘KLS’, and otherwise return almost everyone else from a room that was underwhelming a year ago. Did the receivers take too much of the blame for the offense’s struggles in 2023? In our opinion, yes. But, that doesn’t mean they must be better this fall for Penn State to go where it wants to go. And, so, the talk about the pass catchers will not end now. Instead, it’ll continue throughout August and right into the regular season. How the tone of the chatter changes depends entirely on th e outcome at West Virginia and against Bowling Green to start the year.
4. Sizing up the offensive tackle rotation
For the first time in a couple of years, Penn State spent the offseason working on finding not one but two new starting offensive tackles. But, the search will continue into preseason camp. A betting man would back junior Drew Shelton and redshirt freshman Anthony Donkoh to start at left and right tackle, respectively. But, a planned postseason surgery cost the former all of spring practice and the latter missed, at the very least, the Blue-White game. Shelton will still be the LT1, by all accounts. But, Donkoh is in a tussle with transfer Nolan Rucci for the RT1 job. Regardless of who wins it, a rotation there feels likely, at least in the early going. And, it will keep the positions in the spotlight throughout September.
5. The Penn State injury report
Penn State, for the most part, had a very healthy and happy offseason. But, it didn’t come without some issues. The best news of all for the Lions is that Shelton is ready to roll for preseason camp.
“Drew is full go,” Franklin said this week. “He got cleared maybe about halfway through the summer for everything. Certain lifts he was being modified on, he’s able to do that, do all the contact; he’s full go, and has been full go long enough that we feel good about it.”
Franklin also provided some other updates on players who are recovering. Read our full recap on that from Wednesday below:
QB Jaxon Smolik ( BWI reported in March that he’d miss ‘significant time’ ): “Smolik’s going to be a little bit longer in this process until he’s full go,” Franklin said. “It will make it difficult during training camp (emphasis Franklin’s) to be competing for a job. But, he’s done a very good job mentally. He’s very far along in the process. I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but it’s the second time [he’s had a significant injury]. So I think sometimes that’s helpful when these guys have had significant injuries before.
“The guys going through it the first time, they struggle, because they’ve never been through it before. I think it’s really helped him in his approach and his maturity about how to handle it.”
DE Zuriah Fisher ( BWI reported in June that he’d be out ‘indefinitely’ following a spring injury ): “We expect to have Zuriah, Jackson, back at some point this season,” Franklin said.
LB Keon Wylie (BWI reported in May that he’d miss ‘significant time’ due to injury): “Expect him to be back,” Franklin said. “Same thing. Long-term injury. But we expect him to be back this season. And, excited about getting him back.”
WR Josiah Brown (came to campus in the Class of 2024 following an injury late in his senior season): “It kind of goes back to my comment before,” Franklin said. “He’s been physically cleared for a while. But, this is his first major injury. So, there’s the mental aspect. I know talking to him in the weight room the other day, he’s finally at a point where he feels like, he said, ‘Coach, I’m 100 percent. I’m like, ‘100 percent?” He goes, ‘Yeah, 100 percent,’ like, he feels good. So that’s great going into camp.
“Real talented guy. It’s a shame that his senior year got cut short. So, it’s exciting having him back and seeing what he’ll do. And it’s great that he feels, mentally and physically, 100 percent going into camp.”
6. Penn State has a new plan for Abdul Carter
There is a reason we said above that this list is in no particular order. Because if it were a 1-7 ranking, this section would be much closer to the top. The Penn State Internet community was set ablaze back in February when a new roster update signaled that All-Big Ten linebacker Abdul Carter was moving to defensive end. Franklin would later say that the junior brought the proposal to the staff. They signed off on it. We learned this week, however, that he will bounce around Tom Allen’s defense series-to-series and week-to-week to both maximize his talents and keep opponents off balance.
“We have the flexibility to play him at both positions,” Franklin said this week. “He’s one of the unique athletes that was playing linebacker at 250 pounds. You never know how that transition is going to go, playing in space at the linebacker position compared to moving up to the line of scrimmage and having to go against offensive tackles. He made the adjustment pretty quickly.
“At the end of the day, you’re talking about one of the most explosive, physical athletes in all of college football. We think he has a chance to make a significant impact. Week to week, we’ll decide where he’s going to have the most impact for us, whether it’s going to be at defensive end or at linebacker. This spring, he stayed mostly at defensive end to get comfortable with that. Then after that, we had a really good conversation, and he’s open to doing both. That will also put us in a position where people can’t game plan and know exactly where he’s going to be on defense.”
7. Sizing up the ‘Lion’ spot
Let’s wrap up here. And, if you think we missed something, tell us about it inside The Lions Den message board.
Tom Allen comes from a 4-2-5 background. And, so, while Penn State will still work out of a base 4-3 defense, you are going to see a lot of three safety looks this fall. That will include times when the Lions put the ‘Lion’ position in play.
Sometimes, it will indeed be a third safety. In other instances, it will be a cornerback playing the traditional nickelback role. And, it could even be a linebacker playing in a hybrid role. Regardless, the main takeaway here is that Allen’s defense will look similar to Manny Diaz’s in a lot of ways. But, while his extra secondary member was typically slot corner Daequan Hardy, Allen will maximize a strong top three at safety that includes KJ Winston Jr. , Jaylen Reed , and Zakee Wheatley and will also mix and match other players at different positions in the ‘Lion’ role when the situation calls for it.
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