The Penn State football program opened its 2024 preseason practices on Wednesday afternoon. The first of a three-week stretch of camp that leads into the Nittany Lions’ formal game preparation to face West Virginia on August 31, it’s officially crunch time.
Position battles will be waged, won, and lost. The systems of coordinators Andy Kotelnicki, Tom Allen, and Justin Lustig will be hammered home and fine-tuned. And, the stakes of a 2024 campaign for a program on the brink will take shape.
To preview all of those storylines and more, the Penn State football program will hold its annual preseason media day on Saturday. Head coach James Franklin will kick off the festivities with an afternoon press conference, followed by those of his coordinators and, eventually, all of the Nittany Lions’ players and assistant coaches (absent the true freshmen).
What will they be talking about? Let’s dive into the possibilities with three comments, a couple of questions to be answered, and a prediction.
The leadership situation
This piece has been hammered home in this space this summer. But, it bears repeating. Penn State has a leadership issue that stands both as an opportunity and a concern heading into preseason practice. Franklin laid out in the winter the necessity of a player-led team, implying last year’s effort was not to the level necessary in the process.
Has it changed this offseason?
There is no question that Penn State players and coaches will be called upon to address that evolution on Saturday. Given Franklin’s comments this summer, offering signs of encouragement and progress while still requiring more, plus the assertions of quarterback Drew Allar , a better picture should emerge of where this team stands on the leadership front in preseason practice.
But, one thing is clear, everyone is on the same page that it’s a necessity for this team to have this season.
The receivers situation
After an offseason culling of well-known receiver names – Dante Cephas, KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Malick Meiga, Malik McClain, and Cristian Driver – the remaining names are understood at Penn State. This is now clearly about Trey Wallace, Julian Fleming, Omari Evans, Liam Clifford, and Kaden Saunders, primarily.
The fringes of that mix will be better understood after this weekend, though.
Typically, hopes and expectations externally pertaining to needed contributing receivers is off. Usually, only three primary producers are necessary, with a fourth serving as an added bonus. Given Penn State’s arsenal of pass-catchers at other positions, namely Tyler Warren, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, and Khalil Dinkins, among others, the window could potentially again be smaller for the Nittany Lions’ receivers this season.
Where that balance stands in the receivers room, as well as in the intention of Penn State offensively, will be better defined coming out of this weekend.
The vibe
Every season and team has its own unique brand. Naturally, the “us against the world” narrative is a favorite in college football among teams and fan bases. But there are also “we’re professionals” and “nobody believed in us” and “handling our business” angles that are often explored.
What will Penn State’s be this season?
Given the narrative arc of the program, there are certainly pressure cooker vibes through the offseason. Penn State wants to win – needs to win? – and it has to happen now. The 2023 season was the first of a two-year window that seemingly everyone has been eyeing for years. It didn’t work out to the extent the Nittany Lions would have hoped.
Now, with a changed Big Ten, no longer stuck in the most top-loaded division in college football, and a changed College Football Playoff format, the bar to clear is decidedly lower to reach national relevance this season. Whether this is a team that is going to take on a personality matching that pressure from the fan base and media is to be determined, but Saturday should go a long way to realizing the influence of Franklin and his coordinator, in particular.
Questions to be answered
How good is that leadership?
Allar offered clues this summer of where the leadership was coming from within this team. He highlighted KJ Winston, for instance, along with Zane Durant, Nick Dawkins, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, and Julian Fleming, Liam Clifford, and Trey Wallace. There are surely more that will draw praise from teammates and coaches.
But how good is it?
That’s a question likely to be left to Franklin and his assistants to answer. Steps taken are fine, but they demand contextualization. Allar is going to be a central part of that conversation, now heading into his third year in the program and second as the starter. Flatly, though, the place the Nittany Lions left the topic in June was one calling for an internal dynamic that hadn’t yet emerged, but will need to, for them to achieve their goals this season.
Who is buzzing?
Easy question without easy answers, necessarily, but worth the effort nonetheless. Certainly, Penn State assistant coaches and players want to talk up their teammates. There will be an undeniable element of that, but it will be well-rounded and comprehensive in nature because efforts are made to ensure that no one is excluded from the love. So, players like Audavion Collins, Nick Dawkins, Xavier Gilliam, Jaylen Reed, and others will be talked about glowingly.
But, newer breakouts will be harder to gauge, and most likely be left for another day. Without having breached the padded portion of practices yet, the real moves won’t emerge for another 7-10 days.
Regardless, comparing notes between this offseason’s under-the-radar movers and who is transitioning that into camp will be worth pursuing.
Prediction: Two suspensions will not be elaborated upon
At present, status quo is that Jameial Lyons and Kaveion Keys are on interim suspension from the program while they deal with a personal issue.
Or, as detailed by a Penn State statement:
“They are on interim suspension handling a personal matter and we will not have any further comment.”
This isn’t going to be a daily updates kind of thing. If something happens, we will report it. If it doesn’t, in an official capacity, the program would then need to change their status.
But, the official statement is comprehensive in its meaning. There is nothing more to say from an official standpoint while they handle their personal issues. And, importantly to Penn State as camp opens, they will remain suspended until something regarding those personal issues changes.
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