The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Youth will be served at Penn State this season
More than 70 percent of team is freshmen and sophomores
STATE COLLEGE >> With just 10 seniors on the roster, Penn State has one of the youngest college football teams in the country.
More than 70 percent of the team is made up of freshmen and sophomores, all of them coming from the Nittany Lions’ last three highly rated recruiting classes.
Having so much youth can be a blessing and a curse.
“The positive is that you have a bunch of guys who are hungry,” Penn State coach James Franklin said Saturday, “who are excited, who have something to prove and who have a chip on their shoulders. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.
“The negative is that you lack experience. Experience counts and experience matters. Experience playing major college football. Experience playing in Beaver Stadium. Experience playing in all these different venues on the road. It’s our job as coaches to help these guys gain as much experience and confidence as we can.”
The Lions are bigger, faster and stronger, but will they be better? With 11 returning starters on offense and defense, they’re widely predicted to finish fourth in the Big Ten East behind Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State after going 31-9 the last three seasons.
They must replace Trace McSorley, the most prolific quarterback in school history, and five other NFL draft picks: running back Miles Sanders, guard Connor McGovern, defensive end Shareef Miller, cornerback Amani Oruwariye and safety Nick Scott.
With training camp opening Friday, Penn State began determining its leadership and identity in the next phase of Franklin’s tenure. With eminently talented sophomores like wide receiver KJ Hamler and linebacker Micah Parsons carrying strong voices inside the locker room, the Lions will be brash, not shy.
“Yes, I do look at myself as one of the team leaders,” Hamler said. “I’m going from a rookie to a vet real quick. I had to grow up a little fast and mature more just to be a big brother to everybody else on the team.
“You have to act like a leader all the time. I let my emotions show a lot last year, especially on the field. I can’t really do that this year.”
Finding a replacement for McSorley is the camp’s top priority. With Tommy Stevens opting to transfer to Mississippi State, Sean Clifford immediately became the leading candidate at quarterback.
A four-star recruit in the Class of 2017, Clifford has a strong arm and strong personality. He seeks the spotlight and doesn’t hide from it. It’ll be interesting to see how much offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne tweaks the play-calling to take advantage of Clifford’s passing ability.
Rahne has something to prove after Penn State’s scoring average dipped eight points in his first season as OC. Then there’s defensive coordinator Brent Pry, whose defense allowed Ohio State and Michigan State to rally in the fourth quarter at Beaver Stadium and Kentucky to run out the clock in the Citrus Bowl.
“We may not have as many guys in leadership positions and not as much age and experience,” Pry said, “but we have a chance to have stronger leadership than we’ve had the last couple years. I don’t think it’s about the number of guys, but about the type of guys and their ability to lead. We have a couple really good candidates.”
Exeter product Michal Menet, a junior center, and Gov. Mifflin grad Jan Johnson, a senior middle linebacker, could have large roles in that area.
“That’s going to be a big part of our camp,” Franklin said. “That’s when you find your true identity. You have an idea of what you think you are when you go to camp and then figure out what you’re going to be able to hang your hat on.”
With such few seniors on the team, Penn State will look to younger players to lead the way, such as Hamler.
“Go out and play,” Hamler said about his advice is to younger players. “Don’t think too much about it. When you start thinking too much, that’s when you don’t play as fast or as hard. You start playing slow.
“I thank (former PSU wide receiver) DaeSean Hamilton for that. He told me to slow down. He really helped me out. If you can play, you can play.”