My Observations

[KingLando]

Random musings...


-Disappointed that Q didn't see any time out there. I'm not impressed with Hansen's vision. It's like he follows the play script to a T and doesn't look to bounce anywhere. Had 2 plays where a simple scoot to the right would have netted a bigger play.

I swear to God this is a repeat of people that didn't like Kaytron and couldn't grasp why he should have been RB1 for the past 3 years
In games that matter, Hansen will get 65% of the snaps with Peoples getting about 30%. Martin's RB4 right now and it's understandable. Questioning Hansen's vision is terrifying in all honest--please go watch more game film on him.

 

[Efejle]

Where was Quinton Martin today?

I saw him standing on the sidelines. Which already by default makes him an improvement over Hansen, who literally falls down and loses his balance regardless of the play

 

[Ludd]

I swear to God this is a repeat of people that didn't like Kaytron and couldn't grasp why he should have been RB1 for the past 3 years
In games that matter, Hansen will get 65% of the snaps with Peoples getting about 30%. Martin's RB4 right now and it's understandable. Questioning Hansen's vision is terrifying in all honest--please go watch more game film on him.

Don’t believe what you see now everyone, go watch game film from the past.

 

[PSUHarry]

Granville was not a starter. But because people love to freak out, after he gets hurt yet again he immediately became a Hall of famer

Most explosive DE we had coming out of Fall camp.

 

[KingLando]

Don’t believe what you see now everyone, go watch game film from the past.

Rewatch the first two games setting your bias aside...I know you can't but try
Again...people here want Martin to play so they're creating a false narrative. This is nothing new around here.

 

[Ludd]

Rewatch the first two games setting your bias aside...I know you can't but try
Again...people here want Martin to play so they're creating a false narrative. This is nothing new around here.

I will say it again, I don’t care who plays, I would just like to see someone who can break off a 15 or 20 yard run every once in a while or doesn’t stutter step before they get to the LOS. I don’t care which of the four backs that is, but so far it hasn’t been Hansen. I have no allegiance to any of them and I’m not sure why that’s your only argument against people who want to see more out of our featured RB. If your argument had any credibility wouldn’t everyone want Becht to not be the QB or Brahmer not be the TE?

 

[Chumboshifko1]

Yes, CC was going to show the entire play book against Temple.... LoL!

 

[KingLando]

I will say it again, I don’t care who plays, I would just like to see someone who can break off a 15 or 20 yard run every once in a while or doesn’t stutter step before they get to the LOS. I don’t care which of the four backs that is, but so far it hasn’t been Hansen. I have no allegiance to any of them and I’m not sure why that’s your only argument against people who want to see more out of our featured RB. If your argument had any credibility wouldn’t everyone want Becht to not be the QB or Brahmer not be the TE?

Read the comments.. they're all about Q
If Grunk stayed you'd hear the same about Becht
We play multiple TEs the same amount so that's not an issue
This is about wanting the Penn State because or lack of football knowledge because what you're saying is untrue. He only hesitates when there isn't a hole (like most back as they should its call patience) and he's plenty fast enough. Same arguments were used against Kaytron because people liked the big threat ability of Singleton over Allen. They were always wrong believing Allen wasn't better. Same here . Hansen is our best back. And he's proven it.

 

[bdgan]

I saw him standing on the sidelines. Which already by default makes him an improvement over Hansen, who literally falls down and loses his balance regardless of the play

That's pretty harsh. Hansen had 19 carries for 84 yds. I think he's a solid RB. The problem is he doesn't have great moves or breakaway speed. We need somebody like that to create a 1-2 punch.

 

[bdgan]

Granville was not a starter. But because people love to freak out, after he gets hurt yet again he immediately became a Hall of famer

I don't know about being a Hall of Famer but he was a highly rated prospect and was predicted to start opposite DDS before getting hurt last year. He was probably our best chance along with Kemajou to have any sort of pass rush this season. I think it's a big loss.

 

[Marshall2323]

I saw him standing on the sidelines. Which already by default makes him an improvement over Hansen, who literally falls down and loses his balance regardless of the play

This coaching staff always plays "the best players." Unlike previous staffs. I read it here. So nothing to discuss.

 

[bdgan]

If Grunk stayed you'd hear the same about Becht

I have nothing against Becht but I'd rather have Grunk for 3 yrs than Becht for 1 year. Maybe Campbell picked Becht out of loyalty but he might have picked him because having Becht was necessary in order to also get Brahmer, Sowell, Robinson, and Eskildsen.

 

[Marshall2323]

I'm celebrating because we will never see PSU's offense stalled inside the 10 yard line (especially against a weak opponent). We have a coach that knows how to teach tackling. Our DC will eat any team alive that has 3 OL injured and starts freshman at OT. Finally, we will never have to say after a listless game vs. a "team without a pulse" that "well a win is a win."

 

[Rocco3]

Rocco is one of the more decisive QB's we've had in years IMHO.

I'm not worried about Hansen, however, I really like the series where Peoples was running in between the tackles with authority. They never really came back to him inside though.

After years of begging for Wideouts these 3 are fine.

OL will get better. Goodman is a pup still and all good OL's need cohesion so they need time.

Head scratcher will clock on the score though. Thank God they score or ths board would be Franklin BS on steroids.

I was disappointed on the other side of the ball.

No real sustained pressure from DE's. If you want to be with the big boys in college football, it starts with DE's that are terrors.
DT's were disappointing. Temple playing with 3 new OLineman and they pushed us around at times. No sustained "push" on pass rush.
LB's will be fine, DB will be fine, couple missed tackles but it is early.

Biggest takeaway for me is defensive is average at best.

Rocco is still missing a decision here and there in RPO's but was still better against Temple. He will need to improve his RPO decisions against better competition and I beleive he will.

Hansan should never get more than 10 carries a game. He's very serviceable but beyond that we are asking to much of him.

DT's were fine and filled space as they were supposed to do. The 1st half scheme should have been tweaked after the first quarter. After the half the scheme against that stuff up the middle and those QB runs was better. But I can see where running QB's will give this team problems.

The OL is just fine and in fact very good. They played another very good game against Temple. A RB with better vision and instincts would help a lot.

I still see DE as a question mark. But they haven't been terrible so I think there is hope there if we can stay healthy after losing Granville.

 

[bdgan]

My game grades:

QB: B+
It's tough to beat 77% completion and 3 TDs but I wasn't impressed with Becht's running ability or his rollout pass attempt from the 5 yd line.

OL: C
No big runs against Temple. Couldn't finish on 2 trips inside the 10 yd line.

RB: B-
Hansen was solid but not spectacular. Peoples had 1 nice run but not much else.

WR: B
Sowell couldn't hold on to a TD pass that I thought could have been ruled a fumble and TO. Koby caught a 56 yd pass on the first play but couldn't do anything from there. Brahmer had 2 TS catches. Still not much from Rapp.

DL: C-
Struggled to stop Mason or Smolik running. Only 1 sack by Kemajou. We're going to miss Granville.

LB: C
Rojas had another strong game but we struggled to stop Smolik running. Bacon & Ebel impressed me vs Marshall but not much today from either of them.

DB: B
Probably the strength of this team. Tracy, Neal, and Collins have been good. I was hoping to see a repeat performance from Zayas but it didn't happen.

Special Teams: B
No big returns from Robinson. Barker missed a short FG. Tyce had a nice punt to pin Temple deep.

Coaching: C
Not nearly as much enthusiasm this week.

 

[olelion]

It used to be that the 2nd team quarterback was the most popular player. On here it's the 3rd string running back. Times have changed

 

[MtNittany]

My complaint: Run more offensive plays. It's early in the season. More plays = more reps for starters AND later on in the game, reserves. It was frustrating watching every play clock run down constantly.

 

[JerseyLion]

Yes, CC was going to show the entire play book against Temple.... LoL!

Every year we make the same excuse about not showing the playbook in nonconference games, but then the playbook never changes for the rest of the season. Here’s hoping that’s not the case with the new coaching staff.

 

[JoeLion]

For how much the offense is getting paid I expected more scoring in the first half, of course the other teams defense is getting paid too

 

[Marshall2323]

It used to be that the 2nd team quarterback was the most popular player. On here it's the 3rd string running back. Times have changed

Give them time. It's only the second game.

 

[Marshall2323]

For how much the offense is getting paid I expected more scoring in the first half, of course the other teams defense is getting paid too

One teams players are getting paid significantly more than the other.

 

[WaffleShopper]

It used to be that the 2nd team quarterback was the most popular player. On here it's the 3rd string running back. Times have changed

I don’t think that Martin is the most popular. It’s that people think he has the highest ceiling. Campbell has probably made his decision already on his #1/2/3. But for everybody else who does not get to see the backs every day in practice, we want to selfishly get to see more of the backups in games so we can make that decision on our own.

Hansen is a good RB but he's not elite. We saw his ceiling last year and at this rate he'll have a solid 700-800 yards for us. Maybe this is another Becht vs Grunkemeyer situation for Campbell and he's going with the safe, known, reliable option. Hansen will get us 3 yards most carries, will be secure with the ball, and will break off an occasional 10-15 yarder and that will be more than enough against most teams on our schedule. That's probably what Campbell wants. My thinking is that 3 yards is probably 1-2 yards against a team like Michigan and that puts us in 3rd and long far too often.

If there’s an elite RB on our roster I think it’s probably Martin. Maybe Campbell already knows the answer to that question, but fans are selfish and want to see it for themselves.

 

[Marshall2323]

I don’t think that Martin is the most popular. It’s that people think he has the highest ceiling. Campbell has probably made his decision already on his #1/2/3. But for everybody else who does not get to see the backs every day in practice, we want to selfishly get to see more of the backups in games so we can make that decision on our own.

Hansen is a good RB but he's not elite. We saw his ceiling last year and at this rate he'll have a solid 700-800 yards for us. Maybe this is another Becht vs Grunkemeyer situation for Campbell and he's going with the safe, known, reliable option. Hansen will get us 3 yards most carries, will be secure with the ball, and will break off an occasional 10-15 yarder and that will be more than enough against most teams on our schedule. That's probably what Campbell wants. My thinking is that 3 yards is probably 1-2 yards against a team like Michigan and that puts is 3rd and long far too often.

If there’s an elite RB on our roster I think it’s probably Martin. Maybe Campbell already knows the answer to that question, but fans are selfish and want to see it for themselves.

Couldn't agree more. Who is Matt Campbell to think he has the right to decide who plays? Because he's at practice? Talkin about practice?
The BWICAC will always reserve the final authority to determine who the best players are. It's who "We Are!"
PS- just having some fun. Your assessment of Hansen is probably correct. I would be concerned with certain wide receiver imported from ISU that seem to run into drops. I once posted that the best thing about this team is the schedule. Of course, everyone here agreed. LOL

We'll see a great game vs Buffalo and all will be healed. This is a squad with good talent. But fans should not be looking for 1995. Perhaps 8-4 in a normal (schedule) year. This schedule provides a 9-3 floor and I think a 10-2 or 11-1 result. WM beat Michigan at home. Washington is struggling as well.
A concern should be 1 sack vs a second string Temple OL.

 

[Bison13]

I’m not as concerned as some are here because I mostly will chalk this up to a roster and coaches who had their first away game. Temples not awful though there are some concerning things that they should have done better but it doesn’t matter the level, that first road trip of the year is always tough.
We always like to have our last scrimmage before the regular season as an away one since that scrimmage was the most game like for any sport. College football doesn’t have that luxury of taking the kids on the road in the preseason where it doesn’t actually count towards your record.

 

[KingLando]

I have nothing against Becht but I'd rather have Grunk for 3 yrs than Becht for 1 year. Maybe Campbell picked Becht out of loyalty but he might have picked him because having Becht was necessary in order to also get Brahmer, Sowell, Robinson, and Eskildsen.

Maybe Campbell wasn't impressed with Grunk or thought Manske was better. My point though was if Becht came here and Grunk was the backup now matter how well Becht played a segment of the board would be saying Grunk needs to play.

I'm understand why you or anyone else would want a guy for 3 years over a guy for 1--I respect that and agree with it. I don't respect this nonsense of Q needs to play over Hansen who's established and been exactly what we'd want from a back so far. People are being overly critical because they want the "real Penn Stater" to play because he stayed.

 

[KingLando]

I don’t think that Martin is the most popular. It’s that people think he has the highest ceiling. Campbell has probably made his decision already on his #1/2/3. But for everybody else who does not get to see the backs every day in practice, we want to selfishly get to see more of the backups in games so we can make that decision on our own.

Hansen is a good RB but he's not elite. We saw his ceiling last year and at this rate he'll have a solid 700-800 yards for us. Maybe this is another Becht vs Grunkemeyer situation for Campbell and he's going with the safe, known, reliable option. Hansen will get us 3 yards most carries, will be secure with the ball, and will break off an occasional 10-15 yarder and that will be more than enough against most teams on our schedule. That's probably what Campbell wants. My thinking is that 3 yards is probably 1-2 yards against a team like Michigan and that puts is 3rd and long far too often.

If there’s an elite RB on our roster I think it’s probably Martin. Maybe Campbell already knows the answer to that question, but fans are selfish and want to see it for themselves.

It's that Martin stayed and people see Hansen as an Iowa State player.
Hansen is better than good and this narrative has to stop. He's borderline elite in pass protection, he has great hands, he powerful, he breaks tackles, he has better speed than anyone admits.
Allen was a better RB than Singleton but people wanted Singleton to play because he was explosive.
Hell, the announcers were comparing him to Barry Sanders yesterday (which is laughable but he's talented) and our board wants Martin to play because he had a good scrimmage in the bowl game and due to *s

 

[LionJim]

Nvm

 

[bdgan]

It used to be that the 2nd team quarterback was the most popular player. On here it's the 3rd 4th string running back. Times have changed

IFIFY

 

[bdgan]

Maybe Campbell wasn't impressed with Grunk or thought Manske was better.

There's no reason why Campbell wouldn't be impressed with Grunk other than he hasn't seen him play in person.

2025 Stats:
Grunk 69% completion, 8 TD, 4 INT, 143 rtg
Becht 60% completion, 16 TD, 9 INT, 135 rtg

I suspect Campbell wanted Grunk to stay but VT offered more money for Grunk to be a starter than PSU offered Grunk to be backup. Like I said players like Sowell, Eskildsen, & Brahmer were probably a package deal with Becht.

 

[BobPSU92]

I’m disappointed that we haven’t done better getting the runs the first two games. buffalo is nothing, so if we still can’t get the runs, then there’s a real problem.

On the bright side, we looked much better in the 2nd half yesterday. It appears that the coaches made good HALFTIME. ADJUSTMENTS. and/or kicked our guys in the a$$.

 

[KingLando]

There's no reason why Campbell wouldn't be impressed with Grunk other than he hasn't seen him play in person.

2025 Stats:
Grunk 69% completion, 8 TD, 4 INT, 143 rtg
Becht 60% completion, 16 TD, 9 INT, 135 rtg

I suspect Campbell wanted Grunk to stay but VT offered more money for Grunk to be a starter than PSU offered Grunk to be backup. Like I said players like Sowell, Eskildsen, & Brahmer were probably a package deal with Becht.

If we're going to be fair with the comparison Becht was 64 TDs and 27 INTs in 3 years as a starter. You're comparing that to a guy that made 6 starts (7 if we count a bowl game)

But, yes, I'd wager he wanted him to stay as the backup but Grunk made the decision (I'd call it a mistake) to follow James. Hope it works out for everyone.

 

[Nitt1300]

 

[Marshall2323]

I’m disappointed that we haven’t done better getting the runs the first two games. buffalo is nothing, so if we still can’t get the runs, then there’s a real problem.

On the bright side, we looked much better in the 2nd half yesterday. It appears that the coaches made good HALFTIME. ADJUSTMENTS. and/or kicked our guys in the a$$.

*** kicking is permitted at Penn State?

 

[WaffleShopper]

Read the comments.. they're all about Q
If Grunk stayed you'd hear the same about Becht
We play multiple TEs the same amount so that's not an issue
This is about wanting the Penn State because or lack of football knowledge because what you're saying is untrue. He only hesitates when there isn't a hole (like most back as they should its call patience) and he's plenty fast enough. Same arguments were used against Kaytron because people liked the big threat ability of Singleton over Allen. They were always wrong believing Allen wasn't better. Same here . Hansen is our best back. And he's proven it.

Hansen isn’t Allen. And he’s proven it. He will probably be a 3-year starter who doesn’t get drafted. That's a solid, reliable college RB. Also not elite.

Your metric for Allar was always his draft projection, no matter how much he choked in big moments or how bad his mechanics were under pressure. I guess sometimes draft projection is the only thing that matters and sometimes it doesn't matter at all.

Maybe Hansen is the best we have but we are selfish and want QM to be given the carries so we can see for ourselves. We’re not all geniuses like you and can’t tell from just a handful of carries spread out over several possessions.

 

[Catch1lion]

 

[NittanyChris]

It's that Martin stayed and people see Hansen as an Iowa State player.
Hansen is better than good and this narrative has to stop. He's borderline elite in pass protection, he has great hands, he powerful, he breaks tackles, he has better speed than anyone admits.
Allen was a better RB than Singleton but people wanted Singleton to play because he was explosive.
Hell, the announcers were comparing him to Barry Sanders yesterday (which is laughable but he's talented) and our board wants Martin to play because he had a good scrimmage in the bowl game and due to *s

You're overstating Hansen's skills to try to fit your narrative. He's a good, tough runner who will be just fine for us.

The problem is Penn State fans are used to having an elite RB. Barkley, Sanders, Journey Brown when healthy, Kaytron, and that's just in recent years. Forget about Warner, Johnson, Thomas, Kijana, etc. Hansen is not on any of their levels.

Can Martin reach that level? We don't have enough data to say just yet. It's that simple.

I do think some fans are denigrating Hansen a bit too much given that both Marshall and Temple stacked the box and focused on stopping the run first. I think Hansen will be solid, just not elite by any means.

 

[KingLando]

Hansen isn’t Allen. And he’s proven it. He will probably be a 3-year starter who doesn’t get drafted. That's a solid, reliable college RB. Also not elite.

Your metric for Allar was always his draft projection, no matter how much he choked in big moments or how bad his mechanics were under pressure. I guess sometimes draft projection is the only thing that matters and sometimes it doesn't matter at all.

Maybe Hansen is the best we have but we are selfish and want QM to be given the carries so we can see for ourselves. We’re not all geniuses like you and can’t tell from just a handful of carries spread out over several possessions.

That wasn't my metric for Allar to start with. Allar was set up to fail by the scheme and you're evaluation of his play in big moments and under pressure is false

The fact anyone here even thought for a second Martin was going to get meaningful carries this year is terrifying. As I said when he stayed, selfishly that was great but it didn't make any sense. Martin is RB4 for the second year in a row. That's not a fluke.

Hansen is the best...he's established that. He's not playing out if loyalty. He wasn't all Big XII out of pity.

Players also don't need to play in the NFL to be great in college

 

[Rocco3]

Hansen isn’t Allen. And he’s proven it. He will probably be a 3-year starter who doesn’t get drafted. That's a solid, reliable college RB. Also not elite.

Your metric for Allar was always his draft projection, no matter how much he choked in big moments or how bad his mechanics were under pressure. I guess sometimes draft projection is the only thing that matters and sometimes it doesn't matter at all.

Maybe Hansen is the best we have but we are selfish and want QM to be given the carries so we can see for ourselves. We’re not all geniuses like you and can’t tell from just a handful of carries spread out over several possessions.

Hansen probably isn't the best we have, at least I hope he isn't.

My guess is he's the best we have at doing everything well and that he isn't going to lose you the game. He probably does all the important things well but in general is not going to be a great RB. He does what the paly calls for, you can bet if the play is designed to go up a certain gap Hansen is going to hit it. But rarely will you ever see him bounce it to make a good play out of one that was going to get stuffed. JoePa would have loved him.

Hansen reminds me of someone maybe Bob Nagle a good back but was never going to be a difference maker but he was rock solid.

 

[KingLando]

You're overstating Hansen's skills to try to fit your narrative. He's a good, tough runner who will be just fine for us.

The problem is Penn State fans are used to having an elite RB. Barkley, Sanders, Journey Brown when healthy, Kaytron, and that's just in recent years. Forget about Warner, Johnson, Thomas, Kijana, etc. Hansen is not on any of their levels.

Can Martin reach that level? We don't have enough data to say just yet. It's that simple.

I do think some fans are denigrating Hansen a bit too much given that both Marshall and Temple stacked the box and focused on stopping the run first. I think Hansen will be solid, just not elite by any means.

I'm not overstating them. Many are refusing to give him the respect and credit he's earned on the field. He's been better than fine or okay through 2 games. As you indicated, teams are loading the box to force us to throw. That's going to limit production of any back.

The past has nothing to do with the present. Martin needs to earn playing time in practice. He's not. He didn't last year and hasn't this year. Hansen and Peoples outperformed him in week 1. He didn't even sniff the field yesterday. There's reasons for it. This isn't Howard producing every time he gets a chance.

People saw Martin in a meaningless scrimmage and now want him to play because "he's a Penn Stater". He stayed when others left. Hansen is a Cyclone and won't get the respect he's earned. It's absurd.

Thankfully MC will continue to play his best back that has earned the playing time.

 

[Bvillebaron]

I agree. But it won't be because a kid made of glass stepped on a pebble and tore his acl yet again. It will be because we have a few too many holes in the team: Not good enough on both sides of scrimmage, no running back threat, and unable to contain running QBs.

What other observations can you share with us from the practice you attended when Granville got hurt?