Looking at the 2019 Penn State offense to rebuild a contender: BWI Daily
Penn State football has been a .500 team with embattled quarterback Sean Clifford at the helm for the past two seasons. However, many fans are frustrated that Clifford is the presumed starter heading into next Fall. So the host of the BWI Daily Edition, Thomas Frank Carr, is endeavoring to find out how the Nittany Lions can be successful next season by looking to the past. He’s examining the 2019 Penn State football team through PFF data to determine what they did to win ten games and threaten a College Football Playoff spot. Today he looks at the rest of the offense around Clifford to see what was different from 2019 to 2021, and then he projects to the future.
Comparing the 2019 and the 2021 skill positions and offensive line
T-Frank starts by looking at the Penn State pass protection from both seasons. While the offensive line was bad in 2021, was the 2019 team better? He finds some interesting results and shares them.
Next, he takes a look at the receivers, breaking down the deep threats, chain movers, and YAC players from both seasons. How do second-round picks Pat Freiermuth and KJ Hamler stack up against first-round wideout Jahan Dotson and his teammates? T-Frank found that several things were the same while the situation was different.
Finally, he takes a deep dive into the Penn State running game from both seasons. He examines the offensive line and the runners to see where Penn State fell short in 2021.
Penn State underclassmen that can push for playing time
At some point, every coach on the Penn State football staff has likely uttered some form of the following thought. It’s not intended to be cruel but a motivating tool for their players. But unfortunately, while it’s not cruel, it is the harsh reality of competitive environments.
“Don’t get complacent because we go out and look for players that can replace you every year.”
So with that thought in mind, which players on the roster are in that situation? Who needs to step up their game and leave no doubt that they are worthy of being on the field, lest they be supplanted? This week we’ll look at the veterans who are in danger of losing playing time and the underclassmen who can challenge them.
Penn State veterans that could lose playing time: Keyvone Lee
Threat: Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen
Running back Keyvone Lee’s journey is both fortuitous and unfortunate, thanks to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Lee was never supposed to see the field as a freshman in 2020, or at least not so early. But after teammate Journey Brown was diagnosed with a heart condition and forced to retire, that left co-starter Noah Cain to shoulder the load.
After Cain went down on the season’s third play, Lee was the bell cow in a flash. Since then, he’s had to grow and develop his game before our eyes. Unfortunately, most fans and media don’t have the stomach or the patience to watch a player get better.
Yet, in that time, Lee has done enough to be the lead back for two seasons, which is fortunate for him coming into 2022. If he were getting the chance to be the lead back for the first time, he would have less cache with the staff to hold that position in an open competition.
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