Penn State Monday Musings: Parker Washington's progression, the O-Line situation, more

Penn State football enters Thanksgiving week preparing for its final regular-season game of the year on Saturday against Michigan State.

With a ranked opponent on tap, there’s plenty to talk about, so let’s dive right into this week’s Monday Musings.

1. The Parker Parade

Let’s talk about Parker Washington.

So much of the discussion about Penn State’s wide receivers this season has revolved around Jahan Dotson — and rightfully so. But Washington is putting together an excellent back half of the season and it doesn’t feel to me like that’s being acknowledged very much.

Washington got into the end zone for the third time this year on Saturday against Rutgers, finishing the game with six receptions for 72 yards.

The week before, he brought in four catches for 92 yards. He was a non-factor against Maryland, but was outstanding against Ohio State, reaching the 100-yard mark for the second time this season.

Washington is up to 662 receiving yards for the year — placing him in the top 10 in the Big Ten. He seems like the guy to take over the mantle as PSU’s top wideout when Dotson departs, and Penn State fans should feel better about that after what he’s done in the last few weeks.

2. A Game of What-If

I’m usually not one for hypotheticals, but I’ve been thinking about one in particular since Penn State’s win over Rutgers on Saturday with a flu-ridden roster.

What if this game had come earlier in the season? What if Penn State lost the majority of its starting offensive line in, say, Week Five? Would that have changed how the Nittany Lions thought about that position for the rest of the season?

I’m interested to see what James Franklin and the Penn State coaching staff do with that position group after the showing PSU’s makeshift O-Line produced against the Scarlet Knights.

It is Rutgers, after all. But the Scarlet Knights aren’t as horrendous as they have been in years past. Penn State posted its best run-blocking grade of the season according to Pro Football Focus on Saturday.

Did that earn Landon Tengwall, for example, more time against Michigan State this Saturday? What about Bryce Effner? Would those guys be fixtures in Penn State’s lineup by now had this game taken place a month or two earlier?

3. Kalen King’s Bounce Back For Penn State

After Kalen King got picked on Michigan’s game-winning touchdown pass midweek, Franklin sort of brushed off the idea that it might affect his confidence moving forward.

Sure enough, King was excellent against the Scarlet Knights on Saturday. PFF gave the true freshman an 84.4 overall grade — the highest among Penn State defenders who played at least 20 snaps.

King covered extremely well. The Scarlet Knights targeted him twice and both times King came away with a pass-break up. He nearly intercepted one of them. In fact, you could argue that he should have intercepted it.

Still, it was a very solid performance from the rookie, and an important one after that after the difficult end to the Michigan game.

4. Micah Parsons Remains Ridiculous

Former Nittany Lion turned Dallas Cowboys rookie superstar Micah Parsons picked up another pair of sacks on Sunday against the Chiefs.

Parsons now has eight sacks to his name in 10 games so far this season.

That’s an outrageous total, considering he has split time between linebacker and defensive end during his rookie season in the NFL.

The NFL’s all-time rookie sacks record belongs to Jevon Kearse, who posted 14.5 in 1999.

Parsons can get there with 6.5 more sacks in his final seven games.

I wouldn’t bet against him.

5. A Pleasant Surprise for Penn State Hoops

Micah Shrewsberry’s group takes on Cornell on Monday night, looking for a third win of the season.

There’s been plenty to talk about regarding the hoops program with a new regime underway, but one of the most surprising things to me has been the play of big man Jalanni White.

He forced his way into the starting lineup for the Nittany Lions last Thursday against St. Francis. He’s averaging six points per game and more than three offensive rebounds per game through three contests.

Considering he got nowhere close to those numbers playing in the MAAC last season with Canisius, it’s a huge boost for the Nittany Lions. And an important one at that, with big man Greg Lee injured to begin the season.