Penn State notebook: Lions starters hit by non-COVID illness, Kalen King's progress, more

A handful of Penn State football offensive linemen did not appear at the practice session open to the media on Wednesday, including starters Caedan Wallace, Mike Miranda and Rasheed Walker.

Penn State coach James Franklin said those absences are related to a non-COVID-19 related illness that several Nittany Lions are dealing with.

” I think we had about six guys that — non-COVID-related — but had fevers, really over the last couple days,” Franklin said. “So, that’s what we’re dealing with.”

Franklin said Landon Tengwall and Bryce Effner are the two players who are closest to being able to step in should the Nittany Lions need them on Saturday.

Effner is already doing so. The redshirt junior has 175 snaps under his belt so far this season. Tengwall is a different story. The highly rated freshman has yet to see the field for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State can now play Tengwall without redshirt implications with only two regular-season games remaining.

“We’ll just kind of see but, yeah, Landon and Effner are the two guys that I think are the closest to being able to contribute and help,” Franklin said. “But, we’ll see how the week plays out. Effner obviously played multiple positions and done a bunch of things for us, but we may need more. We may need more. So, Landon’s also a guy who’s a swing guy who’s taking reps this week at guard and tackle. We’ll see how that plays out.”

A note on Kalen King

Penn State cornerback Kalen King has played more than any other true freshman on the PSU roster 10 games into the season.

Asked for an update on his development, Franklin said he’s “very pleased with him.”

“A lot of guys, you can tell the first time they get out there — they’re maybe a little nervous, or the moment’s kind of big for them,” Franklin said. “I never feel that way with Kalen. He’s got tremendous confidence in himself. He’s played a decent amount already this year. So, I could see his rep count continue to go up as the season goes on.”

King found himself on the field in the game’s deciding moment last week against Michigan, which Franklin said Wednesday was due to Tariq Castro-Fields being banged up.

King collided with Daequan Hardy as the two met in the middle of the field in man coverage, allowing Michigan tight end Erick All to spring free for the game-winning touchdown.

Franklin doesn’t think the moment has shaken King mentally.

“I would say it probably is a little bit different if you’re in a one-on-one situation,” Franklin said. “In that situation, obviously they ran a pick play, and two of our guys ran into each other trying to weave their way through the traffic. Still frustrating, still disappointing, all those types of things, but I don’t think it’s gonna affect his confidence. He’s a very confident guy.”

Penn State’s backup quarterback situation

Franklin confirmed that true freshman Christian Veilleux occupies the No. 2 spot on Penn State’s quarterback depth chart at the moment, rather than Ta’Quan Roberson, who played in Sean Clifford’s stead when he went down with an injury against Iowa this season.

“Yeah, that’s fair at this stage right now,” Franklin said. “It’s still a weekly competition. But yeah, that’s fair.”