Penn State redshirt report: Which first-year freshmen played against Rutgers?
Penn State football did not use as many freshmen as some may have anticipated during a 27-6 win over Rutgers. That’s because the game was closer for longer than the final score might indicate. The Lions did not go up by two scores until 14:14 to go in the game and did not reach the final margin of victory until about three minutes remaining. That meant some young defenders saw some snaps on defense but none did on offense.
“We knew this was going to be a battle this week and I’m proud,” Lions coach James Franklin said. “I’m proud of the guys and I’m proud to staff. To be able to get another win and continue to head in the right direction. Obviously, we got some things that we got to get cleaned up for this film. But, culturally, I feel really good. I feel really good about the players, about the staff, and about the coaches. I feel really good about the culture in the locker room and inside Lasch building, the things that we can control. Knock on wood, you know, pretty darn good production on Saturdays. Not a whole lot of issues off the field, which I take a tremendous amount of pride in.
” I know it’s important to our Lettermen and I know that’s important to our alumni, and I know it’s important to this community that our guys conduct themselves well. But there’s a ton of positives. There’s obviously some areas that we have to get better and I take full responsibility for that. But there’s also a ton of positives and people are willing to talk them.”
Here is this week’s redshirt report.
Penn State redshirt report: Rutgers
Linebacker Tony Rojas continues to show why so many believe his future is so bright at Penn State. He only played one defensive series. It was the last drive of the game. And, he made four tackles (1.5 for loss) over the span of five plays. It was impressive, and he is going to be a big part of the defense next season.
Defensive end Jameial Lyons played more than Rojas. He recorded two tackles. Cornerback Elliot Washington II returned after missing two games to play on special teams. And, safety King Mack did so, as well, as did Zion Tracy.
Nittany Lion redshirt report
Thanks to an NCAA rule change, players can now suit up in four regular season games and an unlimited number of postseason games while still preserving a year of eligibility. So, Penn State would need to use a freshman in five of 12 regular season games to burn his redshirt this fall. With just one regular season games left, any of the players in the two games category could play this weekend and in the bowl game and still preserve a year of eligibility. So, we’ll be watching to see if any members of that group see extra time on Saturday.
Here’s where the Penn State tracker stands now.
Eleven games
LB Tony Rojas
CB Zion Tracy
S King Mack
Eight games
CB Elliot Washington II
Six games
DE Jameial Lyons
Two games
OT J’ven Williams
OT Anthony Donkoh
TE Andrew Rappleyea
OL Chimdy Onoh
LB Ta’Mere Robinson
LB Kaveion Keys
One game
QB Jaxon Smolik
DT Tyriq Blanding
CB Lamont Payne
S DaKaari Nelson
Zero games for Penn State this season
RB London Montgomery
RB Cam Wallace
WR Carmelo Taylor
TE Joey Schlaffer
OL Alex Birchmeier
DE Joseph Mupoyi
DE Mason Robinson
