Penn State redshirt report: Which Lions burned a year of eligibility during the 2022 regular season?
Penn State beat Michigan State 35-16 on Saturday to close out the regular season with a fourth consecutive victory. The Lions received some contributions from freshmen over the course of the team’s 10th victory of the year.
“I just thought we played really good complementary football,” head coach James Franklin said. “Offense, defense, and special teams all made plays when we needed to early on in the game. I thought their punter was kind of the MVP, swinging field position, but we were able to make some adjustments offensively.
“We did start slow, but we were able to finish strong, we made plays when we needed to, and we were able to mix the run and the pass defensively. We continued to make plays all year long and played very, very consistently.”
With the regular season in the books, we break down which Lions burned their redshirt year and which did not below.
Penn State redshirt report: Michigan State
All told, 10 members of the Penn State football recruiting Class of 2022 burned their redshirt this season. This weekend, that list of players was headlined by linebacker Abdul Carter. The defender tied for a team-high with seven tackles and racked up three tackles for loss and also two sacks in the victory.
“I’m proud of him,” Franklin said. “He’s gotten better every single week, he’s got a ton of natural physical ability that he’s getting more and more confident within the scheme, which not only is helping our defense play better, but it’s also putting him in position to make more and more plays, but his ability to burst and chase the quarterback or burst and chase running backs on the perimeter or within the box, it’s impressive.
“[And] he’s got the ability to find the ball and when he gets there, he’s got bad intentions. So, it’s been fun to watch his development from the beginning of the year to now.”
It was not as good of a day for freshman running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who were repeatedly bottled up by the Spartans. They finished with 17 carries for 78 yards and 21 for 81, respectively.
Offensive lineman Drew Shelton started yet another game at left tackle. And, Vega Ioane, who has not yet burned his redshirt, received some playing time at guard, as well.
Penn State redshirt report by games played through 12 weeks
Twelve games (burned redshirt) – RB Nick Singleton, RB Kaytron Allen, DE Dani Dennis-Sutton, DT Zane Durant, LB Abdul Carter
Eleven games (burned redshirt) – S KJ Winston, WR Omari Evans
Ten games (burned redshirt) – CB Cam Miller
Nine games (burned redshirt) – QB Drew Allar
Six games (burned redshirt) – OL Drew Shelton
Three games – OL JB Nelson, OL Vega Ioane
Two games: WR Kaden Saunders, LB Keon Wylie, P Alex Bacchetta
One game: CB Cristian Driver, Saf. Mehki Flowers, DT Kaleb Artis
Zero Games – QB Beau Pribula, WR Anthony Ivey, WR Tyler Johnson, TE Jerry Cross
