Penn State Rose Bowl depth chart: Offense
Penn State faces Utah in the 2023 Rose Bowl Monday, to close out bowl season. To get you ready for the game, here’s the projected depth chart for tomorrow’s game. After a month of practice, the team is significantly healthier and ready to face off against the Utes Monday evening.
Penn State Offense
Quarterback
14 Sean Clifford (Sr.+)+
15 Drew Allar (Fr.)
9 Beau Pribula (Fr.)
The Lowdown:
The 2023 Rose Bowl will be starting quarterback Sean Clifford’s final game of his collegiate career. Unless things get out of hand, either way, it’ll be Clifford all the way.
Penn State running backs
13 Kaytron Allen (Fr) OR 10 Nick Singleton (Fr)
24 Keyvone Lee (So.)
38 Tank Smith (R-Jr)
The Lowdown:
Keyvone Lee is reportedly available and will play in the game, giving Penn State its full complement of running backs for the first time since September. How much Lee will play in his first game back is uncertain, but expect the rotation of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen to be as strong as ever.
Lions receiver
Wide receiver
6 Harrison Wallace (R-Fr.)
1 KeAndre Lambert-Smith (So.)
80 Malick Meiga (So.)
Slot
5 Mitchell Tinsley (Sr+)
82 Liam Clifford (R-Fr.)
7 Kaden Saunders (Fr.)
Wide receiver
1 KeAndre Lambert-Smith (So.)
18 Omari Evans (Fr.)
13 Cristian Driver (Fr.)
The Lowdown:
Penn State ended the 2023 regular season by shifting KeAndre Lambert-Smith over to replace Mitchell Tinsley, who moved to the slot to replace Parker Washington. We’ll use that as our jumping-off point for the upcoming game. After that, the question will be how many players will rotate in after a month of practice.
Penn State tight ends
86 Brenton Strange (R-Jr.)
84 Theo Johnson (Soph.)
44 Tyler Warren (Soph.)
16 Khalil Dinkins (R-Fr.)
88 Jerry Cross (Fr.)
The Lowdown:
The tight end room is presumably healthy and ready to square off against the stout Utah defensive front. Head coach James Franklin mentioned that even freshman Jerry Cross is healthy now, so the room is at full strength. However, the only player who could see the field outside the top three would be Khalil Dinkins, who plays behind Strange in the H-back position.
Lions offensive line
Left tackle
66 Drew Shelton (Fr.) OR 74 Olu Fashanu (So.)
72 Bryce Effner (R-Sr.)
65 Jim Fitzgerald (Fr.)
Left guard
64 Hunter Nourzad (R-Sr.) OR
56 JB Nelson (R-So.)
Center
70 Juice Scruggs (R-Sr.)
64 Hunter Nourzad (R-Sr.)
71 Vega Ioane (Fr.)
52 Dominic Rulli (Fr.)
Right guard
77 Sal Wormley (R-Jr.)
71 Vega Ioane (Fr.)
Right tackle
79 Caedan Wallace (R-Jr.)
72 Bryce Effner (R-Sr.)
51 Jimmy Christ (R-Soph.)
The Lowdown:
Take Fashanu’s presence at the top of the Penn State depth chart at left tackle with a hefty portion of salt. Franklin said Fashanu is a game-time decision, but the standout left tackle wasn’t seen at practice this week.
The good news is that beyond Fashanu, the offensive line should have some serious reinforcements for the game. Right tackle Caedan Wallace is back, which will give some flexibility to have Penn State swing tackle Bryce Effner play both tackle positions if necessary.
Also, JB Nelson and Vega Ioane are eligible to play and still preserve their redshirts, so the Nittany Lions enter the game with more depth than they’ve had in several months.
