Penn State Saturday six-pack: Thoughts from the first week of spring practice, recruiting news, and more

The first week of Penn State football spring practice is almost in the books.

Head coach James Franklin’s team will take the field for the third time on Saturday. A coaching clinic is also going on, which means high school coaches from all over the state, region, and country will be in town to see the staff in action.

You’ve made it to the weekend, as well. Now, it’s time to sit back and scroll through our six-pack of thoughts as March winds to a close.

1. A Penn State spring football thought on offense

The Nittany Lions opened practice to the media for about 20 minutes on Monday. The viewing window offered a glimpse at mostly positional work plus some special teams drills. In other words, there were no opportunities to see live action.

One thing that was notable, however, was the build of transfer Mitchell Tinsley. He absolutely looked the part of a former Group of Five receiver who has every reason to be playing at the Power-5 level. And, he’s wearing the No. 5 jersey vacated by Jahan Dotson, to boot.

Penn State expects Tinsley to make up for some of Dotson’s lost production. The former Western Kentucky receiver came to State College because of that opportunity. Just based on that eye test, anyway, he appears poised to do exactly that.

2. A Nittany Lions thought on defense

We’ll have a full story on the topic Sunday morning. So, here’s a teaser of that: It was good to see Hakeem Beamon and Adisa Isaac back on the practice field.

Both Penn State players were missed during the 2021 season. Isaac was unavailable for all of it after suffering an injury while away from the football program. Beamon, then, was ruled out at the end of September for undisclosed reasons.

Defensive line coach John Scott Jr., has plenty of pieces to replace. Beamon might not start at defensive tackle, but he figures to provide quality depth if nothing else. Isaac, then, should be a first-teamer at one end spot. That both were on the field for practice one is a great sign for new defensive coordinator Manny Diaz.

One other defensive line note: PJ Mustipher is going to be eased back into things. But, it appears that he might actually be ready to play in September, which would be great news for Penn State after he suffered an undisclosed leg injury in October.

3. A busy recruiting weekend is here

The Penn State football coaches clinic doesn’t just bring leaders of high school programs to town, of course. Recruits come, too.

BWI’s Ryan Snyder has a full visitor preview that you can read on The Lions Den premium message board. Not a subscriber? Sign up for $1 for one year of access today.

We will tease a few names here. Broad Run, Va., four-star offensive lineman Alex Birchmeier is one of a few Penn State Class of 2023 commitments scheduled to take in practice. Three-star Virginia lineman and commit Anthony Donkoh will be here, too.

On the uncommitted front, offered Baltimore, Md., St. Frances Academy quarterback Michael Van Buren will visit for the first time since January, and classmate and teammate Edrees Farooq, a safety, is coming too. Lucas, Tex., three-star Class of 2023 receiver Kyle Parker, then, will be making his first unofficial trip to campus.

No commitments are currently expected. But, as always, surprises happen. We’ll be tracking the visitors and any new offers, or pledges, all weekend long.

4. Final thoughts from Penn State Pro Day

Here are a bunch of quick hitters a couple of days removed from the event inside Holuba Hall. All 32 NFL teams had at least one representative in town to scout.

–The curious offseason of Rasheed Walker continues. After suffering an injury that kept him out of the Outback Bowl, the offensive line declared for the pros. He then didn’t work out at either the Combine or Pro Day. It’s impossible to know where his NFL Draft stock is at this point. But, it figures to be trending down.

–Every year, there is a Nittany Lion who is drafted higher than anyone expected. This year, expect it to be Jesse Luketa. His versatility, tape, and personality will cause a team to take him sooner than projected.

—After running a 4.22-second 40-yard dash, the guess here is that safety and special teams ace Drew Hartlaub will have his pick of undrafted free agent signing options if someone doesn’t take a flier on him in Round 7.

–Some media mock drafts still have Jahan Dotson as a fringe first-round selection. But, with all the receiver trades in the NFL of late, our guess is that he’s locked in to being one of the first 32 names called.

5. Keeping an eye on March Madness

Who said the Saturday six-pack had to be all Penn State news?

The Elite 8 starts today, and what a crazy tournament it has been so far. If you are alive in a bracket pool with an entry that can cash, congrats! Also, please feel free to share future lottery picks or other magic eight-ball insights.

Two great games are on tap later with Houston and Villanova squaring off at 6:09 p.m. on TBS before the same channel shows Arkansas-Duke at 8:49 p.m. Our picks have the Wildcats taking out the Cougars and the Blue Devils beating the Hogs. Enjoy the games!

6. Final thoughts

Have a great weekend, everyone!

The first week of spring practice has brought with it plenty of new Penn State football and recruiting updates, and that will continue next week.

Finally, be sure to check back to BWI on Sunday. We’re headed to Baltimore for an Under Armour regional camp. Many Penn State commits and targets will be there competing.