Penn State Senior Day festivities won't necessarily signal who is staying, going after 2021 season
Penn State will hold Senior Day festivities on Saturday prior to its game with Rutgers.
Before the 2020 season, almost everyone who participated in that ceremony would be leaving the team at the end of the season. It is no longer the case. That is due to the free year of eligibility all college athletes received due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Last year was a perfect example. Corner Tariq Castro-Fields and Jaquan Brisker were both listed as Senior Day participants but returned anyway. Both will likely go through it again this time around, and will definitely leave now. Others could do so for the first time but still come back. As of Tuesday afternoon, Penn State has not released a list of who will be honored on the field prior to kickoff. It probably won’t, and even if it does, the takeaway is to not read too much into it either way.
“Everything’s kind of changed obviously with the COVID deal,” Franklin said. We had a number of guys that took part in the senior ceremony last year and then still decided to come back.
“So, I think our staff, as well as the players, understand some guys may not walk with the intention of coming back. Some guys may walk and still haven’t made that decision yet until we sit down after the season and decide. So, it’s very different.”
How could it play out for Penn State?
Fans have been curious for weeks regarding what decision quarterback Sean Clifford will make. He’s been steadfast in saying that he hasn’t considered it yet.
“I’m not looking at it in any way right now, honestly,” Clifford said last week before the Michigan game. “Just more so taking advantage of this time with my team. When the time comes, I’ll have decisions with my family, the coaches, other players. But right now, it’s really hard to look in the future when you have so much in the present, so much opportunity, and it would be stupid to look past that right now when we have such a great opponent coming in to play us this weekend.
“The mindset’s 1-0, and that’s what it’s going to be until the end of the season.”
Defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher and safety Ji’Ayir Brown will have a similar question to consider, among others, once the year ends. Penn State would be greatly aided by all of those members of the roster returning. There will be NFL Draft consideration for underclassmen, as well. All of those things will factor into the makeup of the 2022 Nittany Lions roster.
The key part is that, regardless of what happens Saturday, it can’t be seen as decisive one way or the other. That never was the case with Senior Day before. In 2021 however, it is.
“It’s just kind of a mess to predict,” Franklin said.
