What did Nevada coach Jeff Choate say about Penn State on Monday?

Penn State and Nevada open the 2025 season when they meet for the first time on a college football field. The Nittany Lions are a 44.5-point home favorite at BetMGM to start James Franklin’s 12th season in State College. Wolfpack second-year coach Jeff Choate is well aware of the uphill climb his team faces this Saturday. But that does not mean he and his players aren’t looking forward to the opportunity that awaits them.

“I think they’re excited,” Choate said. “I think there are guys that are excited to go play at Penn State and in an elite environment like that. If I told my 16-year-old self that I’d some day be in the same stadium Joe Paterno coached in, I’d be pretty fired up about that. I’m excited about the opportunity. And I think the guys are as well.”

Choate’s team has more than 60 new players on its roster in 2025. It makes it hard to know what to expect from the Mountain West Conference school on Saturday, Penn State coach James Franklin said earlier Monday. Nevada knows what it will see from a Lions team that returns multiple stars and many starters compared to its group of newcomers.

Quarterback Chubba Purdy figures to lead the offense and team. He has played at many colleges so far in his career. Safety Murvin Kenion III and cornerback AJ Odums project as stat leaders on defense.

“We’re going to play really hard,” Choate said. “We have to play, I don’t think we can feel really complicated. It’s going to be loud and against a very, very good opponent. There’s some skill that we’re going to have to mitigate a little bit, being simple, having our eyes in the right place, and playing really hard.”

What else did Nevada caoch Jeff Choate say about Penn State

The leader of the Wolfpack hit on a number of Nittany Lions during his 25-minute news conference. His praise started with Penn State’s head coach.

“It’s game week,” Choate said. “Camp went by really fast. We’re going and playing a James Franklin coached football team. As I kind of look at his trajectory and what he’s been able to accomplish there, I’m not sure he probably gets enough credit. This is a team that’s gone from good to elite and championship worthy.”

“They’re on par with the national championship caliber program. That’s really what you see. They don’t have a drop off. To make a national championship type of run, you build around a quarterback, who is elite. Coach Franklin and that organization is committed to winning a national championship. They’ve gone out through the portal and make bold moves to do to that.”

On the slowing down Drew Allar:

“He’s going to make his plays,” Choate said. “We don’t want to give them any freebies. What we don’t want is guys running naked down the field. Are we going to execute our base calls to the best of our ability down in and down out?”

On the Penn State defense:

“These guys got elite, impact players at all three levels of the defense,” Choate says. He spotlighted defensive tackle Zane Durant, defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, cornerback AJ Harris, linebacker Tony Rojas, and safety Zakee Wheatley.

“I think it’s a complete football team. I think they are more than deserving of the ranking they have. It’s going to be an awesome opportunity for our guys to go to one of those Saturday shrine. I’m excited for our players, coaches, and university.”