Urban Meyer backs Penn State chances to break through in Big Ten in 2023

The Penn State Nittany Lions have one of the most talented teams we’ve seen in Happy Valley in the past two decades.

On Friday evening, during halftime of the Virginia vs. Maryland football game, FOX college football analyst Urban Meyer pounded the table for the Nittany Lions and said he believes they are legitimate contenders to win it all in 2023.

Could this be the year they finally break through and beat Michigan and Ohio State? He thinks so.

“I absolutely do. They are legit. And here’s why. I went back and looked and obviously, I was on the field many times against these Penn State teams. This is the most talented Penn State team in the last 15 years. They arguably have the best running back combo in America in Nick Singleton. Fast. Fast. And they have a legit quarterback. Potential first round draft pick down the road (Drew Allar). And the Big Ten, it’s all about the offensive and defensive line, they are strong. Their offensive line, I think, is the most improved in the country. So, yes, they’re legit. It comes down to a playoff, play in. In Columbus (at Ohio State) and at Penn State against the Wolverines,” Meyer said on Friday evening.

It shouldn’t be surprising at all they Meyer is high on the Nittany Lions. If there were ever a year that Penn State was going to break through, you’d be hard pressed to find a roster stacked with as much talent as this one.

The Penn State roster is loaded with freaks

The Penn State roster is absolutely loaded with talent all over the place and it earned plenty of praise from Bruce Feldman in the preseason.

This year, Feldman put six Penn State players on his list of “Freaks”, and he joined Andy Staples to discuss how many ridiculously athletic players the Nittany Lions’ program has produced over the years.

It’s always fascinating to see what players make the list of the game’s most impressive athletic specimens. Over the years, the Penn State Nittany Lions have produced numerous players that have landed on Feldman’s “Freaks” list, former PSU legends such as Micah Parsons and Saquon Barkley are the epitome of genetic freaks but even by their standards, this list tops them all in terms of pure numbers of freaks on the roster from Penn State, as Feldman was quick to note.

“Yeah, it’s a ridiculous haul they have there. I mean, you know, Nick Singleton, the guy people compare him to is Adrian Peterson,” Feldman told Staples. “Heavy duty guy to compare to in terms of just superfreak athlete. You mentioned Olu [Olumuyiwa Fashanu]

“Olu is 6’6, 320 lbs. The thing I loved, what he told me was both of his parents, they’re not taller than 5’8…. Three-star guy who…last year he was 19, people were talking about him he was the best o-line prospect in the country. “You have a bunch of other guys in there. Chop Robinson, Abdul Carter.”

Feldman was even more complimentary of Fashanu in his article:

“The most highly touted offensive line prospect in the country is still only 20 years old,” Feldman wrote. “Fashanu was a three-star prospect out of high school, ranked only 45th among all offensive tackle recruits in the 2020 class. However, the towering 6-6, 320-pounder from Washington, D.C., had a terrific year on the field and an impressive one off it, running a 4.97 40 this offseason and had a 4.63 shuttle time. That 40 time would’ve tied for best at the NFL combine among all the offensive linemen there. Fashanu, who attributes his agility to all the time he spent playing basketball growing up, also bench-pressed 405 pounds, squatted 605 and power-cleaned 350 clean.

The Nittany Lions’ roster is oozing with so many freaks, that Feldman had to leave a few of them off the list. He mentioned if they played at another school, they would have made the cut.

“There were probably three other guys, KeAndre Lambert-Smith, a super-fast receiver. [Hakeem] Beamon, another d-lineman. You had a couple other guys in there, who probably if they played at a different school, I’d been like, yeah, I’m gonna put those guys on there but I can’t have nine guys from Penn State,” Feldman explained.

“But it’s just ridiculous how much talent they have and explosive athletes. And I know people will look at this and I actually mentioned this on Twitter when I put out the story. People are gonna scoff, oh like these numbers can’t be real or whatever. This school in particular. Penn State. We’ve seen it time and time again, whether it’s Saquon Barkley, Micah Parsons, [Odafe] Owah, [Mike] Gesicki.

“These guys put up ridiculous times when we had them on the freaks list. And then they go to the combine, or their pro day, and they match them or exceed them. So, that place has got a ton of ’em.”

Let’s take a look at the list of Penn State players below that made Feldman’s “Freaks” list for 2023, which had 101 players this year. If you want to read his entire “Freaks” column, which can be found here.

Penn State players that made Feldman’s “Freaks” list for 2023

No. 9: Chop Robinson: EDGE

No. 15: Jordan van den Berg: DL

No. 23: Olu Fashanu: OT

No. 31: Nick Singleton: RB

No. 38: Zane Durant: DL

No. 43: Abdul Carter: LB

Penn State takes on the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday, Sept. 16th. Kickoff for that one is slated for Noon EST.