Chuck Losey takeaways: Penn State strength coach talks Max Granville, program bumps and bruises, young players and more

Head Penn State football strength coach Chuck Losey met with reporters for the first time since summer workouts started on Wednesday afternoon. As always, the conversation proved to be insightful. The longtime member of head coach James Franklin’s staff covered everything from young players who are impressing to veteran Nittany Lions, if there is any reason to an apparent uptick in bumps and bruises this season, and more.

We’ll start on the injury front. Tight end Andrew Rappleyea is the latest member of the roster dealing with a long-term injury. Franklin has also talked a lot through both preseason camp and the first two weeks of the regular season about various players dealing with either minor or significant enough setbacks to cost them practice and/or game time. Is there a reason why the number of players doing so seems higher than in years past?

“My number one priority is always to bullet proof them as much as I can,” Losey said. “This is my 21st year. You have years sometimes when your injury rate is higher than others. It’s a combination of a lot of things. The game continues to get bigger and faster. We practice and train aggressively. I can’t sit here and pinpoint one thing, but if I ever do see any pattern, and that’s my job, I have to do my best to address them as soon as I can, and the best way to do that is to be proactive and get ahead of those things as best we can. But as to why there’s more this year than in years past, I can’t say at this point.”

We cover more of Losey’s thoughts below.

Granville impressing early

No one can blame Losey for being apprehensive about how Max Granville’s time in State College would start. After all, the former four-star defensive end from Texas was about to start his final high school season before he finalized a change of course in July. He reclassified from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2024 to be eligible for classes at Penn State, which also meant he could join the team, of course. Any fears about how that transition would go no longer exist. The 6-foot-3, 229-pound freshman made the travel roster for West Virginia after a strong preseason camp. And, while a redshirt is still likely, it won’t be surprising if he receives some game reps this fall.

“With the way college football is now, I’m used to having these guys since January. So I was legit worried about Max when he came in. But I have my notes sitting here. I’m not worried one bit about that guy. He is an outstanding young man across the board. I am super thrilled to have him as part of the program. I think he’s going to have a big future. He works great, works his tail off, gained respect from his teammates, and I’m really excited. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t apprehensive at first about how fast he’d get up to speed, but he’s thriving in the system and doing a great job.”

It’s good news for the Lions, who will take defensive end depth any way they can get it.

Who else made the Penn State strength coach’s notes?

These calls always feature many questions about young players. Granville is one who Losey spoke on. Which other first-year Nittany Lions made the cut?

“Another young guy I’m excited about, [freshman defensive tackle] Xavier Gilliam, is doing an outstanding job. Super impressed with [freshman cornerback] Kenny Woseley. Really happy with him. He’s a good worker. [Freshman receiver] Tyseer Denmark is doing a great job. [Freshman offensive lineman] Eagan Boyer, we got some work to do with him and his body type. He’s going to be a 300-pounder eventually, and I’m excited for him. He’s doing everything he needs to be a big-time player down the road.”

On a similar but slightly different note, Losey was asked what traits three freshmen, offensive lineman Cooper Cousins, safety Dejuan Lane, and tight end Luke Reynolds, share. Each took snaps in both in of the Lions’ first two games.

More: Penn State redshirt report: Where do the Lions’ freshmen stand after two weeks?

“All of them, they have a very similar work ethic, they have that common trait among the three of them,” he said. “You never know. Cooper, we knew, would be up to size. That’s a tougher position to play early at. We knew he had the demeanor. We did not know if his skill set could get up to speed. It’s such an advantage for those guys to come in in January. You could tell early on with all of those guys that they were determined, wanted to contribute this year, and that’s how they approach the work every day.

“Luke I had a little more reservations on because he was skinny. But he put that weight on fast, and good weight. My biggest concern is always being able to move with it efficiently. He’s done it. He’s done a great job. Honestly, the common trait between them is their demeanor. You could tell they were determined and wanted to contribute. There was never any second-guessing with that group of guys.”

Nelson’s position switch good for Penn State and the second-year Nittany Lion

Second-year Penn State defender DaKaari Nelson is now a linebacker. The Lions moved him to that spot from safety during preseason camp. Numbers at linebacker were part of the reason why. But, it also became clear that Nelson’s strengths could be put on display best at linebacker instead of safety. He has not yet seen the field at his new position. But, things are trending in the right direction.

“He just looks so much more natural,” Losey said. “He came in, was already a 210, 212-pound kid. We knew he was a big safety. It’s rare that I get guy where they’re already big and I have to take them back down. But I’m happy with the move because, with the way he moves, it’s better suited for him. And any limitation he does have in movement, it doesn’t get exposed as much at linebacker.

“He has a little bit of stiffness in his lower body which we continue to address. He’s 219 and will be 225 in no time and he is fast. It’s a fantastic move for the kid, the team, and fits our personnel. It’s nice to have a kid that you say OK, we’ll see what your body does from here.”

He said it

Penn State strength coach Chuck Losey on the development of second-year Nittany Lions linebacker Tony Rojas, who now stands 6-foot-2, 236 pounds:

“Well, I’d be lying if I sat here and said I did anything crazy or outside the box. Our program is designed that we have a very systematic approach to what we want to teach and accomplish in those first two cycles. Tony came at 195 or 198 [pounds]. I can’t even imagine him at that now. He was slight when he came in but was skinny with a lot of range. The framework was there. We knew we could put muscle mass on him fast. But it was, can his calorie intact match his work? And Tony just excelled at both. He was almost 220 in the blink of an eye. And over this past year, he really started filling out.”