Penn State depth chart vs. Auburn: Offense

Each week Blue White Illustrated produces the “official” Penn State depth chart since the Nittany Lions have stopped producing one before games. Head coach James Franklin has made his stance clear on the lineup and how he’ll use his players each week.

“Very rarely am I going to tell you what the rotation is going to be before the game. Whether I know or not, because I know Auburn is listening,” Franklin said after practice on Wednesday. “So I probably won’t get into a whole lot of those details in this setting.”

So we’ll let his actions speak for him. Here is the depth chart based on Blue White Illustrated’s reporting, film analysis, and PFF snap counts. 

Quarterback

14 Sean Clifford (Sr.+)
15 Drew Allar (Fr.)
11 Christian Veilleux (R-Fr.) OR 9 Beau Pirbula (Fr.)

The lowdown: If there was any doubt that the future of the Penn State quarterback room lays at the feet of five-star passer Drew Allar, he put those questions to rest last week. There’s still much more to learn about Allar’s play at the position, but he made his 6-8 for 88 yards, and two touchdowns look effortless against Ohio. Aside from a few missed reads and an unnecessary sack, Allar was exceptional in relief. But, with a big test on the road against an SEC team in a hostile environment, sixth-year starting quarterback Sean Clifford is the obvious answer. Unless Clifford gets hurt, expect to see the other quarterbacks against Central Michigan. 

Penn State running backs

24 Keyvone Lee (So.)
13 Kaytron Allen (Fr) OR 10 Nick Singleton (Fr)
28 Devyn Ford (Jr.)

The lowdown: Penn State running backs coach JaJuan Seider broke from his traditional series-to-series approach with his running backs last week, mixing and matching players by the situation. 

But even then, you could feel the winds of change starting at the position. Freshman runner Nick Singleton only carried the ball four more times than fellow freshman Kaytron Allen but ripped off 179 yards on those carries. Franklin was tight-lipped about the rotation moving into the showdown with Auburn this weekend, but Singleton’s coronation isn’t far off. 

You can consider last week a veteran rest day for Lee, who wasn’t needed later in the game when Singleton and Allen were getting reps with the second-team offense. The third-year sophomore remains the starter in name over the freshmen, but it’s only a matter of time before that changes. 

Lions receiver

Wide receiver
1 KeAndre Lambert-Smith (So.)
6 Harrison Wallace (R-Fr.)
80 Malick Meiga (So.)

Slot
3 Parker Washington (So.)
19 Jaden Dottin (R-So)
82 Liam Clifford (R-Fr.) OR 7 Kaden Saunders (Fr.)

Wide receiver
5 Mitchell Tinsley  (Sr+)
18 Omari Evans (Fr.)

The lowdown: In a surprise move, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jaden Dottin started against Ohio. According to PFF, the 6-2, 198-pound receiver lined up for nine snaps in the slot and then didn’t play the rest of the game. 

So what do we make of that? We’ll list him behind starting slot receiver Parker Washington ahead of Liam Clifford and Kaden Saunders for now. 

It’s clear that the Nittany Lions are going week-to-week battling for playing time outside of Washington and starter Mitchell Tinsley. KeAndre Lambert still dominates the snaps outside of the top two, but Trey Wallace is hot on his heels. 

Aside from the familiar faces, Omari Evans has emerged as a role player for Penn State. Evans brings a level of speed that the Nittany Lions need at receiver. He’s still young and raw, but arriving as a mid-semester enrollee has significantly helped him transition from high school quarterback to receiver. 

Penn State tight ends

86 Brenton Strange (R-Jr.)
84 Theo Johnson (Soph.)
44 Tyler Warren (Soph.)
16 Khalil Dinkins (R-Fr.)

The lowdown: Reports are that Theo Johnson is inching closer to a debut for Penn State in the 2022 season. While it won’t send Tyler Warren to the bench, it will alter the snap counts in this area. The tight ends have struggled to make a consistent impact again this season, and Johnson has the highest ceiling as a receiver. 

Lions offensive line

Left tackle
74 Olu Fashanu (Soph.)
66 Drew Shelton (Fr.)
51 Jimmy Christ (R-Soph.)

Left guard
58 Landon Tengwall (R-Fr.) OR
64 Hunter Nourzad (R-Sr.)
55 JB Nelson (R-So.)

Center
70 Juice Scruggs (R-Sr.)
64 Hunter Nourzad (R-Sr.)
66 Nick Dawkins (Soph.)

Right guard
77 Sal Wormley
64 Hunter Nourzad (R-Sr.)
78 Golden Israel-Achumba (R-So)

Right tackle
79 Caedan Wallace (R-Jr.)
72 Bryce Effner (R-Sr.)
57 Ibrahim Traore (R-Soph.)

The lowdown: James Franklin confirmed that the timeshare at left guard between Hunter Nourzad and Landon Tengwall will continue throughout the season. But it sounds like the drum beat is growing louder to have Nourzad play at center. He played one series against Ohio before coming out after being rolled up on during a quarterback draw play in the red zone. He only got seven snaps there, but the plan sounds like they want to get him more. 

Last week, we highlighted Vega Ioane as a freshman to watch. This week the suggestion is to keep left tackle Drew Shelton in the corner of your eye. As Nate Bauer detailed earlier this week, Shelton has been making big strides off the field with a newly listed weight of 296 pounds. He’s also been standing out in practice and performed well on 11 snaps in mop-up duty against Ohio.