How Penn State football's true freshmen fared in 2021
Penn State football closed out the 2021 recruiting cycle with a freshman class that ranked 18th nationally according to the On3 Consensus.
How many of those Nittany Lions made an on-field impact during the 2021 season?
Penn State freshmen who burned their redshirt
On3 Consensus Recruiting Metrics: 4-star prospect, No. 169 overall
Kalen King’s name sat at the top of the list of true freshmen most likely to see considerable game time heading into the 2021 season. James Franklin complimented King’s maturity and intelligence all spring, and that translated into plenty of playing time.
King played in every one of Penn State’s games this season, carving out a bigger role as the year wore on. He played 44, 27 and 43 snaps in PSU’s final three games.
Pro Football Focus gave him a 64.2 overall grade to close out the regular season. He finished with 14 tackles, a forced fumble and two pass breakups.
On3 Consensus Recruiting Metrics: 4-star prospect, No. 265 overall
Penn State safety Jaylen Reed joined King in the secondary as the second-most used true freshman in this year’s class. Reed played in seven games for the Nittany Lions, including each of Penn State’s final five games.
Twenty-five of his 31 total snaps came on defense, with the other six coming on special teams. Reed finished the 12-game slate with a 68.4 defense grade from Pro Football Focus, four tackles and a QB pressure.
Freshmen who played but mantain redshirt eligibility
On3 Consensus Recruiting Metrics: 4-star prospect, No. 377 overall
Buddin can still burn his redshirt by appearing in Penn State’s bowl game. He saw the majority of his action early on in the season, playing 11 snaps against Ball State, 17 against Villanova and four against Indiana.
Buddin also made a late-season cameo for one snap against Rutgers. He rounds out the regular season with three tackles and a QB hit to his ledger.
On3 Consensus Recruiting Metrics: 3-star prospect, No. 483 overall
Kobe King joined his brother, Kalen, among the group of Penn State true freshmen to see the field this season.
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He appeared in four games, seeing 24 snaps against Ball State, 11 against Villanova, six against Auburn and four against Indiana. Like Buddin, he could theoretically still burn his redshirt by playing in the bowl game, but that seems unlikely.
Offensive Lineman Landon Tengwall
On3 Consensus Recruiting Metrics: 4-star prospect, No. 72 overall
Tengwall, the highest-rated recruit in Penn State’s freshman class, saw the field twice for the Nittany Lions in the regular season.
Penn State turned to him when it suffered a flu outbreak in Week 12 against Rutgers, and he played very well, with 63 total snaps. He saw 18 snaps the next week against Michigan State. It will be interesting to see how much he sees the field in Penn State’s bowl game.
Quarterback Christian Veilleux
On3 Consensus Recruiting Metrics: 4-star prospect, No. 415 overall
Like Tengwall, Christian Veilleux made the most of his opportunity in an emergency role.
With Sean Clifford’s effectiveness compromised by illness against Rutgers in Week 12, Veilleux entered the game early and led the Nittany Lions to a win, completing 15 of his 24 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns in his only appearance of the season.
On3 Consensus Recruiting Metrics: 4-star prospect, No. 327 overall
Wheatley appeared in three games for the Nittany Lions this season. He played 18 of his 23 total snaps on special teams, appearing against Villanova, Rutgers and Michigan State.
Wide Receiver Harrison Wallace
On3 Consensus Recruiting Metrics: 4-star prospect, No. 303 overall
Wallace played 14 total snaps spread out over the Ball State and Villanova games. He was targeted once against Villanova and did not register a reception.
On3 Consensus Recruiting Metrics: 3-star prospect, No. 577 overall
Dinkins played two snaps for the Nittany Lions in Week 12 against Rutgers.
Nittany Lion freshmen who did not play this season
On3 Consensus Recruiting Metrics: 4-star prospect, No. 205 overall
On3 Consensus Recruiting Metrics: 4-star prospect, No. 418 overall
On3 Consensus Recruiting Metrics: 3-star prospect, No. 526 overall
On3 Consensus Recruiting Metrics: 3-star prospect, No. 616 overall
On3 Consensus Recruiting Metrics: 3-star prospect, No. 1,496 overall
