Ranking Penn State football's 25 most important players ahead of spring practice: 16-20
In the leadup to Penn State football’s spring practice, which begins next week, Blue White Illustrated is ranking the 25 most important players on the Nittany Lions’ roster ahead of the 2022 season.
Today, we continue with Nos. 16-20 on our list.
Previous segments:
Ranking Penn State football’s 25 most important players ahead of spring practice: 21-25
Methodology: This list is our best attempt at ranking the players on Penn State’s roster according to their importance for the 2022 season. It is not a ranking of PSU’s best players, though on-field effectiveness will obviously be taken into account among several other factors.
The arrival of transfer wideout Mitchell Tinsley certainly eases some of the pressure on Lambert-Smith, but he’s still an important piece for the Nittany Lions moving forward. Lambert-Smith has spent his first two seasons on campus as Penn State’s third option at receiver. He figures to occupy that role again as the incumbent, although Penn State certainly has some young wideouts capable of challenging him. With 521 receiving yards and three touchdowns last season, there’s plenty of room for progression here.
While it’s unclear who exactly will be replacing Tariq Castro-Fields at one of PSU’s starting corner spots, the snap counts from last season indicate King is an early favorite. He started and played 69 of Penn State’s 80 defensive snaps when Castro-Fields sat out the Outback Bowl. King finished the season with 21 tackles, one forced fumble, and a 65.2 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus. James Franklin challenged him to take the next step in his progression late last season, and we’ll see if he met that challenge soon.
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Often overlooked within his role as Penn State’s slot corner, Hardy was reliable and consistent for the Nittany Lions last season. He nearly doubled his snap count from the previous season, playing 314 snaps on defense — 232 of which came in coverage situations. He finished the season with six pass breakups, two interceptions and a 74.6 coverage grade. He’s already a real asset for the Nittany Lions, and it will be interesting to see if he can build on what he did a year ago.
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Every single offensive lineman is crucial for the Nittany Lions this season, and Scruggs definitely won’t be the only one on this list. Scruggs split his time between right guard and center for the Nittany Lions last season, starting all 13 of Penn State’s games. He seems positioned to slot in at center in 2022, following the departure of Mike Miranda. Scruggs finished the season with a 66.4 pass block grade and a 68.2 run block grade from PFF.
The second offensive lineman on this list is Tengwall, who emerged to play 117 snaps down the stretch of his true freshman season while retaining his redshirt. Tengwall is a player who the Nittany Lions can move around a bit as they true to configure their most effective unit, and he’s certainly a lineman with the upside to help the offensive line improve in 2022. In a limited sample, he received an 85.2 run block and 79.4 pass block grade from PFF last season — both excellent marks.
