Penn State preseason hype check: Offense

Inevitably, the talking season provides some serious overstatements of opinion. Whether or not you want to be, the offseason’s long, winding path turns even the most reasonable person into a hot-take artist if you’re not careful. So, we’ll reflect on the players and predictions we made this offseason to see where we were right, and wrong in terms of player performance so far this season. 

Penn State offensive players we got right

Hunter Nourzad

We haven’t seen much from the 6-3 312-pound offensive lineman thanks to an unlucky injury against Ohio in week three. Still, Hunter Nourzad’s presence on the interior has created depth and competition behind left guard Landon Tengwall and center Juice Scruggs. 

More to the point, we were early on the idea that Nourzad would eventually find his way to center for the Nittany Lions. However, with the last two weeks off due to injury, we’re keen to see what Nourzad has in store for the Big Ten schedule if he’s healed up and ready to contribute. 

Olu Fashanu

Realistically, it was going to be a hard one to get wrong, considering the hype from Penn State behind the scenes about Olu Fashanu. However, the 6-6, 308-pound left tackle has lived up to every inch of his potential as a pass protector. The Nittany Lions haven’t taken a significant step forward on the offensive line as a unit. Still, Fashanu stabilizing the most critical position on the offensive line is the best-case scenario outside of that.

Kaytron Allen 

The IMG product oozed maturity on film, and his running style perfectly fit Penn State’s zone running schemes. However, Kaytron Allen ascended higher, becoming one of Penn State’s most productive runners in any scheme. His ability to avoid negative runs and maximize the yards available makes him closer to a junior or senior in play style than a true freshman. His pass protection needs to improve, but beyond that, he’s been everything that fans could have hoped for and is a perfect compliment to Nick Singleton.

Players we were wrong about (so far)

Landon Tengwall

The flip side of Nourzad and Fashanu is left guard Landon Tengwall. This story is a classic case of a small sample size being blown out of proportion. Tengwall came to Penn State as a physically mature player with great positional fundamentals as a football player. After sitting out the majority of 2021, he was pressed into duty at the end of the season and played exceptionally well.

Unfortunately, those skills haven’t seemed to progress, and now that he’s a starter, the warts are beginning to show. His lack of length, which was always a part of his profile, is now an issue. Tengwall isn’t playing with the same confidence and explosion, which means defensive tackles are winning the point of attack. Part of his struggles are youth-driven, but his lack of strength at the point of attack this year makes us question if whatever injury he suffered this offseason caused him to take a step back physically.

Hopefully, he will resolve those issues because Tengwall is a very talented player that can become a difference-maker for the Nittany Lions up front.

Drew Allar

Do unicorns exist?

The primary discussion on the BWI Daily Edition this offseason was that freshman Drew Allar was not in the picture for his first season. Most quarterbacks don’t come to college and make the early impact you’d expect, even five-star players. From a mental standpoint, the position is too difficult to unseat a veteran, even a player with classic struggles, like Sean Clifford. That goes double for a player like Allar whose best skills are rooted in passing, not scrambling. So if a quarterback can do that, he’s a unicorn.

Which Penn State players need to step up in the second half of the season?

But despite those realities, Allar has exceeded expectations. Undeterred by a slow start in the spring, he earned the backup job behind Clifford. From there, he’s seen action in every game this season except the win over Northwestern. More than that, he’s playing very well. His pocket presence, diagnostics, and accuracy downfield all show the early signs of being a difference-maker. While it’s only been 23 dropbacks, each has left you wanting to see much more from the freshman.

Tyler Warren

So far, the biggest surprise of the 2022 season has been the struggles of tight end Tyler Warren. Despite a slow start, Warren stood out as a blocker last season and flashed as a contested-catch monster during the final half of 2021. From there, he kept showing up as a standout during winter workouts, spring practice, and beyond.

Warren’s play this season has been far below what we saw from him last season. While his receiving skills were unknown, his blocking was a standout feature in 2021, and he had a large enough body of work to feel confident about his progression this year. Unfortunately, he took a significant step backward through the first portion of the year before exiting Penn State’s win over Central Michigan with an apparent hamstring injury.

Penn State is playing three tight ends this fall, so he’ll have more chances to bounce back, but like Tengwall, his confidence and execution need to improve to unlock his apparent gifts as a football player.

The jury is still out

Mitchell Tinsley as a complete wide receiver

Mitchell Tinsley has been a fantastic possession receiver through the first five games, nabbing six of ten contested catches through that timeframe. However, his profile as an explosive downfield receiver hasn’t materialized. While he’s not a burner, his route running and positional savvy can still make that a reality. Timing and connection on deep passes with Clifford is a large part of the story at receiver. Tinsley has been open at times and hasn’t had the same chance to shine that he did at Western Kentucky. 

Tre Wallace

Penn State’s redshirt freshman speedster is the presumed next man up behind KeAndre Lambert-Smith now that the third-year receiver is likely out for an extended period of time with an injury. Harrison Wallace’s acrobatics, speed and play-making ability created major buzz behind the scenes last season. No player has made the leap at the third receiver position this year but Wallace will get every opportunity to work his way into that role now. For the Nittany Lions to reach the level of balance they seek on offense, some player needs to get open deep. Wallace could be that guy.