Penn State thoughts: A throwback to a Lions' great, position change take, and more

Welcome to Sunday, Penn State fans.

Today, we’re tackling three topics as we wrap up the weekend. We have a timely look back at an all-time great, a take on a new position change, and more.

Throwback: John Cappelletti

How could we pick anyone else during the week that included 2/2/22?

The choice is No. 22 John Cappelletti, of course.

After starting his career on defense while waiting for the chance to return to running back when Lydell Mitchell graduated, Cappelletti went on to be the first Heisman Trophy winner at Penn State. The Upper Darby, Pa., native ran for 1,117 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior and followed that up with an All-American year that included not just the most coveted individual honor in the game but also the Maxwell Trophy and multiple national player of the year honors. All told, Cappelletti rushed for 1,522 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior. The yards mark still ranks fourth for a single season all-time in Penn State lore.

Cappelletti’s name continues to be found in other parts of the program’s record book, as well. He still has the most consecutive 200-yard-plus rushing games with three. He’s also 12th all-time in career rushing yards. And, he’s seventh all-time in career rushing touchdowns (29), first in single-season rushing attempts (286 in 1973), and is one of just six Penn State players ever with 10-plus rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons.

2/22/22 [John Cappelletti] pic.twitter.com/TRwqTluqiu

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) February 22, 2022

Penn State thought: When will Lions game at Purdue kick off?

There is not a better tracker and prognosticator of college athletics television and start time information than Matt Sarzyniak.

The curator of ‘Matt’s College Sports Media Blog‘ logged his first predictions ahead of the 2022 season on Wednesday. We already know that Penn State-Purdue is going to be a primetime affair played on Thurs., Sept. 1 instead of Sat., Sept. 3. And, while specifics will not be out for some time, Sarzyniak thinks that FOX will get the matchup and slot it at 7 p.m. ET.

Penn State is no stranger to playing its opener on that network’s family of stations. Its 2021 game with Wisconsin was the ‘Big Noon’ game of the week on FOX. And, in 2020, Fox Sports One aired the Lions’ loss to Indiana.

We’ll know in time if the prediction ends up being right. You’ll be watching either way, of course. But, it’s nice to give some thought to September as February winds to a close.

Take: Zakee Wheatley moving to safety makes sense

This week’s winter workout warrior picks from members of Penn State’s coaching staff contained some news.

Second-year defender Zakee Wheatley has moved from corner to safety.

Wheatley is listed at 6-foot-2, 192 pounds on the latest online roster. We’ll be curious to see if the next update includes a bigger weight number for him. But, either way, the move makes sense, at least for the time being if not long-term.

Penn State returns Ji’Ayir Brown, Keaton Ellis, and Jaylen Reed at safety. Beyond that, Wheatley is the only other scholarship player listed at that position on the roster, as Jonathan Sutherland is expected to move to linebacker for the 2022 season.

Reinforcements are on the way with Tyrece Mills, KJ Winston, Cristian Driver, and Mehki Flowers all arriving in a few months. But, the numbers are still thin.

In other words, Wheatley’s skillset as it relates to both his coverage abilities and physicality make him a logical candidate to slide back to Anthony Poindexter’s room. And, it won’t surprise us if maybe one other player does so, as well, either just for the spring or perhaps also the fall, as well.