Printable Penn State depth chart for the Rose Bowl
Penn State football no longer provides an official depth chart. So, Blue-White Illustrated has taken up the task of projecting one each week, presented here as a printable file.
Set to Utah in the Rose Bowl at 5 pm on Monday, the Nittany Lions should get an infusion of talent at key positions thanks to players recovering from injury. Despite that, several critical positions, including wide receiver, lost players for the season or opt-outs. Beyond injuries, the team is without third-string quarterback Christian Veilleux, who transferred to Pitt last month.
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However, the biggest name is star left tackle Olu Fashanu. Fashanu exited at the end of the Ohio State game and hasn’t played since. Franklin was predictably vague about Fashanu’s status for the game.
“Olu is going to be a game-time decision. We’ve had conversations with him and his family. Part of Olu making the decision to come back is also about being physically ready to play but also mentally ready to play. He does not want to rush back from this injury. That was really what was discussed. So that will be a game-time decision,” Franklin said during the Rose Bowl coaches’ press conference.
With Fashanu’s status up in the air, Franklin turned quickly to the young Penn State lineman who replaced him for the final month of the season.
“He’s been awesome out at practice not only in terms of the reps he’s been able to get but also coaching Drew Shelton, who depending on how this thing plays out, could be in a position to be a five-game starter for a guy we planned on redshirting,” Franklin said.
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Penn State defense nearly at full strength
Defensively, the Nittany Lions get a net positive amount of players back at the end of the season. Despite star corner Joey Porter Jr’s decision to opt-out of the game, the team got back two defensive ends down the stretch. Sophomore Zuriah Fisher returned from an offseason injury, and Smith Vilbert is back with the team after his season-long absence. How Vilbert factors into the game-day rotation is unclear.
Beyond the defensive line, Penn State’s linebacker corps will be at full strength for the game with Abdul Carter and Curtis Jacobs, who missed time in the final month, figuring to play a massive factor in the matchup with Utah. The secondary is complete beyond Porter Jr. and redshirt freshman cornerback Jeffrey Davis Jr, who entered the transfer portal at the beginning of December.
The other unknown factor for Monday’s game is how much the younger Penn State players on both sides of the ball will play. In previous seasons, NFL-bound players took a reserved role in bowl games while younger players played a more prominent one.
But all told, Penn State is in great shape to take on Utah in the 2023 Rose Bowl. Check out the complete depth chart in a printable version.
