Printable Penn State football projected depth chart: Michigan State week
Penn State will return to action for the final time during the 2023 regular season when it meets Michigan State on Friday night in Detroit. The Nittany Lions team that takes the field is of heightened interest, too.
Following a game against Rutgers last weekend in which starting quarterback Drew Allar was forced to the sidelines, where he would stay, early in the second half, his status for the game against the Spartans is not known going into the game.
Penn State head coach James Franklin has maintained otherwise this past week, though.
“We didn’t throw him today while you guys were out there, just so you guys could blow up Twitter and Instagram,” Franklin said following practice on Tuesday. “But yeah, we just did that just to mess with you guys. No, that’s not the case. But no, we’re still confident that he’ll be ready to go Saturday.”
In his place, redshirt freshman backup Beau Pribula helped lead the Nittany Lions to a 27-6 win. He completed one pass for 9 yards, while rushing for 71 yards over eight carries.
According to Franklin, the Nittany Lions enjoyed some level of flexibility for the short week.
“If we were game planning for Drew to be the primary quarterback, it would be a little bit different [than] if we were preparing for Beau to be the primary quarterback. We would emphasize different things,” Franklin said. “But, that’s why it’s good that when you guys asked me before, I said that really our model and plan doesn’t need to change based on the information that we have right now.”
Other depth pieces to watch
While Allar’s status is the most notable to watch ahead of game time, his usage isn’t the only one of interest for the Nittany Lions to close out the regular season.
At receiver, Franklin noted a marked change in how the staff attempted to approach the position last weekend.
“I think for us, what we tried to do this past week, which is something that we spent a lot of time talking about is, let’s focus on the things that guys can do, rather than the things that they can’t do,” Franklin said. “And let’s put them in position, allow them to have success, and then build on that and allow that success in some areas, [and] build confidence in other areas. So that’s where I think you saw more guys involved in the game plan.
“And [that’s] something that I wa pretty adamant about. ‘Hey, okay, what are the things that these guys do? Well, let’s put him in a position to use those traits and use those skills.’ And, we’ll continue to do that. I think that’s a really important piece of being an offensive coordinator or being a position coach, fighting for your guy and say ‘hey, these are the things I think they can do well and help the team and have a role that we can build on.’”
