Saturday six-pack: Is Penn State truly a dark horse playoff contender? Three enrollees to get excited about, more

The Saturday Penn State football six pack is back! This weekend, like all of the ones that came before it, we’re giving our thoughts on numerous Nittany Lions topics. The list includes incoming enrollees to be excited about on offense, defense, and special teams, plus recruiting, analyzing a prediction from elsewhere, and much more.

Away we go.

1. Is Penn State truly a dark-horse playoff candidate?

May is a time when hope springs eternal and college football teams across the country believe that they have title aspirations.

Penn State is certainly one of them. But, should the Lions be considered a dark horse candidate to make the College Football Playoff?

Shehan Jeyarajah thinks so. The national college football writer picked an under-the-radar team to watch in every Power-5 conference. Penn State was his choice in the Big Ten.

“Penn State has built a consistent defensive reputation and should be able to keep it going after losing two star defenders in the second round of the draft,” Jeyarajah writes. “However, the deep roster of options at quarterback could be what Penn State finally needs to enter the playoff mix.”

It’s true that the Lions should have a better backup quarterback situation this fall, only because it’s almost impossible to be any worse than last year’s. However, this team still figures to go only as far as a healthy Sean Clifford can take it. Depth is an issue at numerous key spots.

So, to answer the question: Sure, Penn State can be seen as a darkhorse contender. But a lot would have to go its way and we’d need to see a week-to-week consistency that hasn’t been present over the last couple of seasons.

2. An incoming enrollee to be excited about on offense

The Maymester begins on Monday at Penn State. New classes mean new players coming to campus. Not every yet-to-arrive member of the Lions’ Class of 2022 is coming to State College this weekend. But, a handful of them are. We’re going to pick one that we’re excited about most on each of the three teams.

On offense, it has to be Cornell transfer Hunter Nourzad. The former All-Ivy League selection joins Sal Wormley and Landon Tengwall for what figures to be an extremely fierce competition for the guard jobs.

Nourzad was highly-coveted by many programs known for producing offensive lineman, so he figures to be a force to reckon with. But, the others aren’t going to just back down from the chance to win a job. Thus, it’ll be one of the top position battle to watch this spring.

3. What about one on defense?

Flipping to the other side of the ball, our pick is Cam Miller. The versatile Jacksonville, Fla., Trinity Christian Academy standout can play anywhere in the secondary, although corner is where he will start. The 6-foot, 180-pound On3 Consensus four-star recruit also has return experience. That all should make him a potential impact contributor, though adding weight will likely be his main focus upon arriving in State College.

4. Don’t forget about special teams

And how could we, considering the fact that new Penn State special teams coordinator Stacy Collins has to find a new punter, field goal kicker, kickoff specialist, and punt team gunners.

Our pick here is Alex Bacchetta. And, yeah, we’re cheating, since he’s the only scholarship specialist in the class. But, hey: Every six pack has one that goes down quicker than the others, right?

The Georiga native who was Kohl’s Kicking top punter in the Class of 2022 figures to immediately compete for the starting job with Colgate transfer Barney Amor. It’s another top battle to watch during fall camp.

“Coach Franklin made sure with me that I’d go in and compete on the field and academically very hard to start,” Bacchetta told BWI this spring. “I’m glad I’m going in May to get a head start and allow for an easier transition into the season. 

“There is competition for the job. But, my main goal football-wise is to stick to my process, perform my best, and trust the process.”

5. Penn State recruiting recap

It was a busy week for Penn State football on the recruiting trail as the spring evaluation period continues.

The Nittany Lions sent out new offers all over the country to prospects in the Classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025. We won’t know for some time what those will turn into.

But, we do know that there is a new commit. Receiver Ejani Shakir, a four-star from New Jersey, picked PSU back on Wednesday. A strong relationship with receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield was a major factor.

“I feel like I got to know Coach Stubbs a lot better throughout the process,” Shakir told BWI. “He’s a really fun guy. He likes to joke and doesn’t keep it too serious.

“He’s really articulate, too. He wants the best for you, and he wants the best of the best there with him. I remember watching their receivers and everyone there was running crisp routes, running everything correctly. I know he knows what he’s doing. He’s been there before, too. Back in college at Purdue, he was great there. I feel like he’s great for me.”

Penn State also continues to set up June official visits. Learn more on our visits page and find out exclusive details inside The Lions Den premium forum.

6. Final thoughts

Have a great weekend, all! We’ll close out with just a few thoughts for the road:

—If you read last week’s six pack, you know that we, like so many others, could not get to Rich Strike in the Kentucky Derby. However, this space thinks the horse’s connections made the right call to skip the Preakness and point toward the Belmont. That said, we’ll still have no interest in backing him there.

–It can’t be football season soon enough for this Philadelphia sports fan. The Flyers’ season mercifully ended, the Sixers had another unceremonious exit from the playoffs, and the Phillies are hardly worth watching right now. Bring on the Birds.

–Summer workouts kickoff soon. They build on the foundation laid during spring practice. This year is even more important with the number of newcomers and younger players who are expected to take on a bigger role. They must go well.

–It’s ONE DOLLAR for ONE YEAR of access to Blue-White Illustrated. If you have signed up, thanks! If not, what are you waiting for? Learn inside scoop on the team, recruiting, and more year-round for a single dollar. Click here to learn more.