Which Penn State football players gained, lost the most weight ahead of spring practice? Newcomers' numbers, more

Penn State football has released its latest roster before spring practice starts.

Head coach James Franklin enters his eighth set of March and April drills in nine years in 2022. They weren’t held in 2020, of course, because of the coronavirus pandemic. Winter workouts were, however, and numerous Nittany Lions have used those to make big changes to their bodies over the years. This one was no exception.

Below, we outline the most notable updates and also reveal the jersey numbers for newcomers.

Jersey numbers, weight changes revealed for Penn State first-year players

Ten Nittany Lions will go through their first spring practice in State College this year.

The list includes nine freshmen plus former Western Kentucky receiver Mitchell Tinsley, who transferred at the start of the spring semester.

Here are the jersey numbers they will wear. We also note weight changes of at least three pounds from the January roster to this one.

No. 5 WR Mitchell Tinsley

No. 7 WR Kaden Saunders: Up to 178 from 170 (+8)

No. 9 QB Beau Pribula (yes, the same number as fellow quarterback Christian Veilleux): Down from 205 to 200 (-5) 

No. 10 RB Nick Singleton: Up to 219 from 210 (+9)

No. 13 RB Kaytron Allen (yes, the same number as WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith): Down to 225 from 216 (-9)

No. 15 QB Drew Allar: Up to 229 from 225 (+4) 

No. 18 WR Omari Evans: Up to 179 from 170 (+9)

No. 28: DT Zane Durant: Up to 265 from 260 (+5) 

No. 55: OL JB Nelson: Up to 305 from 300 (+5) 

No. 88: TE Jerry Cross: Down from 255 to 250 (-5)

The gains for Evans, Allen, and Saunders really jump off the page here. Allen figured to be a potential instant impact contributor even without the gain. But, Saunders, and especially Evans, needed to add weight to be ready for Big Ten ball. Both made big strides in that regard during just two months on campus, which bodes well for the future.

Most notable changes from January compared to now

We will outline all of the changes of at least three pounds below. However, here are the biggest ones:

RB Devyn Ford: Down to 190 from 200 (-10)

TE Evan Clark (played quarterback prior to walking on at Penn State): Up to 218 from 208 (+10) 

OL Jimmy Christ: Up to 315 from 302 (+13)

OL Ibrahim Traore: Up to 330 from 318 (+12)

OG/C Juice Scruggs: Up to 319 from 307 (+12)

The gains for the Penn State offensive linemen listed above are quite notable. Scruggs bulked up to move to center, while Traore did so with hopes of cracking the two-deep this offseason. Ford, then, slimmed down.

Moving on to the defense:

DE Davon Townley Jr: Up to 268 from 252 (+16)

DE Amin Vanover: Down from 283 to 266 (-17)

DT Cole Brevard: Up to 332 from 317 (+15) 

DE Rodney McGraw: Up to 271 from 253 (+18)

LB Cody Romano: Up from 222 to 232 (+10)

S Bobby Walchak: Up to 212 from 172 (+40)

K Jake Pinegar: Up from 196 to 206 (+10)

P Gabriel Nwosu: Down to 278 from 302 (-24)

The defensive line numbers here are very interesting. First, if there was any doubt, Vanover is certainly playing end not tackle for Penn State in 2022.

McGraw, Townley Jr., and Brevard, then, all took a nice jump up as they try to find a spot in the Penn State rotation.

Penn State weight changes of three or more pounds on offense

Here are the changes offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich will be working with during his second spring session at Penn State:

Running backs

Keyvone Lee: Down to 234 from 239 (-5) 

Caziah Holmes: Up to 216 from 211 (+5)

Devyn Ford: Down to 190 from 200 (-10)

Receiver

Parker Washington: Up to 212 from 207 (+5) 

KeAndre Lambert-Smith: Up to 188 from 184 (+4) 

Mason Stahl: Changed from quarterback to wide receiver and is down to 195 from 202 (-7). Now wears No. 17. 

Jaden Dottin: Up to 191 from 186 (+5)

Malick Meiga: Up to 203 from 200 (+3)

Jason Estrella: Up to 187 from 180 (+7)

Tight end

Benjamin Knapp: Down from 245 to 240 (-5)

Grayson Kline: Down from 257 to 251 (-6)   

Khalil Dinkins: Up to 233 from 226 (+7)

Evan Clark: Up to 218 from 208 (+10) 

Offensive line

Jimmy Christ: Up to 315 from 302 (+13)

Ibrahim Traore: Up to 330 from 318 (+12)

Landon Tengwall: Down from 330 to 326 (-4) 

Juice Scruggs: Up to 319 from 307 (+12) 

Bryce Effner: Down from 305 to 298 (-7)

Olu Fashanu: Down from 313 to 310 (-3) 

Caedan Wallace: Down to 319 from 323 (-4)

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Penn State weight changes of three or more pounds on defense

Here is some of what Manny Diaz will work with during his first Penn State spring:

Defensive end

Davon Townley Jr: Up to 268 from 252 (+16)

Nick Tarburton: Up to 260 from 255 (+5)

Amin Vanover: Down from 283 to 266 (-17)

Smith Vilbert: Down from 263 to 260 (-3) 

Spencer Perry: Down from 225 to 219 (-6) 

Rodney McGraw: Up to 271 from 253 (+18)

Defensive tackle

Alex Furmanek: Up to 285 from 278 (+7) 

Hakeem Beamon: Down from 276 to 269 (-7)

Jordan van den Berg: Up to 295 from 292 (+3)

Fatorma Mulbah: Up to 305 from 296 (+9)

Cole Brevard: Up to 332 from 317 (+15) 

PJ Mustipher: Up to 329 from 326 (+3)

Linebacker 

Curtis Jacobs: Down to 227 from 230 (-3)

Robbie Dwyer: Down from 258 to 252 (-6) 

Kobe King: Down from 245 to 242 (-3)

Charlie Katshir: Down to 224 from 231 (-7) 

Cody Romano: Up from 222 to 232 (+10) 

Ben Chizmar: Up from 211 to 220 (+9) 

Corner

Joey Porter Jr.: Up to 196 from 192 (+4)

Jeffrey Davis Jr: Up to 182 from 174 (+8)

Safeties

Jonathan Sutherland: Up to 209 from 201 (+8)

Jaden Seider: Up to 184 from 178 (+6) 

Bobby Walchak: Up to 212 from 172 (+40)

Sebastian Costantini: Down to 187 from 191 (-4)

Do note that Sutherland is expected to bump up to linebacker, which explains his weight gain. However, the official roster still lists him as a safety, so we do so here.