Which two former Penn State football players would you add to the 2023 roster?

The temperature around the Penn State football program is heating up for 2023. This is one of the best teams under head coach James Franklin’s tenure, and everyone expects big things from them this fall. From national media to fans online, the excitement for this group is palpable.

But can they deliver on that promise? The roster, while good, isn’t perfect. There are still holes on both sides of the roster. So, who would it be if you were to add one player to each side of the ball for the upcoming season from the last decade of Penn State history under Franklin?

Here are the two players I’m selecting.

Penn State Offense: Jahan Dotson

What we’re saying with this exercise is that we are selecting players to guarantee levels of production. Given the uncertainty around the position’s returning production, it’s no surprise that we’re targeting the wide receiver position. KeAndre Lambert-Smith can very well step into the lead role and put his stamp on the program, but it would be nice to have a sure thing. We’re bringing Jahan Doton back for another year at Penn State.

No receiver has been as prolific or productive as Dotson during his two-year stretch from 2020-2021 at Penn State. While I have a soft spot for Chris Godwin’s game, Dotson gets the nod here for his 25 touchdowns and 2,757 career yards with the Nittany Lions. Dotson’s presence would create a balanced and dangerous accumulation of talent that would be tough to defend. Teams would have to pick whether they wanted to leave Dotson in single coverage and cram the box to stop Nick Singleton and the Penn State running game or to play coverage and hope for the best. With Penn State’s offensive line maturing into a dangerous unit, this group would challenge the 2016/17 offenses for the most explosive under Franklin’s leadership.

The offense under Mike Yurcich has been pass-heavy, leaning on Dotson in 2021, and run-heavy, letting Singleton and Kaytron Allen do the work in 2022. Yurcich has yet to have a complimentary talent pool like we described above. It should underscore how important it is for Lambert-Smith to take the next step in his development and reach standout status.

Defense: Austin Johnson

We have another shocking upset in our positional selection. Most fans would pick between defensive tackle and linebacker for a past Penn State player to add to this lineup. There’s a case to add Micah Parsons, for obvious reasons, but with Abdul Carter and Curtis Jacobs on the roster, adding Parsons would be more redundant than fixing the defensive tackle situation.

Penn State hasn’t had a defensive tackle with Austin Johnson’s skillset since he graduated after the 2015 season. According to PFF, Johnson had 39 tackles against the run that season, finishing in the top 15 for defensive tackles in 2015. He also tallied 37 total stops, which was also a top-15 mark.

Adding his big-bodied power in the middle of the Penn State defense would be the missing piece to vault the Penn State defensive line into historic territory. This group is already five-deep at pass rusher, and with Johnson helping the team get to more third and long situations with his work on early downs, the defense could bare its teeth.

The added bonus of finding a legitimate nose tackle is improved play behind that player. It’s much easier for linebackers to make plays with the players in front of them holding double teams longer and grinding on offensive linemen consistently. Middle linebackers Kobe King and Tyler Elsdon would get a much clearer picture with Johnson in front of them.