Who were the Penn State touchdown and takeaway kings of preseason camp, and what could it mean in 2024?
Penn State football finished preseason camp on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, it revealed the touchdown and takeaway leaders from its three weeks of work in State College. Head coach James Franklin said following the final practice before the Nittany Lions shifted their focus to West Virginia that he was pleased with where his program is less than two weeks before they take the field in Morgantown.
“There comes a point where you just need to play somebody,” Franklin said. “It’s hard to really determine. You see good things on tape, you have some concerns, some areas that you need to work on. But you’re going against the same people every single day. So it’s hard to really judge until you play somebody else. But in terms of where we’re at, and in terms of improvement, I’m comfortable with where we’re at. I think there’s some areas that we’ve taken some significant steps in. I think it’s much more competitive right now between the offense and the defense. And I think all three coordinators have done a phenomenal job, as well as some of the new players.
“So I think we’re in a good place. I don’t know if there’s kind of an area that I would say right now that is overly concerning. It’s more hard to determine until you play somebody else. It’s hard to totally evaluate your roster until you play somebody else.”
Who were the Penn State touchdown kings?
One is a familiar face, while the other is a newcomer. Junior quarterback Drew Allar shared the honor with freshman tight end Luke Reynolds. The number of scores the duo accounted for was not disclosed. Allar, as the first-team quarterback, is hardly a surprising winner considering the fact that numerous members of the program have been direct about how close the offense and defense were throughout camp.
“A couple years ago, last year, it wouldn’t even be close in the competition period,” redshirt junior receiver Kaden Saunders said earlier this month. “But now, the defense is real good, but we’re right there with them. So I think just how much stress we put on them with our offense and everything that we do, it just creates opportunities for us to make plays and win periods like that.
“Our defense is one of if not the best in the country. If we can win against them, then there should be nobody that can stop our offense when a season comes.”
While Allar is a known commodity, Reynolds is aiming to earn a role in a crowded and talented tight ends room. The former four-star and top 100 recruit in the On3 Industry Rankings out of Westford, Mass., drew praise from his head coach back on Aug. 13.
“He’s going to be a really good player here,” Franklin said. “He’s very similar to Tyler Warren. They both played high school quarterback and transitioned to the position. He has gotten bigger. He put on a good amount of weight early on, and then he’s kind of plateaued off a little bit. We got to continue to chip away at that. But he doesn’t mind sticking his nose in there, makes a ton of plays in the passing game. He’s gonna be a really good player. We got great competition at the tight end position, so he’s gonna be a guy that’s gonna play this year. Whether it is four games plus postseason or whether it’s just an all-out play is still to be determined.”
Who were the Lions’ takeaway kings?
Multiple members of the Nittany Lions’ new look secondary earned these crowns. First-team safety and corner Zakee Wheatley and Cam Miller, respectively, made the list, along with walk-on safety Kolin Dinkins and freshman safety Dejuan Lane. As with the offense, their final totals were not disclosed.
Wheatley is part of a three-man starting safety group that also includes KJ Winston Jr., and Jaylen Reed. The Maryland native is in line for his biggest role as a Nittany Lion. Miller, a junior, is set for first-team work after a productive first two seasons on campus. Dinkins, then, is a redshirt sophomore who saw plenty of special teams action in 2023 and now strives for more time on defense this fall.
“Dinkins can play football,” Penn State co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Anthony Poindexter told BWI in early August. “He got a lot of testing numbers. He flashed to us a year ago, started playing a lot of special teams. So wildcard, maybe, but he has the skill set. He just gotta get used to playing inside. He’s been outside a whole year and playing corner is totally different than playing safety. But he’s up for a challenge.”
Last but not least, Lane has turned heads during his first college camp. This is the case despite the fact that he enrolled this summer and thus missed spring practice. He is battling for the No. 4 safety spot behind the aforementioned trio of Winston Jr., Reed, and Wheatley.
What could all of it mean?
While one year’s results do not equal a guarantee for what the next year’s will mean, it is worth revisiting recent history. A year ago, Allar was the camp touchdown king along with KeAndre Lambert-Smith. Allar threw 25 touchdowns and ‘KLS’ hauled in four in addition to leading the team in receiving yards. He, of course, left the Lions via the transfer portal in April and is now at Auburn.
On the other side of the ball, linebacker Tony Rojas and veteran cornerback Daequan Hardy were the 2023 preseason camp takeaways kings. Rojas flashed on special teams and as a backup on defense. His first season was highlighted by a forced fumble and interception in addition to 21 tackles (3.5 for loss). Hardy, then, tallied a team-high seven pass breakups in addition to a team-high two interceptions.
