Penn State Football 2022 Season Preview and Notes

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Roger I. McNamara

Background.    Few National Collegiate Athletic Association programs in any sport rank above Penn State University football and its now nearly Century and One-Half  --- the team first appeared in competition in 1881 --- stretch of excellence.  Along with --- mentioned here in alphabetical order --- Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas, Stanford and the University of Southern California ----  the Nittany Lions have carved a multi-decade record of consistent superiority.  Credits include two consensus National Championships (1982 and 1986), four Big Ten Conference --- which it joined in 1983 --- Titles, 13 undefeated campaigns and an overall 30-18-2 slate in 50 post season Bowl Game appearances.  The Lions stand 9th overall in total victories, and its 106,582 seating capacity Beaver Stadium in University Park is the Nation’s second largest.         

Coaching Legends.  Teams were always well prepared and sidelines capably patrolled in PSU’s formative decades, but two in more recent memory merit special notation.  Pennsylvania native Charles A “Rip” Engle assumed the helm in 1950, and over the ensuing 16 Seasons his teams posted an enviable 104-48-4 composite, including four Bowl games.  Engle organized and led pioneering efforts aimed at maintaining off-season player strength and conditioning, enough that not a single losing season was incurred under his leadership.  Engle was in 1973  inducted into the Coaches Wing of the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, GA. He passed at Age 77 in his beloved Bellefonte, PA.

Seldom has a name become attached in the Nation’s mindset with a University or its athletic program as tightly as Joe Paterno and Penn State University football.  Following 16 seasons as an Assistant, Paterno was named Engle’s immediate successor as the Head Man, and over the next 46 campaigns the wins piled on top of Conference Titles, a 24-13 mark in Bowl Games --- the Lions were Rose Bowl victors in 1994  --- and a steady parade of All-American players.  Paterno’s credits lead all NCAA football coaches in both number of Seasons with an individual School  (62) and career wins (409 --- still most in Football Bowl Subdivision history).  Gridiron stars who played for and learned from Paterno include Kerry Collins, Matt Millen, Shane Conlon, Jack Ham, Franco Harris and Curt Warner.  Joe’s 2011 exit from the sidelines was unfortunately shrouded under a legal matter involving one of his assistants.  He died peacefully at age 86 in 2012 at State College, PA, then a  posthumous 2015 induction into the College Hall.   

The Recent Decade.  As Head Coach James Franklin and Staff prepare for his 9th Season it looks back on an uneven record.  For sure three eleven win campaigns are in the books, those of 2016, 2017 and 2019 leading to victory in, respectively, Fiesta and Cotton Bowls along with a narrow three point shortfall against Southern Cal in a thrilling 2017 Rose Bowl.  But 7th is the highest post-season Associated Press rank the program can claim, and its two immediate efforts have come to break-even and a non-rated post season status.  If staff, players and Lion boosters are to realize any significant upturn this Fall it will need to derive from the two customary sources --- returning lettermen and incoming recruiting classes.

Returning Lettermen.     Turnaround hopes in this sport most often reside with the Quarterback, and the 2022 Lions are no exception.  Sean Clifford pitched his team to an 8-0 mark in 2019 over which he compiled a Rating of 166.5 and an 4th in that year’s initial Football Playoff ranking.  Then lying in wait at its Huntington Bank Stadium home in Minneapolis was a horde of swarming Minnesota Golden Gophers.  Clifford was off target throughout and delivered an End Zone interception to seal a 31-26 PSU setback.  His production slipped consistently over the remainder of that season.  Last year into Game 6 Penn State again took an unblemished record on the road, this time to Kinnick Field out in Iowa, there to meet up with another squad of unbeatens.  Once more Clifford was off form (he sat out portions of the 2nd Half) and once more the Lions pulled up short, this time a 23-20 Hawkeye final.  The abilities are there --- ore consistency is needed.  The faithful may hope for improvement under 2nd year Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich, who brings 23 years of college coaching experience with him, and who generated noteworthy success at both Texas and Ohio State. 

No passing game will yield consistently winning outcomes unless complemented at least to some extent by a strong running attack.   The 2022 Lions are no exception.  Last season’s ground game is most politely described as “a bit of a struggle.”  Franklin likes to stamp his teams with good rushing marks, and a turnaround effort this year points to 5’11” 200 pound Junior Devyn Ford.  Limited action was seen in 2021, but in prior years he displayed abundant skill sets as both a running back and receiver.  From this year’s opening play from scrimmage the faithful will doubtless have many eyes trained on Ford and the ground game.

Tight ends were not a feature of the 2021 offense, as three different athletes were used at the position attaining neither individual nor group success. Something of a puzzle, since Franklin’s winning teams of years past were well marked at this position. Any Yurcich step up to steamroller quality will in weeks ahead need a major improvement from at least one of the returning veterans, not incidentally to include run blocking.   

Although nice enough to score, it never hurts to contain the other guy.  Ominously the Lions all around defensive prospects are stamped with as many question marks as opposing plays in a book.  In two of last year’s six setbacks no QB sacks were recorded as little pressure was applied.  Opponent signal callers in the Big 10 are fully capable of treating the occasion as a relaxed exercise in school yard toss and run.  What little quality defensive line play there left the scene with the graduation of 6’3” 255 pounder Arnold Ebekitie,  a 2nd Team All American now off to the professional ranks.  His spots --- and others --- will be filled if at all by Red Shirt Senior Nick Tarburton, a virtual physical identity with Ebekitie and from nearby Green Lane, PA.  Nick began rounding into desired form last season --- his first at PSU to serve up many snaps --- but still nailed only one sack and one QB “hurry.”  If he and others on D can put in consistently improved play the team may win its share.  If not?

Incoming Talent: Recent Year Recruits.    A 2021 Gatorade National Player of the Year, 6’0 219 pound Running Back Nick Singleton out of Mifflin Prep School in Shillington, PA dominates an all-around excellent 2022 Lions recruiting class.   He is joined by 5 Star Defensive End/Linebacker Dani Denis-Sutton from Owings Mills in Maryland.  Sutton’s enormous appeal is a blend of sub 5.0 second time in the 40 yard dash framed in 6’5”  250 pound physical strength.  Opposing ball carriers do not get around him, and whether from an upright or three point stance he will most often occupy two blockers.   This pair shares one thing in common:  it committed to Penn State only following a personal visit to the campus, the most common recent year outcome for those advancing from Prep School to College.  Coach Franklin will need to replicate the process in weeks immediately ahead, since in the overall rating schemes the Lions remain a few strides behind Ohio State. 

When We Might Know.   Schedule makers wasted no time in putting the Nittany Lions to an immediate test with a September 1 Season Opener on the road at Big 10 Conference rival Purdue University and all its Boilermakers out in East Lafayette, IN.  Waiting for this team in Week 6 at its Ann Arbor, MI home are the formidable Wolverines.  Two weeks later brings October 29,  serving up a 106,572 seat Beaver Stadium visit from Ohio State.  Thus prior to Election Day and the construction of the countless river dams will Nittany Lions faithful have gathered in a fair minded impression of this year’s squad.   

Footnote.  Exactly what is a Nittany Lion?  It is a cougar roaming Eastern regions of Pennsylvania, in particular Mount Nittany nearby the State College campus.  It was adopted as the University’s mascot and team name in 1904.