Inside the Den: Penn State football preseason scrimmage report

Good day at the office

Over on Tom Allen’s side, Abdul Carter flashed working exclusively out of his new defensive end role. That’s been consistent in the feedback coming out of preseason camp. He also worked exclusively there on Friday. Considering the transition, reps spent at linebacker and not end are likely wasted.

Also on Saturday, much to the chagrin of Penn State’s offense, the Nittany Lion defensive tackles were said to have an extremely strong showing. They were aggressive and regularly blew up plays along the line of scrimmage. For as much attention has rightfully been bestowed on the edge rushers, Deion Barnes‘ strength at tackle, two deep, is expected to show itself repeatedly this season.

A few other Penn State defensive points of interest

A few other buzzworthy notes to mention from the effort on Saturday:

We cautioned against getting too excited over some of the early buzz for Max Granville. Certainly, some of that is symptomatic of the position in which Penn State finds itself following the exit of Jameial Lyons this offseason. In tandem, it has created an atmosphere in which expectations can exceed likely outcomes. Well, after Saturday, we can only report that Granville’s name continues to come up. He has an exceptional get-off from the snap that shows up play after play. “I really had high expectations for Max and I feel like he’s a guy that has really, really good twitch, great first-step quickness, does a lot of things naturally,” said Allen last week. “You can tell quite a bit about a guy’s feel for the game. Even though he’s the guy who will get bigger and stronger, he still has a good understanding fundamentally of his handwork and his footwork and placement of hands in the run game, going against tight ends. Rushing the passer is kind of what he does best, what he does naturally. Obviously, he’ll become a complete player. But, I’ll tell you what. I’m super excited about him.”

Publicly, Penn State has maintained the heightened competition of Terry Smith’s cornerbacks room. That sentiment hasn’t died down at all this offseason. No matter what, the Nittany Lions feel as though they’re in good shape. But, when it pertains to what Franklin was saying on media day, questioning whether a breakout would emerge, the buzz through the early part of camp has been consistent and needs to be acknowledged. A.J. Harris, the sophomore transfer from Georgia, has been running with Cam Miller, potentially representing a starting combination the Nittany Lions will take into the season. And, importantly, Harris has demonstrated himself to be a “dawg.”

Not as great of a day

The first caveat is that Penn State’s offense isn’t playing with a full deck right now, so to speak. As alluded to by Allen during the program’s turn on the BTN, the staff is pulling back on Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen at this point in the preseason. They’re studs, Penn State knows what they have, and putting either at risk in live work isn’t worth it.

That said, Franklin’s Thursday comments about the overall offensive/defensive balance of camp, and occasional imbalance, played out on Saturday. As a refresher, here is what he had to say:

“It’s more even than it’s been in the past,” said Franklin. “What I would say is we’re still inconsistent with that. To me, it should come down to one or two reps in every period who wins. And we have that, but then we have other days where the defense dominates a period. Then we’ll have other days where the offense dominates a period.

“We can’t have a bad quarter on offense or a bad quarter on defense. We gotta make sure for the games that we want to win, we got to play really well in all three phases. So it’s more competitive than it’s been in terms of the score… I want to say it’s been tied more than it hasn’t been during camp.”

Saturday, it was not tied.

As already described, the defense had a considerable advantage in the trenches and made life difficult for quarterback Drew Allar throughout. Under that pressure, Allar was said to have been challenged and was inconsistent, unable to make much of the few opportunities he had without that duress. Overall, the offense was said to have shown some good things earlier in the session than later, when the defense was said to have been in more control.

A few other Penn State offensive highlights

A few highlights did take place, though:

Julian Fleming was said to have demonstrated an ability to get open in Andy Kotelnicki’s offense that bodes well. In a conversation that remains centered on setting the correct expectations for the former On3 Industry five-star receiver, a few points remain. Is he a burner? No. Is he going to upend the room and become the top target? No. That’s going to be Trey Wallace. But, his consistency and maturity should serve as a boost to a room that lacked it last season, and Fleming will have an opportunity to contribute. Given Penn State’s recent results at the position, getting open and securing receptions, even if YAC isn’t strong on the back side of it, would be useful to the Nittany Lion offense.

Running back Quinton Martin had what was described as the offensive play of the day. Filling in as Cam Wallace has missed some time this week in the battle for third-string at the position, Martin took a handoff, hit a big hole, and took off as the defense was unable to track him down. Wallace is expected to be OK.

Results aside, Penn State and Kotelnicki’s intentions for Beau Pribula remain in place. He has a package was utilized and is expected to show up in the Nittany Lions’ game plans this season, one year after the same sentiment rarely came to fruition.

Third-string quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer had gained some previous buzz through his first months on campus. That continued into the early parts of preseason camp. He’s said to have a quick release and is decisive with the football.

Liam Clifford backed up a good practice performance on Friday with another on Saturday.

Vibes remain confident and optimistic for the offense despite some of the challenges of the showing on Saturday. There is time to make corrections, and that is what the preseason is meant to provide.

Talk about it with our premium members in the Lions Den, here!

The post Inside the Den: Penn State football preseason scrimmage report appeared first on On3.