What were the top three Penn State things we learned in July?

Penn State has had a busy month of July across multiple sports. The Nittany Lions have added recruits, hosted football camps, traveled to Big Ten Media Days, and promoted a wrestling coach, among other things.

Here are the top three things we learned over the last 31 days.

1. Penn State will go into preseason camp with a quarterback competition

This really should not be a huge shock. Head coach James Franklin said at Big Ten Media Days that the program is still in a “competition phase” despite Drew Allar seemingly being the sure-fire pick over classmate Beau Pribula. After 10 years, it was a safe bet to predict that Franklin would leave the starter unnamed until later in preseason camp. That’s just how he prefers to operate. And, there is no timeline for a decision to be made.

“Obviously the sooner, the better,” Franklin said. “But we’re not going to rush any of these decisions at any of these positions. We grade everything in every practice. So all the data will be there. Obviously you’re going to trust your gut and your instincts on those things as well, but you have the data to back it up.

“I think at any of these positions, the sooner, the better. It’s probably magnified at the quarterback position because you don’t rotate and play the same type of way that you do at some other positions. It will be watching how they move the offense, the confidence that their teammates have in them and the data and analytics that go into it as well to make sure that what your gut is telling you aligns with what the numbers say.”

2. The Lions made their biggest recruiting splash yet in July

Penn State was not as busy as expected on the recruiting trail in July. The Lions landed just three prospects over the last 31 days. But, you can make the argument that it was the program’s biggest splash yet. On300 member and four-star defensive tackle Liam Andrews picked Penn State back on July 21. He is a monster get for Franklin’s program and should be a high-impact player in blue and white. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound top 100 recruit may even get onto the field in year one. But, we’ll have a better feel for that after his senior season goes into the books.

“Liam Andrews has one of the better combinations of length and overall athleticism at any of the linemen positions in the 2024 cycle,” On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power told BWI. “This is a guy who is close to 6-foot-5, 275-pounds with 34.5-inch arms, he just has a really big frame. With that frame, the movement skills are really exciting. He’s a guy who plays both ways at the high school level and you can just see that athleticism on film.”

3. The Lions promoted a wrestling coach; football makes staff adds

Jimmy Kennedy has been making an impact on the Penn State wrestling program for a handful of years. But, he was only a volunteer assistant. However, thanks to an NCAA rule change that added a fourth paid positon in multiple sports, the Lions were able to drop the volunteer part of his title and make him a full-time member of Cael Sanderson’s staff.

The staff updates didn’t pertain only to wrestling. Franklin moved Danny O’Brien into a graduate assistant role and brought former Duke defensive coordinator Robb Smith aboard to work in the analyst department.

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