Which Penn State players surprised us most during September?: Roundtable
Penn State has had good and bad surprises during its 5-0 start. The Nittany Lions have seen four freshmen use a year of eligibility. A transfer running back has played a bigger role than many expected. The third wide receiver spot is still in flux. And, various players have stepped into bigger roles on both sides of the ball.
The Blue-White Illustrated team continues its roundtable series with each member of our staff picking the player who has surprised them most so far.
Sean Fitz: Penn State anchored on offense
By the time I got around to this, my guy Greg Pickel already hopped on running back Trey Potts. We’re coming off the high of the Northwestern game for Potts and he’s been a better addition than expected. I’ll stay on the offense, though, and go with center Hunter Nourzad. One of the underrated storylines of the offseason was how the Nittany Lions would replace Juice Scruggs, who was classically underappreciated before going in the second round of the NFL Draft in the spring.
Nourzad came from Cornell with the hope of being one-and-done and off to the NFL as well. That didn’t happen in 2022, so midway through last season our Nate Bauer got wind that the plans had changed and that Nourzad would take over at center for the 2023 season. Nourzad struggled with injuries in his first season in Happy Valley and it was unclear how he would fare in the new role. After five games, he’s been Penn State’s second-best offensive lineman, and at times it hasn’t been close. Nourzad has been the physical presence that the Nittany Lions hoped he would be when they added him from the Transfer Portal in 2022.
Nate Bauer: Defensive end depth proves essential
I’m going to go down the depth chart a little bit on this one, but Amin Vanover is my pick. Not that he’s completely out of the blue; we talked about him pairing with Zuriah Fisher to provide Penn State quality support at defensive end during preseason practice. But, given the nature of his absence for the first two games of the season, then finally coming on at Illinois, some of those preseason prognostications appeared shaky, at best.
Against the Illini, Iowa, and at Northwestern last weekend, though, he demonstrated something essential to Penn State’s plans on the defensive side of the ball. Even in limited reps, clearly behind the top trio of Adisa Isaac, Chop Robinson, and Dani Dennis-Sutton, Vanover is making the most of his opportunities. He’s now tied for third on the defense in quarterback pressures, notching 10 for the season. With them, he’s quickly accumulated a couple of sacks. That he’s done so on just 51 reps, though, is what makes it so impressive.
For Penn State to have three standout ends serving as a centerpiece to what the defense does is crucial. But, with Vanover making his presence immediately felt, there is a relentlessness to that position that will pay dividends all year.
Thomas Frank Carr: Drew Allar stands tall
Surprising doesn’t mean good or bad; it just means unexpected. So, I’ll take quarterback Drew Allar as my most surprising player. When you think of a five-star quarterback with an NFL-level arm, you think of big plays, rainbow shots downfield, and lasers fired into tight windows. That’s doubly true when the quarterback is 6-5 and doesn’t have modern quarterback movement skills. When we build a profile like that, it’s easy to fall into the stereotype.
But Allar, above all else, has been careful. He’s a methodical, borderline dogmatic processor who takes what the defense gives him, almost without exception. He’s fully bought into Mike Yurcich’s system and follows it’s progression-based rules faithfully.
By the way, that’s produced exceptional results. Even on his bad days (like against Northwestern), Allar avoided glaring mistakes and has only put the ball in harm’s way once, in the season’s first game. That gives him a turnover-worthy play rate of 0.6%, according to PFF. That’s the best in the country. So, after years of Sean Clifford’s erratic but explosive style, Allar’s cerebral protection of the football is surprising.
Greg Pickel: Trey Potts was a big get for Penn State
I’m going with running back Trey Potts. The senior was always talked about as a fine teammate and contributor if you looked up what he was doing during his days at Minnesota. All of those traits and qualities have seemingly carried over to his time in State College. He’s the elder statesman of a running backs room that is brimming with talent.
What surprises me is just how much he has contributed in September. With how good Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen are, I didn’t expect him to get much of any carries, save for some garbage time work. But, pressed into a bigger role with Allen sidelined at Northwestern, Potts caught a 30-yard touchdown that will answer some fans’ trivia question of the greatest point spread covering play in Penn State history and also looked explosive while running for 21 yards and a score. He also threw a touchdown toss against Illinois.
Potts is filling a vital role. He is a mentor off the field and protects the ball on it once the lead backs have done the hard work of building a lead. That will keep each of them fresh moving forward. The Penn State newcomer has truly been a pleasant surprise.
The post Which Penn State players surprised us most during September?: Roundtable appeared first on On3.
