{"id":15194,"date":"2023-08-30T20:25:32","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T01:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=15194"},"modified":"2023-08-30T20:25:32","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T01:25:32","slug":"penn-state-football-five-players-to-watch-vs-west-virginia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/penn-state-football-five-players-to-watch-vs-west-virginia\/","title":{"rendered":"Penn State Football: Five players to watch vs. West Virginia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Penn State football will kick off its 2023 season in just three more days, set to host West Virginia. The meeting between the Nittany Lions and Mountaineers<\/a><\/strong> at Beaver Stadium will be met with great interest for a variety of reasons.<\/p>\n

Penn State emerging with a 1-0 start is chief among them for fans of the program.<\/p>\n

But, with the Nittany Lions expected to win big, the storylines beyond the result won\u2019t be ignored. A favorite ballooning to 20.5 points in favor of the hosts, many of Penn State\u2019s offseason conversations will manifest themselves for the first time in front of a packed house.<\/p>\n

Here, we\u2019re checking in on five Penn State players to watch against the Mountaineers.<\/p>\n

Five Penn State players to watch vs. WVU<\/h2>\n

1. Drew Allar<\/h2>\n

Head coach James Franklin<\/a><\/strong> doesn\u2019t need to make an announcement for this one to take the top spot. Drew Allar<\/a><\/strong>, the rising sophomore quarterback, will take the field with as much anticipation as any Nittany Lion signal-caller since Christian Hackenberg<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Saturday night, he can demonstrate why.<\/p>\n

Tuesday afternoon, Franklin spent a good bit of his weekly press conference detailing all that Allar did well this summer. Then, when prodded into formally announcing Allar as the starter, Franklin balked, preferring to keep the decision internal for competitive reasons.<\/p>\n

No matter, the reality for Allar on Saturday night is straightforward. His decision-making has been praised. He\u2019s completed a high percentage of his passes, good for this season and historically at Penn State. And, most impressively, Allar has taken care of the football.<\/p>\n

Whether he puts up big fantasy football numbers or not is beside the point.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Can he effectively operate a Nittany Lion offense that is positioned not to put undue stress on the true sophomore? Can he stay turnover-free against a West Virginia defense seeking to confuse him?<\/p>\n

If the answers are in the affirmative, anything between 200 and 400 yards, or one and four touchdowns, will qualify as a success while offering a baseline from which to set expectations moving forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2. JB Nelson<\/h2>\n

The bottom line here is that Landon Tengwall<\/a><\/strong> has been absent from preseason practice sessions open to the media for much of the past month.<\/p>\n

Penn State doesn\u2019t need to provide a detailed explanation regarding Tengwall\u2019s whereabouts to understand that JB Nelson<\/a><\/strong> is going to be important this season, regardless of the if or when of Tengwall\u2019s return.<\/p>\n

Last week, Franklin explained Nelson\u2019s role in the offense and the expectation, regardless of any other circumstances, that he would be a big part of the picture along the offensive line this season. Now a fourth-year player, coming off four games played during a redshirt in 2022, the opener represents a prime opportunity for Nelson to back up the confidence Penn State has directed his way.<\/p>\n

3. Hakeem Beamon<\/h2>\n

Speaking of expectations, there are few Penn State players this offseason who\u2019ve garnered the type of buzz that Hakeem Beamon<\/a><\/strong> has generated since June.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s back, he\u2019s bigger, he\u2019s better, and the Nittany Lions are counting on the potential shown previously to finally click this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, against the Mountaineers, he\u2019ll get the opportunity to show that progress. Three of West Virginia\u2019s offensive linemen earned preseason All-Big 12 recognition, and two are on the interior in guard Doug Nester<\/a><\/strong> and center Zach Frazier<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Creating pressure could be a challenge for Beamon, but it would offer signs of optimism for the rest of the season if he showed some success.<\/p>\n

4. Sander Sahaydak<\/h2>\n

This is one of the great unknowns for Penn State ahead of the 2023 season. And, though the Nittany Lions are a nearly three-touchdown favorite, a season-opening matchup isn\u2019t usually welcomed by an offense firing on all cylinders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Given that context, Sander Sahaydak<\/a><\/strong> could prove his bona fides by capping Penn State\u2019s stalled trips to the fringe red zone with points.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last season, Sahaydak connected on just 1-of-2 field goal attempts. He hit from 20 yards and missed on a try from 56.\u00a0<\/p>\n

5. KeAndre Lambert-Smith<\/h2>\n

Last season, West Virginia had one of the nation\u2019s worst pass defenses. That was for total yards and passing efficiency, checking in at No. 110 and No. 106, respectfully.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Mountaineers\u2019 personnel has changed, welcoming Kent State\u2019s Montre Miller into the fold this offseason. But, that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean opportunities won\u2019t be plentiful for Penn State to make plays in the passing game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Nittany Lions have other options who could find themselves as frequent targets of Allar (tight ends, anyone?). Still, it\u2019s almost difficult to conceive of a scenario in which KeAndre Lambert-Smith<\/a><\/strong> doesn\u2019t figure heavily into the attack.<\/p>\n

The post Penn State Football: Five players to watch vs. West Virginia<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Penn State football will kick off its 2023 season in just three more days, set…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15194\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}