So as you guys know, solid camp info beyond that which is shared by James Franklin during his weekly media availability - which, by the way, I think is pretty accurate, forthcoming, and generally great information - is notoriously hard to come by this time of year. A scrimmage report, for instance, isn't going to happen.
But, inevitably, a few odds and ends and trends start to emerge, so this seems like as good of a time as any to pass a few of those along. With 19 days left until the start of the Nittany Lions' season Sept. 1 against App State, this is some of what's buzzing:
- This is a pretty good team. Maybe a little better than some would expect given the losses in personnel and coaches from last year. Now, I think it's important to note here that when your team is ranked No. 9 nationally in a preseason coaches poll, it's kind of hard to argue the "underrated" angle. But just in general, the showings through preseason camp offer some suggestion that might lend credence to hedging to the "over" side of Vegas' 9.5 wins.
- Now, to bring you all back down to earth, two spots of "concern" are still linebacker and, maybe to a little lesser extent, safety. Lamont Wade is said to be having an outstanding camp, and Nick Scott actually cited him specifically last week during his Wednesday media availability when asked to pick one guy he's been impressed with to that point in the preseason. "I would say Lamont Wade. He's made the move to safety. He's very comfortable with the position and it's very fun to watch," said Scott. I don't know all the details back there, or what the nickel situation is, so I don't want to speak out of turn, but my sense is that Wade is in the process of earning himself a starting role.
- Obviously the second part of that two-part equation is at linebacker, and again, it's said to be a spot of "concern." I don't know, and don't want to venture a guess at, what's going to happen with Manny. But all signs are pointing to him needing to be out there sooner rather than later. And I don't think that any of this is mind-blowing, but I thought it was particularly telling when I was interviewing Amani Oruwariye out in Chicago for Big Ten Media Days, what he said about being able to play without really having a firm grasp of what you're doing.
And I don't remember directing the question specifically about Micah - I think I was talking just about how inexperience or experience manifests itself on the defense - but my read was that is who he was talking about with this quote.
"You gotta kind of know the system," he said. "But we definitely have those guys out there that you can throw in and send on a blitz somewhere and tell them what to do and they can play, but that's not really how we operate. If you're going out there, you need to know the system, you need to know the plays, you need to know what you're doing just in case something happens."
So I can't help but come to the conclusion that guys like Parsons, who would seem to be on the path to being on the field this season, will appear in situations not unlike Yetur Gross-Matos last year. Guys that have to be on the field, but who you don't want to overwhelm with responsibility. Just get them out there when you're in obvious situations that can just unleash their pure athleticism, and build them up from there.
- They're loaded at wideout. There may have been a bit of a ding to Justin Shorter over the weekend, but he has been very good this preseason. So too have Cam Sullivan-Brown and Jahan Dotson. And again, this isn't groundbreaking news; Franklin himself cited Dotson as having a "buzz" through camp during his Wednesday media availability.
"A guy I think right now theres a lot of buzz in our program about is Jahan Dotson," said Franklin. "Very natural fluid guy. The game comes easy to him. Nothing seems to big for him, never gets rattled. He’s got consistent hands. Everything is effortless for him. he's got to get bigger and stronger and those types of things."
But, for what it's worth, others are chirping about just how loaded they really are at wideout. Juwan Johnson, DeAndre Thompkins, Brandon Polk, K.J. Hamler, Mac Hippenhammer, Justin Shorter, Cam Sullivan-Brown, Jahan Dotson, Daniel George... That's a lot of dudes.
That's all I have for you guys this morning, but I wanted to pass it along.
Questions, comments, concerns - I'm happy to answer whatever I can if you post them here.
But, inevitably, a few odds and ends and trends start to emerge, so this seems like as good of a time as any to pass a few of those along. With 19 days left until the start of the Nittany Lions' season Sept. 1 against App State, this is some of what's buzzing:
- This is a pretty good team. Maybe a little better than some would expect given the losses in personnel and coaches from last year. Now, I think it's important to note here that when your team is ranked No. 9 nationally in a preseason coaches poll, it's kind of hard to argue the "underrated" angle. But just in general, the showings through preseason camp offer some suggestion that might lend credence to hedging to the "over" side of Vegas' 9.5 wins.
- Now, to bring you all back down to earth, two spots of "concern" are still linebacker and, maybe to a little lesser extent, safety. Lamont Wade is said to be having an outstanding camp, and Nick Scott actually cited him specifically last week during his Wednesday media availability when asked to pick one guy he's been impressed with to that point in the preseason. "I would say Lamont Wade. He's made the move to safety. He's very comfortable with the position and it's very fun to watch," said Scott. I don't know all the details back there, or what the nickel situation is, so I don't want to speak out of turn, but my sense is that Wade is in the process of earning himself a starting role.
- Obviously the second part of that two-part equation is at linebacker, and again, it's said to be a spot of "concern." I don't know, and don't want to venture a guess at, what's going to happen with Manny. But all signs are pointing to him needing to be out there sooner rather than later. And I don't think that any of this is mind-blowing, but I thought it was particularly telling when I was interviewing Amani Oruwariye out in Chicago for Big Ten Media Days, what he said about being able to play without really having a firm grasp of what you're doing.
And I don't remember directing the question specifically about Micah - I think I was talking just about how inexperience or experience manifests itself on the defense - but my read was that is who he was talking about with this quote.
"You gotta kind of know the system," he said. "But we definitely have those guys out there that you can throw in and send on a blitz somewhere and tell them what to do and they can play, but that's not really how we operate. If you're going out there, you need to know the system, you need to know the plays, you need to know what you're doing just in case something happens."
So I can't help but come to the conclusion that guys like Parsons, who would seem to be on the path to being on the field this season, will appear in situations not unlike Yetur Gross-Matos last year. Guys that have to be on the field, but who you don't want to overwhelm with responsibility. Just get them out there when you're in obvious situations that can just unleash their pure athleticism, and build them up from there.
- They're loaded at wideout. There may have been a bit of a ding to Justin Shorter over the weekend, but he has been very good this preseason. So too have Cam Sullivan-Brown and Jahan Dotson. And again, this isn't groundbreaking news; Franklin himself cited Dotson as having a "buzz" through camp during his Wednesday media availability.
"A guy I think right now theres a lot of buzz in our program about is Jahan Dotson," said Franklin. "Very natural fluid guy. The game comes easy to him. Nothing seems to big for him, never gets rattled. He’s got consistent hands. Everything is effortless for him. he's got to get bigger and stronger and those types of things."
But, for what it's worth, others are chirping about just how loaded they really are at wideout. Juwan Johnson, DeAndre Thompkins, Brandon Polk, K.J. Hamler, Mac Hippenhammer, Justin Shorter, Cam Sullivan-Brown, Jahan Dotson, Daniel George... That's a lot of dudes.
That's all I have for you guys this morning, but I wanted to pass it along.
Questions, comments, concerns - I'm happy to answer whatever I can if you post them here.
