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Latest roster updates

Chris92

Well-Known Member
Dec 2, 2001
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Gross-Matos up to 262, Culpepper reports at 296 and Nana Asiedu at 294.

Holly hell, Nana makes Greg Oden look baby faced. He and Walker will make a great tandem at tackle.
 
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Brailyn Franklin went from 204 to 247 !?
A few other things of note :
- Tarburton is now 252. I guess he’s a DE.
- Journey Brown ( 210 ) outweighs Sanders ( 207 ).
- Shorter is 226, Juwanson is 239.
- Kuntz is 239, Friermuth is 260.
- Mustipher ( 300 + lb DT ) wears # 27 ?
 
Nana and Walker at OT. Wallace likely plays Guard.

Remember, we heard it right here that Franklin was way too small to play DE!!

Tarburton was moved to DE halfway through Spring practice.

Others...

Windsor at 304. Good!!

Toney at 241. Hope that's legit.

Shelton (308) and Hansard (318), the depth at 1 technique DT, along with Mustopher.

Fries up to 312.

Brooks at 237. From the pictures I've seen he looks ready to go.

Joseph at 246. Still pretty light, after a few years in S&C program. I would have expected him to be closing in on 260 by now.

Miller at DE should have a nice year. But YGM will be closing in on 270 by 2019 and I see him as our next AA DE....... Nassib sized.

Freiermuth at 260. He is a year older than most freshmen and he has a great chance to compete for playing time in 2018. I'm looking for Bowers to play a lot if he is healthy, but Dalton and Holland better step up if they want to hold off Freiermuth and Kuntz.....
 
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Brailyn Franklin went from 204 to 247 !?
A few other things of note :
- Tarburton is now 252. I guess he’s a DE.
- Journey Brown ( 210 ) outweighs Sanders ( 207 ).
- Shorter is 226, Juwanson is 239.
- Kuntz is 239, Friermuth is 260.
- Mustipher ( 300 + lb DT ) wears # 27 ?

I think Hawkins is #27.
 
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This is a big, strong team.

Notable:
Connor McGovern 326#
Fries 6'6" 312#
Juwanson 231#
Gross-Matos and Shareef Miller are both 6'5" and approx. 260#
Kuntz 6'7" 239#
Tommy Stevens 6'5" 235#
Kevin Givens up to 283#

We'll see how they look on the field, but for coming off the bus, or walking through the airport, they'll ace the looks test ;)
 
Two jump out at me for opposite reasons - Connor McGovern is up to 326. Cam Brown is 226. Brown and Justin Shorter are virtually the same size with Cam 1 inch taller.
 
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Great to see the TE's put on some much needed weight. This is a position of need (but in this offense, the TE is of lesser importance as a blocker). I have a feeling Journey Brown is going to press for playing time. I also can't wait to see Slade as a third down back.
 
Great to see the TE's put on some much needed weight. This is a position of need (but in this offense, the TE is of lesser importance as a blocker). I have a feeling Journey Brown is going to press for playing time. I also can't wait to see Slade as a third down back.
Ha, love your pic of "I Don't Care" bar sign.

Reminds me of this place in Chapel Hill:

FullSizeRender1.0.jpg
 
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Ha, love your pic of "I Don't Care" bar sign.

Reminds me of this place in Chapel Hill:

FullSizeRender1.0.jpg
Ha! The idea what that when you ask your wife where she wants to eat for dinner, she responds "I don't care"...and there you are!
 
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Brailyn Franklin went from 204 to 247 !?
A few other things of note :
- Tarburton is now 252. I guess he’s a DE.
- Journey Brown ( 210 ) outweighs Sanders ( 207 ).
- Shorter is 226, Juwanson is 239.
- Kuntz is 239, Friermuth is 260.
- Mustipher ( 300 + lb DT ) wears # 27 ?
I see Franklin was moved to DE as well. And it's good to see Windsor back to 300+ . I believe he was listed in the 280s on the spring roster.
 
Oweh is going to be a curious example of this new 4 game rule. Based on his "he's very raw" perception, doubt we see him until very late in the season, if at all.

Franklin at 247 answers that question.

Hoping we have a triple threat backfield this season. Fresh legs late games and down the stretch pays dividends. Particularly if all play at a high level and there is no considerable difference amongst the players.

If our DTs can stuff the run and rush the QB in ways that the weight gain would indicate, it will greatly help our inexperience at MLB. It's a position we have not been excellent at, much less elite, in a while.
 
Franklin at 247 answers that question.

If our DTs can stuff the run and rush the QB in ways that the weight gain would indicate, it will greatly help our inexperience at MLB. It's a position we have not been excellent at, much less elite, in a while.


Yep, Cabinda was a solid player, and we will miss him in 2018. But I see the young LB's (Brooks, Luketa, Parsons....) as better athletes than Cabinda who will improve the D by 2019.....
 
Who are the 4 that arrived on campus today? I know shorter and aseidu are two of them, but not sure who the other ones are.
 
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I started 2018 thinking that LB or the DL were going to be the problem positions this year. Now, after looking down the roster, I think it might be WR and only because of inexperience.
 
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Challenges for the WR spot? Absolutely.

In large part because it is likely they need to produce a lot MORE than in 2017 - if the offense is to keep clicking.....
Because last year PSU received:
126 catches, for 1258 yards, and 14 TD - - - from the TB and TE spots.
Barkley and Gesicki - as receiving threats - were a HUGE part of the offensive success in 2017.
(FWIW, that is - on average - about twice as much as OSU, UM, and MSU got from those spots.... even though UM was very TE heavy in their pass game, and OSU used their TE more than they may have ever done before under Meyer)

That ain't likely to happen (not even close to it) this year.
In fact, without Gesicki and Barkley, I would expect we will see significantly less of the "11" personnel than we did last year - when it was probably out there for 95% of the snaps - - - probably a significantly higher mix of "4 wide", dual backs, and the Tommy Stevens packages. That is going to be a challenge for Rahne. I think.

So the WR are going to have to put up big, big numbers in 2018 (if the offense is to be successful).
Big contributions from one or two of the FR/RS FR are going to be critical
I think Juwanson is definitely a proven commodity. Thompkins has shown a lot of ability, but it’s usually been streaky. Polk was a minor contributor last season.
Everybody else is new. It would have been nice if Blacknall had been redshirted just to have another experienced and talented big WR while the new guys learn the ropes.
 
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Penn State's defensive line adds significant weight over spring

ByANDREW CALLAHAN
https://247sports.com/college/penn-...weight-gains-from-spring-to-summer-119337353/

With its 2018 freshman class having arrived on campus, Penn State released its latest official roster Sunday.

But it's not the new names that deserve your attention. It's the updated player weights.

Comparing the Nittany Lions' new roster to the edition released at the start of spring, 38 players have reportedly experienced a weight change of at least five pounds over the offseason to date.

Eight of Penn State's top 14 weight gainers are defensive linemen (and two others are linebackers), a tacit admission by the program that its rush defense must be bolstered before September. The Lions lost three of their best defensive tackles from last season, as well as their three top tacklers at linebacker. Throw in upcoming visits from run-powered Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa and Wisconsin on top of a scheduled trip to Michigan, and stopping the run moves evolves from one of a few weekly keys to victory to perhaps the key to their entire 2018 campaign.

When it entered the offseason, Penn State's defensive line room boasted a single 300-pounder in redshirt freshman Fred Hansard. Now that club features five members: Hansard, Antonio Shelton (308), Ellison Jordan (305), PJ Mustipher (305) and Robert Windsor (304). In total, returning defensive linemen have added 147 pounds since the start of spring.

It's important to note these numbers are relatively fluid. Players, particularly linemen, can lose upwards of 10 to 15 pounds within the course of a single workout or practice. Programs have also been known to embellish player measurables. And lastly, players occasionally dispute their own listed weights, as freshman cornerback Jordan Miner did via Twitter on Monday.

Still, the clear effort made by Penn State to beef up its defensive front is significant and outside the course of a normal offseason. How that translates on the field, of course, remains to be seen.

Below is a complete list of every Penn State player who experienced a weight change of at least five pounds over the course of the spring.

44 DE Brailyn Franklin 204 to 247 (+43)*

54 DT Robert Windsor 281 to 304 (+23)

50 LB Max Chizmar 207 to 226 (+19)

18 DE Shaka Toney 224 to 241 (+17)

12 WR Mac Hippenhammer 170 to 185 (+15)

32 RB Journey Brown 197 to 210 (+13)

55 DT Antonio Shelton 295 to 308 (+13)

41 LB Dae'Lun Darien 212 to 224 (+12)

42 DT Ellison Jordan 295 to 305 (+10)

46 DE Nick Tarburton 243 to 253 (+10)

10 WR Brandon Polk 171 to 180 (+9)

30 DT Kevin Givens 275 to 283 (+8)

34 DE Shane Simmons 246 to 254 (+8)

64 OL Zach Simpson 294 to 302 (+8)

71 OL Will Fries 305 to 312 (+7)

82 TE Zack Kuntz 232 to 239 (+7)

94 LS Joe Calcagno 239 to 245 (+6)

80 TE Danny Dalton 245 to 251 (+6)

45 DE Joe DuMond 243 to 249 (+6)

51 OT Alex Gellerstedt 301 to 307 (+6)

66 OL Connor McGovern 320 to 326 (+6)

17 S Garrett Taylor 200 to 206 (+6)

20 RB Johnathan Thomas 215 to 221 (+6)

14 QB Sean Clifford 211 to 216 (+5)

99 DE Yetur Gross-Matos 257 to 262 (+5)

18 TE Jonathan Holland 247 to 252 (+5)

68 OL/DL Hunter Kelly 299 to 304 (+5)

9 QB Trace McSorley 198 to 203 (+5)

62 OG Michal Menet 301 to 306 (+5)

23 S Ayron Monroe 202 to 207 (+5)

58 DT Evan Presta 272 to 277 (+5)

98 LS Dan Vasey 237 to 242 (+5)

2 S Isaiah Humphries 191 to 186 (-5)

36 LB Jan Johnson 236 to 231 (-5)

97 DE Ryan Buchholz 264 to 258 (-6)

40 RB Nick Eury 211 to 204 (-7)

76 OL Sterling Jenkins 343 to 332 (-11)

91 LS Chris Stoll 261 to 244 (-17)
 
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Penn State's defensive line adds significant weight over spring

ByANDREW CALLAHAN
https://247sports.com/college/penn-...weight-gains-from-spring-to-summer-119337353/

With its 2018 freshman class having arrived on campus, Penn State released its latest official roster Sunday.

Programs have also been known to embellish player measurables.

I've always been kind of a pool shark. If anything, I would "embellish" the "measuables" so that everyone would be listed shorter and lighter than what they really are. It's always best for other teams to underestimate you.

I think Dean Smith at UNC used to do that with their basketball teams so that other schools would underestimate their size.

Lou Holtz once said the smartest thing Joe Paterno ever did was to keep our uniforms plain. When his players would watch us on tape, the uniforms would make us look a lot slower than we really were. It would take them a quarter to adjust to our speed once they actually took the field against us.
 
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