Spring football is the time of year when everyone has dreams and aspirations for conference, playoff, and even national championship glory.
This year in State College, PA, expectations have been ratcheted all the way up. The hand turning the dial is that of Late Kick host Josh Pate, who was recently up at Penn State for the Nittany Lions annual spring game. He compared what he saw to one of college football’s iconic recent national champions, 2019 LSU.
“I think [Penn State] is winning that battle for the first time,” Josh Pate said about Penn State and their handling of NIL,
“I think the tables have turned, and they have got the momentum, so I think of Penn State as a program the same way I thought of LSU in that 2019 season, and what it did to LSU. Penn State is the kind of program that could explode like that — Penn State is already a big deal, a massive deal … but if they go to the playoff this year, or God forbid, if they win a national championship this year … all of a sudden you’ve got Penn State folks out the woodwork who were maybe a little bit disassociated from the brand. All of a sudden they are back, and Penn State is a coast-to-coast name. [Penn State] is a program that is very close to making that happen.” — Late Kick host Josh Pate
Pate continued his superlatives about the Nittany Lions,
“Penn State’s had trouble with Ohio State. Penn State’s had trouble with Michigan. Other than those two, Penn State’s done a pretty darn good job out there. They’ve got four 11+ win seasons since 2016. Administrative synergy is no small thing. You’re seeing a recruiting uptick. The overall talent level on that roster? You’ve seen a little uptick. Drew Allar at quarterback? Boy, that position is not such a gigantic question mark facing that program anymore. Passion was never going to be a problem there. Multiple, multiple generations of investment was never going to be a problem. A high-profile brand, that was never going to be a problem. It was just degrees of change. That’s what it was going to take. At No. 7, that’s not a ceiling for Penn State; they could climb even higher than that.”
Penn State capped a 2022 campaign in impressive fashion with a five-game winning streak averaging 40 points per game during that stretch that concluded with a Rose Bowl win over Pac-12 Champion Utah 35-21.
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Here are five reasons to buy into Penn State potentially fulfilling the expectations of being the next 2019 LSU:

#1 Drew Allar
The most anticipated quarterback debut in Happy Valley since Christian Hackenberg’s a decade ago, Penn State fans anticipate Drew Allar to perform at an elite level, something that did not happen consistently in the Sean Clifford tenure.
Allar, a five-star recruit in 2022, was the top pro-style quarterback in his class. The fanfare has always been high for Nittany Lions fans surrounding Allar. He saw his most significant action last season in mop-up duty against Indiana when Penn State got up big early.
During Penn State’s Spring Game, Allar went against one of the best secondaries in the nation, and with a ferocious pass rush, his stats reflected a struggle, but he still managed to complete nearly two-thirds of his passes, going 19 for 30 for 202 yards and a touchdown.
Allar completed eight passes of 15 or more yards, including the lone touchdown of the day, a 28-yard touchdown completion to Omari Evans. Allar found new chemistry with Kaden Sanders, who was on the receiving end of three of those 15 or more yard strikes from Allar.

#2 Kaytron Allen & Nicholas Singleton
They may not be rated the best duo in their own conference or nationally, but they will give Michigan’s Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards stiff competition this fall.
The Nittany Lions’ rebirth was significantly aided on the ground, where they went from near the bottom of the nation in 2021 at 107.1 rushing yards per game to 181.1 yards per game last fall, averaging nearly five yards per carry along the way.
Leading the charge were freshmen sensations Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, who combined for 2,201 total yards from scrimmage and 24 touchdowns a season ago.
In the Rose Bowl, Singleton had a highlight 87-yard touchdown run, and the duo combined to rush for 157 yards on three touchdowns against a Utah defense that was second in the Pac-12 in rushing yards allowed and Top 20 nationally. Allen and Singleton will be able to take a lot of pressure off Allar and complement the passing game extremely well.

#3 Elite Play in The Trenches
The one area where the play has exponentially improved that has Penn State jockeying with Ohio State and Michigan in the sport’s toughest divisional race has been in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
The biggest coup for Franklin was when draft-eligible left tackle Olu Fashanu declared he was coming back for another season for the Nittany Lions. The 6’6”, 330-pound left tackle is seen by many as on par with Notre Dame’s Joe Alt as the top overall tackle in the nation.
Some draft prognosticators feel Fashanu could be a Top 5 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. But in order for his stock to rise to that point, he needs to be more aggressive with his hands in combat to take advantage of his outstanding length. His power, strength, and ability to be excellent defensively catching hands are about as polished as it gets, but the extra refinement is key for the Nittany Lions.
The rest of the offensive line contains key veteran leadership, especially at right tackle with Caedan Wallace, who has been a multi-year starter. His absence was felt last season during the Ohio State game, where J.T. Tuimoloau took a major advantage over Wallace’s replacement and thwarted Penn State’s upset bid.
Penn State also has a plethora of former four and five-star offensive line talent that are younger but may play their way into the starting lineup in guards Landon Tengwall, Drew Shelton, Alex Birchmeier, as well as Class of 2023 Top 5 tackle J’ven Williams, who should replace Fashanu next year.

The defensive line has a slew of young stars poised to break out as well.
Former five-star EDGE rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton, who put on nearly 20 pounds of muscle during his redshirt freshman season, had two sacks in the spring game, and looked explosive coming off the edge.
The biggest hole left for Penn State heading into the 2023 season was the graduation of defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher who was great in the trenches in hand-to-hand combat, great at leverage, and was physical enough he had to command a constant double team on him. The Nittany Lions turn to sophomore Zane Durant to rotate in and take ownership of the position.
Last season, Durant saw meaningful reps as a true freshman playing at 250 pounds, but now is pushing 280 pounds. James Franklin recently commented on the potential breakout of Durant, “I think Zane Duant is on a really good trajectory; I think you’ll see a big jump from his freshman year, [after] kind of getting some reps, and now being more of a guy with a significant role and has put really good weight on. When you look at him, he doesn’t necessarily look like a lot has been put on. But, he’s put on really good weight and is still lean and explosive and athletic. He kind of fits what we’re looking for.”
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Arguably the biggest strength on the Penn State defensive line is EDGE Chop Robinson, who led all Power 5 edge rushers with a 92.4 pass-rushing grade by PFF College. Opposite of Robinson is senior Adisa Isaac, who led the team with 11 tackles for loss a season ago and was named to the Third-Team All-Big Ten team.
Both sides of the trenches for the Nittany Lions are littered with elite talent that will be difference-makers as the season progresses.

#4 Dynamic Linebackers
Penn State is known as “Linebacker U,” and the linebackers the Nittany Lions have this season is a blend of veteran linebackers who are skilled at what they do and young freshmen who are extremely athletic and looking to be future All-Americans.
A season ago, when Manny Diaz took over as defensive coordinator, he was mesmerized by the highlight tape of true freshman Abdul Carter.
Diaz felt Carter could be the most versatile tool in his defense, and Carter, who got the No. 11 jersey, something that has been given to the best Nittany Lion linebackers as of late (previous No. 11’s include LaVar Arrington, NaVarro Bowman, and Micah Parsons), ended up becoming one of the most explosive sideline-to-sideline linebackers Penn State ever had.
Carter will be on many preseason Butkus Award watch lists and All-American teams, and having one versatile linebacker like Carter is a luxury, but the Nittany Lions may have found a second.
True freshman Tony Rojas, who was a four-star linebacker rated in the Top 10 nationally at linebacker, displayed that potential in the spring game. Rojas finished the day with nine total tackles (6 solo), a pass breakup, and a half tackle for loss.
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Rojas is behind All-Big Ten linebacker Curtis Jacobs, who finished 2022 with 52 total tackles (29 solo), 7.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, and two fumble recoveries, and might see some stiff competition from Rojas.
Rojas wasn’t the only true freshman who had a great spring game, though, as former four-star Ta’Mere Robinson from Pittsburgh put together a strong performance with four solo tackles (second to Rojas). Robinson is extremely talented and is expected to be the MIKE linebacker of the future, but he may push Kobe King and Tyler Elsdon for action this fall.

#5 The Secondary
With news that Storm Duck was transferring a second time this postseason, it showed how talented the Penn State secondary really is. The fact that Duck, who was a Second Team All-ACC cornerback, didn’t crack the starting lineup tells quite the story.
Who remains in the starting positions is the real story of why Penn State can contend nationally.
Losing Joey Porter Jr. early hurts, but many are anticipating a breakout season from senior Johnny Dixon, who transferred to Penn State via South Carolina a season ago, to step in. Dixon finished 2022 for Penn State with 23 tackles, three sacks, ten pass breakups, and two interceptions.
Some people felt last season that Porter wasn’t the best cornerback in the group and felt cornerback Kalen King was the best the Nittany Lions had. King was targeted 59 times last season, allowed 27 receptions for 343 yards, had nine pass breakups and three interceptions. King had a 92.2 PFF Grade in single coverage situations last season, which led all Power 5 cornerbacks.
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Conclusion
To compare any team preseason to the 2019 LSU Tigers, who might be the greatest single-season team of all time in college football, are as lofty of expectations as can be put on any team.
I don’t feel Drew Allar is going to have a Joe Burrow-level prodigious type season of completing over 76% of his passes and 60 plus touchdowns responsible for, but I feel Allar can play at a level that was higher than predecessors Trace McSorley and Sean Clifford played at, and both were very good college quarterbacks.
Allar does not have flanked on the perimeter wide receivers such as Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase, but Penn State under James Franklin seems to always have a group of very capable wide receivers to cause mismatches for the opposition.
The ground game is elite and will command 30-35 touches for both Allen and Singleton, I don’t feel you will see gaudy passing stats for Allar but effective statistics opened by the effectiveness of Allen and Singleton.
I think the closest Penn State has to that LSU team is the defensive back seven. King has the makings to be a Day 1 pick in the NFL Draft and can be in that discussion at the level Derek Stingley Jr. had for that team.
You look at Abdul Carter, he is every bit as explosive as Patrick Queen was, and both have similar instincts and great sideline-to-sideline coverage power.
Penn State has to get over the Ohio State and Michigan humps, similarly to how LSU had to get over the humps of Alabama and Auburn in the division to be able to make national noise.
The Nittany Lions have momentum, and you see that on the recruiting trail as they have received commitments from the No. 1 prospects in Pennsylvania in five-star athlete Quinton Martin and Wisconsin in four-star offensive lineman Donovan Harbour. Quarterback Michael Van Buren, from St. Frances HS in Baltimore, has the Nittany Lions in the mix with Oregon, Alabama, and Maryland as of this writing.
Other key Nittany Lions recruiting targets that seem to be high on the Nittany Lions, as of this writing, are a trio of four-star prospects that include defensive linemen Ernest Willor Jr. (IMG Academy – Bradenton, Florida) and Benedict Umeh (Avon Old Farms – Avon, CT) as well as wide receiver Nick Marsh (River Rouge – River Rouge, MI) who may continue a Nittany Lions Michigan wide receiver pipeline that has included Allen Robinson (Detroit) and KJ Hamler (Pontiac – though finished his senior year at the IMG Academy).
Additionally, Penn State is one of four programs (Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State) to have five or more draft picks selected in the last six NFL Drafts. This speaks to the talent development James Franklin and staff has been able to achieve.
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It is ambitious to put expectations such as 2019 LSU onto any team, let alone this Penn State team, but the ingredients are there. They may be right, wrong, or maybe too early, as in maybe it isn’t 2023 that Penn State takes the leap, but next year or 2025, the momentum James Franklin and athletic director Patrick Kraft have going is sooner rather than later these type of expectations will be the reality and fulfilled by the Nittany Lions.