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STATE COLLEGE — Spring practice wrapped up on Saturday for Penn State. Now comes the tricky part of the offseason.
Shortly after the annual Blue-White Game wrapped up — a 27-0 win by the White team, which was comprised mostly of first- and second-teamers — coach James Franklin acknowledged that it’s going to be “an interesting couple of weeks” ahead for the Nittany Lions.
Not just the Lions but college football as a whole. The spring transfer window is set to open Tuesday in what is expected to be a busy day akin to NFL free agency.
Penn State is not likely to come away unscathed, either. Veteran wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith was not with the team Saturday at Beaver Stadium following multiple reports Friday that he was expected to transfer.
Franklin did not address Lambert-Smith’s absence when asked.
“I’m really happy to talk about any guys who played in the game or who are in the locker room,” Franklin said. “Besides that, I don’t have a whole lot to tell you.”
With practices now over until the summer, players will meet first with their position coaches, and then every player still with the team will sit down one-on-one with Franklin.
“We’ve had some conversations with guys already,” Franklin said. “But at the end of the day, you never really know (about a move) until it happens. We have pretty good relationships where guys have been transparent and honest with us.
“One of the things that’s really important is that I’m still a big believer in transformational relationships. I’m worried that college football is becoming more and more transactional.”
Franklin said he will talk to both his staff and players about the possibility of adding players at any position through the portal.
“For me to make the best decisions for our program, I want to hear from everyone,” Franklin said. “It’s a challenging time in college football. It’s a challenging time for head coaches to make these types of decisions and the impact it has on your roster.”
ON THE FIELD
True freshman running back Quinton Martin Jr., one of the Lions’ top-rated signees in December, scored on touchdown runs of 9 and 12 yards to lead the Blue-White festivities.
“He missed a decent amount of time this spring, so I can’t fully evaluate him,” Franklin said. “What I can say is that he’s an awesome kid. He’s learned the offense really well. I think he’s got really good vision. But between now and (the season opener), he’s got a lot of work to do. And I think he’ll do it. I think he’ll be competing to be in that rotation.”
It looked like he would be the only player to find the end zone on Saturday until Drew Allar’s final throw found tight end Andrew Rappleyea behind the defense down the right side for a 30-yard touchdown.
High winds with gusts that were projected to top 40 mph made it difficult for any quarterbacks to connect on any intermediate to deep passes. Allar finished 15-for-32 for 202 yards and a touchdown. Beau Pribula took snaps for both teams and was 5-for-10 for 25 yards and a pick.
Even had the weather been more cooperative, Saturday wouldn’t have provided much of a preview of the 2024 offense.
New coordinator Andy Kotelnicki was known at Kansas for his pre-snap action and a plan to dictate the situation — a departure from the frequent sideline check-with-me adjustments the Lions have employed off and on since 2016.
By design, there wasn’t much in the way of motions or anything exotic for the scrimmage. All of that will be saved for the Lions’ season-opener at West Virginia on Aug. 31.
The Blue squad looked to have its first points of the day courtesy of its red zone defense as walk-on corner Kollin Dinkins snagged a Pribula pass out in the right flat and had absolutely no one between him and the end zone 90 yards away. But the play was ruled a sack as Pribula was contacted before the throw.
White came away with a pair of interceptions. Safety Zakee Wheatley hunted down an easy long-distance lob by Pribula that was kept in play by the wind. Defensive end Amin Vanover outmuscled freshman Luke Reynolds for the ball at the line of scrimmage on a designed tight end screen from freshman Ethan Grunkemyer.
“Amin Vanover’s gonna have a huge year for us,” Franklin said. “He’s a guy who’s done it the right way. It hasn’t always been easy for him or us. His journey has been challenging at times, but he’s stuck it out. … I’m really proud of Amin.”
The starting offense nearly turned it over on the first play from scrimmage as a high snap from Dawkins ultimately caused problems for the timing of a handoff from Allar to Cam Wallace, who managed to secure the ball on the ground after it squirted away from a defender.
INFIRMARY REPORT
A handful of projected starters were present but not in uniform as the Lions deal with “bumps and bruises” from the spring, according to Franklin.
Among the notable names who did not play Saturday were running back Kaytron Allen, offensive linemen J.B. Nelson, Drew Shelton and Sal Wormley, defensive tackle Hakeem Beamon and safety Kevin Winston Jr.
Franklin said Allen did not practice this spring, but that it was “nothing that will be a problem for summer or the season.”
A few other veterans such as running back Nick Singleton and tight end Tyler Warren suited up but did not play. Franklin called sitting those two “strategic” decisions.
SPRING AWARDS
Penn State announced its spring practice honors as the scrimmage wound down.
Cornerback Audavion Collins, entering his second season since transferring from Mississippi State, won the Jim O’Hora Award for the top/most improved defender while wideout Liam Clifford won the Red Worrell Award for the offense.
Punter Riley Thompson won the Coaches Special Teams Award. The Frank Patrick Total Commitment Award went to both center Nick Dawkins and cornerback Cam Miller.
2024 BLUE-WHITE GAME
White 27, Blue 0
White`0`10`0`17 — 27
Blue`0`0`0`0 — 0
Second Quarter
WHITE — Quinton Martin Jr. 9 yard run (Ryan Barker kick), 9:59
WHITE — Barker 28 field goal, 0:00
Fourth Quarter
WHITE — Barker 30 field goal, 12:15
WHITE — Martin 12 run (Chase Meyer kick), 6:34
WHITE — Andrew Rappleyea 30 pass from Drew Allar (Barker kick), 0:28
Team Statistics`White`Blue
First downs`16`4
Rushes-yards`22-52`16-40
Passing yards`209`29
Total yards`261`69
Passing`16-34-0`8-17-2
Sacked-yards lost`4-29`2-8
Punts-avg.`2-46.0`4-37.0
Fumbles-lost`1-0`0-0
Penalties-yards`2-10`4-36
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WHITE, Cam Wallace 7-36, Martin 2-21, Tyler Holzworth 3-12, David Kency 1-8, Beau Pribula 6-(minus-5), Allar 3-(minus-20). BLUE, Pribula 5-21, Martin 4-13, London Montgomery 5-8, Amiel Davis 1-2, Ethan Grunkemyer 1-(minus-4).
PASSING — WHITE, Allar 15-32-0-202, Pribula 1-2-0-7. BLUE, Pribula 4-8-1-18, Grunkemyer 4-8-1-11, Jack Lambert 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING — WHITE, Harrison Wallace 5-72, Rappleyea 3-33, Kaden Saunders 2-27, Liam Clifford 2-23, Omari Evans 1-20, Khalil Dinkins 1-20, Malik McClain 1-8, Wallace 1-6. BLUE, Joey Schlaffer 3-9, Jerry Cross 1-10, Julian Fleming 1-5, Luke Reynolds 1-3, Anthony Ivey 1-2, Martin 1-0.