How Penn State's Freshman Class Made an Impact Vs. Kent State

Fourteen true freshmen played against the Golden Flashes, including one Nittany Lion who still could be in high school.

Penn State freshman running back Quinton Martin Jr. carries the football during the fourth quarter against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

STATE COLLEGE | Penn State essentially had wrapped up its victory over Kent State by halftime Saturday at Beaver Stadium, but for many Nittany Lions, the game was just getting started. 

Fourteen true freshmen from Penn State’s 2024 recruiting class played in the team’s 56-0 victory, including 11 who made their collegiate debuts. One true freshman led the Nittany Lions’ defense in snaps, suggesting a larger and more immediate role, while another made his first two college catches, including a spectacular leaping grab. But the most interesting story belonged to a true freshman who still could be a high school senior.

Defensive end Max Granville debuted during Penn State's third defensive series. Granville initially committed to the Nittany Lions' 2025 recruiting class but graduated early from Fort Bend Christian Academy in Sugar Land, Texas, and enrolled in time for training camp. Granville made the decision so late, he isn’t even listed in the Penn State football media guide.

“We really kind of had no idea until really very late in the process that this was even something [the Granvilles] were thinking about,” Penn State coach James Franklin said in August. “And then there's one thing to be thinking about it. There's another thing to actually be able to do it. ... He was taking summer classes to be able to ensure the fact that he would be able to come at mid-semester, and once he got the classes done and realized he could qualify now and graduate now, they brought the option up to us. And I think that also triggered to us that they are very serious about Penn State because they are having these types of conversations with us.”

Early enrollees joined the team in January, and the rest of the freshmen were on campus in May. But Granville (6-3, 230 pounds) arrived at Penn State in late July, about a month before the Nittany Lions’ season opener against West Virginia. That Granville was on the field against Kent State, no less as one of the first freshmen off the bench, is a testament to how quickly he has adjusted to college football. 

“I was legit worried about Max when he came in,” Penn State strength coach Chuck Losey said during the bye week. “I’m not worried one bit about that guy anymore. He is an outstanding young man across the board.” 

Granville was credited with a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry Saturday, but the play nearly produced bigger results. Granville appeared to record a fourth-quarter strip sack, which fellow freshman Antoine Belgrave-Shorter scooped and returned for a touchdown, but the play was ruled an incomplete pass upon review. 

“For me it was a tough transition, for any freshman coming in it’s a tough transition, but for him to skip his senior year … it was a smooth transition for him,” defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton said. “And you saw today he’s already making plays in his first game.”

RELATED: 3 things we learned from Penn State's win over Kent State

Dejuan Lane has a busy day

Safety Dejuan Lane, who played briefly in the opener at West Virginia, checked into Penn State’s secondary during the first quarter and finished with two tackles. More importantly, though, he led the Nittany Lions’ defense by playing 25 snaps. That was an audition for Lane, a 4-star prospect from Maryland’s Gilman School who expects to get significant playing time with starting safety KJ Winston sidelined by injury.  

“At the end of the day, we’ve got a ton of respect for [Dejuan] Lane,” Franklin said. “We think he's got a very, very bright future. I’d love for him to be behind KJ and learning from him, but where we're at, we’ve got to speed up his maturation process and get him on the field.”

“As a freshman, I’m pretty sure he was probably nervous, but he did good," safety Jaylen Reed added of Lane. "He tackled well. There’s a lot of opportunities for him to get better, which I’m looking forward to see.”

Penn State freshmen contribute elsewhere

Penn State’s two other green-light freshmen, in addition to Lane, got plenty of run. Tight end Luke Reynolds played a career-high 23 snaps and made his first two college catches, including a spectacular leaping grab over the middle of the field. 

ANOTHER CRAZY CATCH!! 🤯

Confirmed...Penn State has ELITE TE's @PennStateFball pic.twitter.com/qL3ABzZgqp

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 21, 2024

“That was fun, that was a great catch. That’s what Luke is capable of,” fellow tight end Tyler Warren said. 

Offensive lineman Cooper Cousins entered midway through the second quarter and played most of the game at guard. Cousins was second among offensive linemen with 44 snaps after his position coach compared him to the Pouncey brothers last week.

Linebacker Anthony Speca made his debut in the third quarter and quickly stuffed the stat sheet with a team-leading five tackles. Cornerback Jon Mitchell played in the second half and finished with two tackles. Safety Vaboue Toure had a pass breakup. Cornerback Kenny Woseley Jr., defensive linemen Jaylen Harvey and Xavier Gilliam also debuted for Penn State’s defense. 

Offensively, receiver Tyseer Denmark and running back Quinton Martin Jr. made plays in their debuts. Denmark had a nice sideline catch for 13 yards, while Martin closed the game with 28 yards rushing on seven carries. Martin might move up the depth chart after fellow running back Cam Wallace was injured late in the game. Offensive lineman Eagan Boyer also played his first game, helping Penn State’s backup line continue to get push against the Golden Flashes. 

“Probably the most important thing is our veteran players played well enough to get a ton of guys in the locker room on the field who deserve to play, and that’s going to be great film for us to learn from,” Franklin said.

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Sam Woloson has covered Penn State Athletics for the past three years and is currently the managing editor of The Daily Collegian. His work has also appeared in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Huntingdon Daily News and Rivals. Follow him on X @sam_woloson