Penn State Ends Camp With Some Lingering Questions

The Lions turn toward September with a few starting spots to solidify.

The most highly anticipated question of the Penn State season still went unanswered, at least publicly, as of Wednesday night: The Lions have not named a starting quarterback. Coach James Franklin also told reporters after practice that the staff has not made decisions regarding the starting kicker or punter and that four or five receivers are competing for the No. 3 spot as the opener against West Virginia approaches.

“We have not even done that as a staff yet,” Franklin said.

Sophomore Drew Allar seems to be the obvious choice at quarterback after flashing in a backup role to Sean Clifford last season. Fellow sophomore Beau Pribula is the biggest competitor, though he has yet to see game action. Franklin also said freshman Jaxon Smolik might have the best deep ball of the group and was a surprise during camp.

Still, Allar is the heavy favorite. It’s also typical for Franklin to wait until the last minute to name his starter. In this case, it may be in hopes of making West Virginia prepare for two quarterbacks ahead of the Sept. 2 game at Beaver Stadium.

One lower-profile offensive competition is more or less finished by appearance. At right tackle, incumbent Caedan Wallace appears to have retained the starting role over standout sophomore Drew Shelton. Franklin said Wednesday that he’s been impressed with Shelton’s development but used a more ambiguous — and positive — approach with Wallace.

Last year, Franklin chose not to pound the table about the offensive line's improvement, waiting instead to “let the media tell him” as it plays out. That worked, as the unit was hugely improved and put together its best season in years. Franklin took the same approach regarding Wallace on Wednesday.

“I’ll let [the media] tell me where they’re at,” Franklin said. “But I’ve been very pleased and happy with Caedan’s approach. He’s had a really good, consistent approach. And I’ll leave it at that.”

Wide receiver remains a point of contention, with multiple players vying for the third spot. KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Trey Wallace  have the most returning experience and seem to be at the top of the group. The group will likely rotate as the season progresses and certain players separate themselves from the pack. But receivers coach Marques Hagans is looking for more consistency from the group overall.

“It’s easy to be good. It’s hard to be consistent,” Hagans said Wednesday. “It’s hard to be consistent and consistently run the right route, get open and make the tough, contested catches and do it again and again and again.”

As for special teams, which lost starters at kicker, punter and long snapper, Franklin named only long snapper Tyler Duzansky as having a considerable cushion for the job. Kickers Sander Sahaydak and Alex Felkins, a Columbia transfer, continue to duel, as do punters Alex Bacchetta and Riley Thompson, a Florida Atlantic graduate.

Dom DeLuca Gets No. 0

Penn State officially announced via social media that redshirt sophomore linebacker Dom DeLuca will wear the No. 0 jersey this season. The number goes to the team's top special teams player.

DeLuca, a former walk-on who earned a scholarship last season and was named a 2023 captain, takes the number after Jonathan Sutherland wore it for two seasons. Penn State made the announcement with a highlight video narrated by Sutherland, who read off the qualifications needed to wear the jersey.

The 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈0⃣𝐍 continues...#WeAre | @Dominic_Deluca9 pic.twitter.com/SGAmm8s2CO

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) August 23, 2023

Penn State first announced its No. 0 tradition in 2020 after the NCAA permitted teams to issue the number.

"The individual wearing zero is a tough, dependable, disciplined, physical leader, who inspires teammates with his accountability & production," Penn State said in 2020.

Camp kings announced

Penn State also concluded camp this week before officially starting game-week preparation for West Virginia. Thus, the Nittany Lions announced their annual camp touchdown and takeaway kings.

Allar and Lambert-Smith scored the most touchdowns in fall camp, while cornerback Daequan Hardy and freshman linebacker Tony Rojas registered the most takeaways. This acts as another notch in significant buzz Rojas has garnered since arriving on campus in January.

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Max Ralph is a Penn State senior studying Broadcast Journalism with minors in sports studies and Japanese. He previously covered Penn State football for two years with The Daily Collegian and has reported with the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Follow him on Twitter (X) @maxralph_ and Instagram @mralph_59.