Top 10 things we've learned about Penn State football during spring practice

Apr. 16—As Penn State prepares for the end of spring practice with its only practice open to the media Saturday at Beaver Stadium, we've found out quite a bit about the 2021 Nittany Lions the last four weeks.

They're expected to return nine starters on offense and seven on defense. They'll need to be at the top of their game in September when they open the season at Wisconsin and follow with games against MAC champion Ball State and Auburn.

Here are the top 10 things we've learned about Penn State this spring:

1. Lions coach James Franklin still is looking to bring in a quarterback from the transfer portal, but Sean Clifford appears to be set as the starter for the third year in a row.

Ta'Quan Roberson and Christian Veilleux, the only other scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, received more repetitions than usual this spring in case of an injury to Clifford.

"We're going to constantly stay aware of it (the portal) and monitor it," Franklin said. "If it's somebody that we think makes us better, then we're going to look at it hard."

2. New assistant coach MIke Yurcich, Clifford's fourth offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in five seasons, has made a positive impression.

Yurcich, the one-time Shippensburg University offensive coordinator, has been very demonstrative and very demanding. He enjoyed much success at previous stops at Oklahoma State, Ohio State and Texas. Only time will tell how effective he'll be at Penn State.

"His big thing is energy," offensive lineman Mike Miranda said. "He brings a lot of energy to practice every day. He brought a lot of energy to all of our winter workouts. He's very detailed. His offense is fun to play in. He's just been a boost to all of the guys around so far this spring."

3. Running back Noah Cain returned to the field in the last few weeks after suffering a season-ending leg injury on the first series of the 2020 season at Indiana.

Cain was productive in 2019, rushing for 443 yards and eight touchdowns, a Penn State record for a freshman. He also had 100-yard games against Purdue and Iowa.

"Noah has been able to go," Franklin said, "not full go, not in live settings, but he is getting reps, which I think has been good. In my mind, he's probably a little bit further ahead than I anticipated him being, so the reps have been good that he's been able to get."

4. Rasheed Walker has stepped up as a leader of the offensive line and is projected to start at left tackle for the third straight year.

"Rasheed's doing a heck of a job," offensive line coach Phil Trautwein said. "He came back with the mindset that he wants to be a first-rounder and he wants to lead his team to a national championship, a Big Ten championship. He wants to be All-Big Ten. So he has goals."

A starter in every game the last two seasons, the 6-6, 312-pound Walker returns with Miranda and right tackle Caedan Wallace. Juice Scruggs was running with the first team at right guard earlier this spring. The left guard spot seems to be a three-way battle among Des Holmes, Anthony Whigan and Sal Wormley.

5. Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington give Penn State two outstanding receivers, Dotson on the outside and Washington in the slot. The Lions, however, have struggled for several years to find a productive third receiver.

Veterans Daniel George and Cam Sullivan-Brown will be in the mix, but they've only combined for 37 receptions over the last three seasons. KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who made 15 receptions last year and started four games, seems to be the leading candidate to be the third starter. It'll be interesting to see if young receivers such as Malvern Prep's Lonnie White Jr. will break through.

"We definitely want to have some more depth," wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield said. "It's going to be exciting to see these kids grow and get better, so that when somebody else comes in the game, there's no drop-off."

6. Franklin hired former NFL offensive coordinator Dowdell Loggains as an offensive analyst.

Loggains, 40, has spent seven seasons in the NFL as a coordinator with the Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins and the last two years with the New York Jets. He and Franklin became acquaintances when Loggains was with the Titans and Franklin was head coach at Vanderbilt.

"He was in our office all the time," Franklin said. "It's awesome. He's another sounding board for Coach Yurcich, Coach Pry (defensive coordinator Brent Pry) and all of us. It's been great having him here."

7. Franklin made it clear that he projects Brandon Smith and Curtis Jacobs, a pair of former four-star prospects, as the starting outside linebackers.

Smith, who started on the strong side last year, often was in pass coverage and away from the line of scrimmage. He's moving to the weak side, where Micah Parsons played in 2019, so he can make a greater impact in the running game and pass rushing. Jacobs, who'll be on the strong side, has enough speed and skills to cover receivers.

That apparently leaves Ellis Brooks and Jesse Luketa, both starters last year, competing at middle linebacker.

8. Cornerback Kalen King, a four-star prospect from Detroit, has been the most impressive freshman during spring practice, according to Franklin.

He's competing with several guys who have started games in college to start alongside Tariq Castro-Fields, including Joey Porter Jr., Keaton Ellis and Johnny Dixon, a transfer from South Carolina.

"I thought we had a chance to be good in the secondary," Franklin said, "but the additions of Johnny Dixon and Kalen King have changed things. We've got a lot more guys that we can play with and win with. Kalen King is probably the most advanced freshman that we have had since we've been here in terms of his ability to practice, compete both physically and mentally."

9. Arnold Ebiketie and Derrick Tangelo received much attention when they transferred from Temple and Duke, respectively, in January.

By all accounts, they've fit in well and are competing for starting jobs, Ebiketie at defensive end and Tangelo at defensive tackle.

"The transfers that we have gotten have been really good athletic fits for us," Franklin said. "They've also been good cultural fits as well. They're great guys."

10. Dotson, Castro-Fields and safety Jaquan Brisker considered whether to return to Penn State for the 2021 season or opt for the NFL. They did it together in a unique way, on Zoom calls.

"We talked about how Coach Franklin always preaches championship habits and the standard of Penn State football," Dotson said. "We felt like last year we didn't meet that standard. We wanted to be those leaders on the team who set the standard for years to come after us.

"We know that Penn State football is used to winning. That's what we gotta do."