Lion's Land: Penn State Football Blog

Penn State started spring practice today, which will last just under a month before the annual Blue-White game on April 24.

The Nittany Lions go into spring drills with plenty of certainties and question marks. The wide receiver position is as deep as I can ever remember, Evan Royster should end his fabulous career as Penn State’s all-time leading rusher and the Lions have a star-in-waiting in defensive end Jack Crawford. Still, the defense is missing six starters, the punting job is a huge mystery and, last but not least, there is no proven quarterback on the roster.

Unlike some, the issue at QB isn’t a big one to me. The Nits have so many weapons on offense that no matter who starts under center (my head tells me Kevin Newsome, but my gut says Matt McGloin will have every chance to win the job) that I don’t see them stumbling much. PSU has a walk through in its first game against Youngstown State which will serve as a scrimmage leading up to its second game, a date in Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on the defending national champions.

My biggest concern going into spring practice is who is going to protect the winner of the quarterback battle. The interior of the line is solid, but both tackle spots are wide open and I’m not as sold on some of the candidates (DeOn’tae Pannell especially) as others. Personally, I’d like to see Nate Cadogan, whose brother Gerald was a two-time All-Big Ten left tackle, at left tackle and Eric Shrive, the highly touted redshirt freshman from Scranton, at right tackle. Seeing Adam Gress, another promising redshirt freshman, wouldn’t be an awful thing, but I’m not sure he’s a left tackle and Shrive is just too good not to play.

Linebacker is also a big mystery with all three starting spots open. Michael Mauti will start in the middle even though he’ll stay out of all contact work in spring practice while he continues to heal from last summer’s ACL tear. Bani Gbadyu will get every chance in the world to win one of the outside spots, but I just don’t see how he keeps players like Gerald Hodges or Mike Hull, a true freshman who will arrive at Penn State in June, off the field. A kid to watch who isn’t getting much publicity is Mike Yancich, an outstanding athlete who hasn’t seen much time in his first two years at PSU. His time to make a name for himself is now. Don’t sleep on Khari Fortt, a true freshman who enrolled in January, either, but he’s more of an inside ‘backer and I don’t see him beating out Mauti.

The secondary will be interesting to watch as D’Anton Lynn will see time at safety, while Chaz Powell, who played wide receiver last year, but came to PSU as a safety, will get a look at corner. Drew Astorino will miss spring practice because of offseason shoulder surgery, but he’ll be fine by August. Lookout for redshirt freshman Derrick Thomas, who didn’t play last year only because he arrived at Penn State in August. Stephon Morris should slide into the spot vacated by A.J. Wallace and is by far Penn State’s most physical corner even though he’s just 5-foot-8, 182 pounds.

Ryan Breen was in line to move into Jeremy Boone’s job, but left the team over some flap with the coaches last month. Anthony Fera, a redshirt freshman with a huge leg, will get the first crack at the punting job and will also get a chance to kickoff. Collin Wagner came on late last year and is still the starter at kicker until someone beats him out.

Tight end is another spot where there isn’t much experience, but the talent is definitely there. Andrew Szczerba, who starred in the Blue-White game in 2008 but hasn’t been heard from much since, will start with Garry Gilliam and Kevin Haplea, a true freshman already on campus, in the mix. Don’t be mistaken by Szczerba’s size (6-6 and 265 pounds). The kid has great hands and the ability to get down the seam. I think he’s a sleeper with All-Big Ten talent.

Check back over the next month for my thoughts on how spring practice is going.