2025 Breakout Players

LudicrousSpeedGO!

Well-known member
Here are my picks:

1) Fisher. He stays healthy and gets 5+ sacks.
2) Howard. I could have went with the 3 transfer WRs but thought that they were "expected" to be our WR1-3. I'm going with the freshman Howard who looks smooth and very difficult to get to the ground. We haven't had a great YAC WR for awhile. Howard looks like he does that well.
3) Cooper Cousins. I think he wins the RG job and turns in a pretty solid year for a 2nd year OL.
Honorable Mention: Dixon. He is apparently really good and very ready for a freshman. I just couldn't put him in my top 3 with how stacked the DB room is.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/college-sports/who-will-break-out-for-penn-state-in-2025-veteran-players-make-their-picks/
 
Here are my picks:

1) Fisher. He stays healthy and gets 5+ sacks.
2) Howard. I could have went with the 3 transfer WRs but thought that they were "expected" to be our WR1-3. I'm going with the freshman Howard who looks smooth and very difficult to get to the ground. We haven't had a great YAC WR for awhile. Howard looks like he does that well.
3) Cooper Cousins. I think he wins the RG job and turns in a pretty solid year for a 2nd year OL.
Honorable Mention: Dixon. He is apparently really good and very ready for a freshman. I just couldn't put him in my top 3 with how stacked the DB room is.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/college-sports/who-will-break-out-for-penn-state-in-2025-veteran-players-make-their-picks/
I’m hoping we see some young DTs and young DEs break out.
 
I’m hoping we see some young DTs and young DEs break out.
Yep, exactly. Fisher has played at a solid level when healthy in the past so it seems the coaches expect him to be a solid top 3 DE this season. But with Granville out the DL really needs at least 2 other young DE's to break out. Harvey seems like a given due to Franklin identifying him during the Spring, and Kemajou also seems like he's in the rotation. But from there, there are a good many candidates including White, Robinson, and Williams that if they play well could take the position to a strength.

Pretty much the same at DT. Durand and Ford as starters, and Gilliam slated to be a top backup, but the teams needs at least 2 more DT's to break out and play well from among Artis, Blanding, Andrews, Wafle, Cook and Adirika.

Howard seems like a solid pick, and other WR candidates could include Denmark and Gonzalez. The WR group seems pretty small and Gonzalez, who we haven't heard much at all about lately, could provide a bigger target on the outside.

CB unit is deep and pretty experienced, but there isn't the same experience at Safety behind Wheatley. Lane breaking out after playing as a backup last season would be big for the secondard as well as possibly providing a leader at Safety for 2026.
 
Here are my picks:

1) Fisher. He stays healthy and gets 5+ sacks.
2) Howard. I could have went with the 3 transfer WRs but thought that they were "expected" to be our WR1-3. I'm going with the freshman Howard who looks smooth and very difficult to get to the ground. We haven't had a great YAC WR for awhile. Howard looks like he does that well.
3) Cooper Cousins. I think he wins the RG job and turns in a pretty solid year for a 2nd year OL.
Honorable Mention: Dixon. He is apparently really good and very ready for a freshman. I just couldn't put him in my top 3 with how stacked the DB room is.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/college-sports/who-will-break-out-for-penn-state-in-2025-veteran-players-make-their-picks/
If Donkoh doesn't beat Rucci out for RT then I think he starts @ RG over Cousins. Coaches have said best 5 start.
 
If Donkoh doesn't beat Rucci out for RT then I think he starts @ RG over Cousins. Coaches have said best 5 start.
Perhaps but Cousins was good enough to earn significant reps as a true freshman. He's got a year under his belt now. I am high on him breaking through this year but if not, he's still going to be a great one IMO.
 
Perhaps but Cousins was good enough to earn significant reps as a true freshman. He's got a year under his belt now. I am high on him breaking through this year but if not, he's still going to be a great one IMO.
I am in agreement about his potential as an eventual starter @ RG or Center in 2026 and barring any serious injury a long and productive NFL career as a starter.
 
I'm curious about Williams and Birchmeier. Both were highly recruited and now they are juniors. The problem is we might have the deepest OL in PSU history.

Too bad we couldn't shift one of them to DT. We're going to have to rely on Blanding and Artis.
 
I'm curious about Williams and Birchmeier. Both were highly recruited and now they are juniors. The problem is we might have the deepest OL in PSU history.

Too bad we couldn't shift one of them to DT. We're going to have to rely on Blanding and Artis.
I expect Williams will get sufficient PT this year and probably start somewhere on the line in 2026. Birchmeier, I have no idea about his place in the depth chart. He hasn't seen much PT.
 
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I'm curious about Williams and Birchmeier. Both were highly recruited and now they are juniors. The problem is we might have the deepest OL in PSU history.

Too bad we couldn't shift one of them to DT. We're going to have to rely on Blanding and Artis.
Yep, and both are olinemen and not dlinemen for a reason.

PSU has a good number of young and talented DT's practicing behind the top 3 of Durant, Ford and Gilliam in addition to Blanding and Artis, including Wafle, Andrews, Cook and Adirika. Along with Blanding and Artis that's 6 DT's all with pretty good size competing for the 4th and 5th DT spots in the rotation. Seems pretty reasonable that among that group there will be 2 or 3 that will be ready to contribute on a regular basis at DT.
 
It's easy when three are no defenders

The previous 2 years, a lot of these videos were plagued with drops.

People who get paid to analyze are there and calling it a clear upgrade. A Michigan man to boot. That's good enough for me at this point.
 
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