Off Season and Spring Practices Articles thread.....

[The Spin Meister]

Hasn't been much to read about the team, but there will be some articles as the Winter conditioning goes along and the spring practices progress leading up to the B/W game.

Here's one that was interesting.

Penn State Coaching Staff Details Quarterback Rocco Becht's Rehab Progress

Becht is recovering from offseason surgery but is expected to throw this spring for the Nittany Lions.

www.si.com

How Terry Smith's Role Has Changed, and Even Grown, at Penn State

The Nittany Lions' former interim head coach has resumed his role as the associate head coach and cornerbacks coach. But it's a "bigger" role now.

www.si.com

Spring ball is just about over and Rocco hasn’t practiced once. Worrisome.

 

[RickinDayton]

Spring ball is just about over and Rocco hasn’t practiced once. Worrisome.

Not really. He wasn't supposed to be available to practice but he was running drills and I believe he threw in some 7 vs 7 reps @ practice.

 

[Frank Lee]

Not really. He wasn't supposed to be available to practice but he was running drills and I believe he threw in some 7 vs 7 reps @ practice.

May, June, July, to heal, work out, and August to run reps with the team. Then, three OOC games. He should be in good shape once the Big10 schedule hits.

 

[GregInPitt]

Spring ball is just about over and Rocco hasn’t practiced once. Worrisome.

Why worry now? That was the plan Campbell set out for Becht from the start of Spring practice. It was widely known that Becht would have surgery after last season and be limited for the Spring. Campbell has said that Becht has been ahead of schedule in his recovery which seems to be good news, not bad news.

 

[GregInPitt]

Matt Campbell gives true freshman WR a glowing review Penn State fans will love

The spring season for Penn State football is wrapping up, and head coach Matt Campbell has been pleased with his Nittany Lions throughout the process for variou

victorybellrings.com

The Koby Howard hype coming out of Happy Valley should be music to Penn State fans’ ears

Penn State hasn't developed a wide receiver in years, but James Franklin's parting gift may become a star in front of Matt Campbell's eyes.

victorybellrings.com

 

[GregInPitt]

Penn State Players to Watch in the 2027 NFL Draft Class

Can the Nittany Lions keep their first-round draft streak alive in 2027?

www.si.com

 

[GregInPitt]

Nice article on Kemajou and the likely top of the 2026 DE rotation being Kemajou and Granville.

Yvan Kemajou Feels Like a Senior as Penn State EDGE Room Enters New Era

Yvan Kemajou arrived at Penn State with the timeline of a typical freshman defensive end.Learn the system. Add weight. Adjust to the speed of major college football. Watch older players handle the pressure. Develop behind the scenes until the opportunity came.

nittanysportsnow.com

 

[GregInPitt]

SI put together a depth chart at this point in the process based on what was shown at the B/W practice and before that during Spring practices, along with what is reasonable due to the resumes of the incoming transfers.

Hard to pick either Peoples or Martin over Hanson at RB, although both are likely more talented, but we'll see....

Biggest surprise to me is the author picking both Kemajou and Granville as backups at DE with McPherson as a starter. I can see Ezeogu as a starter due to his experience and the fact that Lynn and Campbell are serious about getting bigger up front and stopping the run, but McPherson does not seem to have the athleticism of either Kemajou or Granville.

13 of his 22 predicted 2 deep on offense are incoming transfers after last season, and 11 of the 22 on the 2 deep defense. Somewhat surprising to me.

Way-Too-Early Look at Penn State Football's 2026 Depth Chart

The Nittany Lions offered plenty of clues about their depth chart during spring drills.

www.si.com

 

[LudicrousSpeedGO!]

SI put together a depth chart at this point in the process based on what was shown at the B/W practice and before that during Spring practices, along with what is reasonable due to the resumes of the incoming transfers.

Hard to pick either Peoples or Martin over Hanson at RB, although both are likely more talented, but we'll see....

Biggest surprise to me is the author picking both Kemajou and Granville as backups at DE with McPherson as a starter. I can see Ezeogu as a starter due to his experience and the fact that Lynn and Campbell are serious about getting bigger up front and stopping the run, but McPherson does not seem to have the athleticism of either Kemajou or Granville.

13 of his 22 predicted 2 deep on offense are incoming transfers after last season, and 11 of the 22 on the 2 deep defense. Somewhat surprising to me.

Way-Too-Early Look at Penn State Football's 2026 Depth Chart

The Nittany Lions offered plenty of clues about their depth chart during spring drills.

www.si.com

I'm not sure that I trust SI or really any national media to get spring depth charts right or close to accurate. They aren't tuned in enough on each team to have that depth of information.

 

[GregInPitt]

I'm not sure that I trust SI or really any national media to get spring depth charts right or close to accurate. They aren't tuned in enough on each team to have that depth of information.

I agree with you. The two off us could probable do a better job!!

But it's still nice to see someone's opinion and read their comments that attempt to back up what they put together as there won't be much news about the 2026 team until just before Fall camp starts.

Hopefully this somewhat sparse news period team wise does yield a good bit off positive news regarding recruiting for the 2027 class, and maybe a 2028 class commit or two as well.

 

[GregInPitt]

Another depth chart article. It states that DT Andrews has taken snaps at DE as well. Andrews was a pretty highly thought of recruit that I believe was also highly rated as an OL prospect. Now going into the Fall as a redshirt soph, 3rd year player, it seems it may be a make or break season for him to prove he can play B10 football. Given that Lynn seems to want a more stout DL that can more regularly stop the run maybe Andrews ends up at DE.

Penn State Football Post-Spring Practice Depth Chart Updates

The second phase of Penn State football’s offseason is complete. With both winter workouts and spring practice now in the rearview mirror, the Nittany

www.statecollege.com

 

[RickinDayton]

Another depth chart article. It states that DT Andrews has taken snaps at DE as well. Andrews was a pretty highly thought of recruit that I believe was also highly rated as an OL prospect. Now going into the Fall as a redshirt soph, 3rd year player, it seems it may be a make or break season for him to prove he can play B10 football. Given that Lynn seems to want a more stout DL that can more regularly stop the run maybe Andrews ends up at DE. I often wonder how he would have done as an OL as you (Greg) indicated he was a highly rated prospect.

Penn State Football Post-Spring Practice Depth Chart Updates

The second phase of Penn State football’s offseason is complete. With both winter workouts and spring practice now in the rearview mirror, the Nittany

www.statecollege.com

It would be nice if Andrews could make a home at DE. I think the DT experiment is over for him, just couldn't keep his weight consistently above 300 lbs which is necessary at DT given his height (6'5"). I wonder if he sticks at DE will they reduce his weight into the 280 LB range?

 

[LudicrousSpeedGO!]

Centre Daily Times chimes in https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/projecting-penn-state-football-s-offensive-depth-chart-after-spring-practice/

 

[GregInPitt]

The Penn State Football Report Card for Spring Practice

The Nittany Lions made strides this spring but didn't answer every question.

www.si.com