Who are Freshman most likely to be "greenlighted" according to CJF

RickinDayton said:
Story over on BWI McAndrews front page quotes CJF as saying DE Kemajou, CB Dixon, and my man DE Chaz Coleman whom Ibwas really excited about when he signed. CJF said they knew Coleman was a "freakish" athlete when they recruited him but were shocked to see how quickly he has progressed given he only played one year @ DE in high school.
Wowzer, if they're "greelighted" then they get lots of PT during the entire season. Terry Smith has all but said Dixson is the #4 CB.
Excited to watch them and other Freshman who we'll at least see in the OOC games.
Click to expand...
CB & DE are positions where we lack depth. The staff might prefer to hold these guys out a year but doesn't have the luxury.
 
Lazy Dave said:
Exactly! Lol



See, that's why it's even more amazing. We didn't offer until September '24. Granted, Ole Miss was his first P4 offer in August, but nobody was on this kid for long.

OSU came around in November after missing on 2 other kids the best I remember. Really glad he stuck with us, but I'm extremely shocked that he did considering the circumstances.
Click to expand...
CJF said he has a great family. Apparently they believe in honoring a commitment.
 
Last edited:
Lazy Dave said:
CB? How much depth do you desire to say we don't lack depth?

Dixon isn't being talked about as CB4 because we lack depth. It's because he's playing like a starter.

Beyond the 4 we hear about, you also have Tracy and Woosley.
Click to expand...
No depth problem @ CB. Like you said, Dixson is fully ready to play according to coach Terry Smith, coach Jim Knowles, and CJF.
Tracy is #1 Nickel @ this time.

Knowles and CJF are confident Harvey, Kemajou, and Coleman are the DE depth. Perhaps Williams will also step up @ DE.
 
Lazy Dave said:
CB? How much depth do you desire to say we don't lack depth?

Dixon isn't being talked about as CB4 because we lack depth. It's because he's playing like a starter.

Beyond the 4 we hear about, you also have Tracy and Woosley.
Click to expand...
Yep, its hard to believe fans believe that the CB position lacks depth. Harris, Washington, Collins, Tracey, are experienced and would ALL be starters at most top 20 programs. Woseley is competing for playing time and getting compliments, and Dixson is too good to redshirt. How many teams have 6 talented CB's, including a couple or more sure fire future NFL draft choices?

PFF rated the PSU secondary as only the 10th best in college football, it would seem mainly due to the lack of experienced depth at Safety and no clear cut starter opposite Wheatley. But had gushing comments regarding the two CB's they believe will start without even mentioning the experienced and talented other CB's that Franklin has already said will get considerable playing time. If CB is the strength of the secondary as it seems to be for PSU and it's still in the top 10 units in college football the CB unit must be pretty talented with considerable depth.

www.pff.com

College Football: The top-10 secondaries entering the 2025 season

Max Chadwick breaks down the top-10 secondaries entering the 2025 college football season.
www.pff.com www.pff.com
 
Last edited:
ryoder1 said:
Not at CB but certainly at DE. I think Kemajou and Coleman are good but if we had more depth I wonder if they would be such a strong greenlight from Franklin.
Click to expand...
Green lights are always a function of both the readiness of the player and the established depth at the position. There are some guys that are just so good that they force their way in early (like Jeremiah Smith in the best WR room in the nation). There are also some that become necessary due to lack of experienced depth and/or injuries.

What I think has changed the equation is that guys used to 100% leave early for the draft if they had anywhere close to a draftable grade and with NIL, they don't have to now. So Singleton and Allen return and still get paid while hopefully fulfilling their goals. Also, the talented youngsters at RB are forced to fight for 3rd string carries for a year. No freshman is breaking through that in that room outside of a Saquon Barkley or Barry Sanders.
 
LudicrousSpeedGO! said:
I disagree with the last 2 choices as far as burning the shirt but the rest I think are very likely.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/college-sports/penn-state-freshmen-to-watch-6-nittany-lions-who-could-contribute-in-2025/
Click to expand...
Agree. Arrington might only play LBer reps on OOC, but could work his way into special teams all season. Hayes, talented for sure but he's not even ahead of Wallace, Martin, or Smith. I see him redshirting this season unless major RB attrition were to occur. The RB3 position might not be sorted out until the end of the OOC unless someone takes total control of that position during camp which has yet to happen according to coach Drayton.
 
Last edited:
RickinDayton said:
Agree. Arrington might only play LBer reps on OOC, but could work his way into special teams all season. Hayes, talented for sure but he's not even ahead of Wallace, Martin, or Smith. I see him redshirting this season unless major RB attrition were to occur. The RB3 position might not be sorted out until the end if the OOC unless someone takes total control of that position during camp which has yet to happen according to coach Drayton.
Click to expand...
I don't feel like they need to rush Arrington for special teams. Use him for 4 games there and rotate in other talented young guys for the other games. He's a high ceiling guy who is in no need of cash. So I don't see him bolting to the NFL as early as possible. He may be a guy that you can redshirt, get the size on that they prefer during a redshirt year and then watch him flourish over the next 4 years.
 
RickinDayton said:
Agree. Arrington might only play LBer reps on OOC, but could work his way into special teams all season. Hayes, talented for sure but he's not even ahead of Wallace, Martin, or Smith. I see him redshirting this season unless major RB attrition were to occur. The RB3 position might not be sorted out until the end if the OOC unless someone takes total control of that position during camp which has yet to happen according to coach Drayton.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure how many freshmen will play in OOC games. Is the best thing to play them 3 games then sit them for the rest of the regular season? Or is it better to keep building them up so they can make a bigger impact if needed later in the season.
 
LudicrousSpeedGO! said:
I don't feel like they need to rush Arrington for special teams. Use him for 4 games there and rotate in other talented young guys for the other games. He's a high ceiling guy who is in no need of cash. So I don't see him bolting to the NFL as early as possible. He may be a guy that you can redshirt, get the size on that they prefer during a redshirt year and then watch him flourish over the next 4 years.
Click to expand...
There has been so much talk about his athleticism that it seems they might let him play on special teams like JoePa did with Lavar his Freshman year.
 
LudicrousSpeedGO! said:
I disagree with the last 2 choices as far as burning the shirt but the rest I think are very likely.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/college-sports/penn-state-freshmen-to-watch-6-nittany-lions-who-could-contribute-in-2025/
Click to expand...
The first four seem basically already announced.

I don't see any way that Hayes plays more than a few snaps in at most the 4 regular season games allowed to still redshirt. I believe that Franklin already has decided that the 3rd string RB position will alternate week to week or in a couple game streaks during the season. And that if he does believe one of the 3 that are the real competitors for the job has special talent to contribute in some one of a kind plays that Franklin will line him up to be the 3rd RB against the teams where he may need that special play. It just seems better for the future of the team to try and keep the 3 non true freshmen that are competing for RB3 all "in the game" this season to try and keep them competing in the RB room right into next Fall's camp when the true competition for the 2026 RB depth chart will be decided. Both Hayes and Coleman realized that their real chance to compete for playing time would come towards the 2026 season when they signed with PSU so they'll surely stick around and compete for a role in 2026 anyway.....

Arrington is another matter. Him and his dad may look at him as a 4 year at PSU maximum player, and if that's been communicated to Franklin there would be no reason the redshirt him given the comments about his crazy athleticism and the contribution he could make on special teams. So I'm in the camp that his chances of not redshirting this season may be just under 50%..... JMO, lots of ways his PSU career could play out.
 
Last edited:
GregInPitt said:
The first four seem basically already announced.

I don't see any way that Hayes plays more than a few snaps in at most the 4 regular season games allowed to still redshirt. I believe that Franklin already has decided that the 3rd string RB position will alternate week to week or in a couple game streaks during the season. And that if he does believe one of the 3 that are the real competitors for the job has special talent to contribute in some one of a kind plays that Franklin will line him up to be the 3rd RB against the teams where he may need that special play. It just seems better for the future of the team to try and keep the 3 non true freshmen that are competing for RB3 all "in the game" this season to try and keep them competing in the RB room right into next Fall's camp when the true competition for the 2026 RB depth chart will be decided. Both Hayes and Coleman realized that their real chance to compete for playing time would come towards the 2026 season when they signed with PSU so they'll surely stick around an compete for a role in 2026 anyway.....

Arrington is another matter. Him and his dad may look at him as a 4 year at PSU maximum player, and if that's been communicated to Franklin there would be no reason the redshirt him given the comments about his crazy athleticism and the contribution he could make on special teams. So I'm in the camp that his chances of not redshirting this season may be just under 50%.....
Click to expand...
Agreed except on Arrington. What you state is possible but I don't see any reason why he is rushed into action even for special teams. I could see he and his dad more focused on maximizing his impact at PSU and then his draft position with a 5th year (this one redshirting) since he is still developing size than a desire to leave early. He and his dad aren't hurting for money. I think they would be focused more on the legacy he leaves than a rush to the field and then to the NFL.
 
LudicrousSpeedGO! said:
Agreed except on Arrington. What you state is possible but I don't see any reason why he is rushed into action even for special teams. I could see he and his dad more focused on maximizing his impact at PSU and then his draft position with a 5th year (this one redshirting) since he is still developing size than a desire to leave early. He and his dad aren't hurting for money. I think they would be focused more on the legacy he leaves than a rush to the field and then to the NFL.
Click to expand...
Arrington could always redshirt but only play 3 seasons then go to the NFL. My sense is he would redshirt this season. No reason to burn the redshirt even if he is really good on special teams. If he was ready to be green lighted at linebacker then Franklin would have mentioned that. We have plenty of other guys.
 
ryoder1 said:
Arrington could always redshirt but only play 3 seasons then go to the NFL. My sense is he would redshirt this season. No reason to burn the redshirt even if he is really good on special teams. If he was ready to be green lighted at linebacker then Franklin would have mentioned that. We have plenty of other guys.
Click to expand...
Franklin said "and there are others" when he mentioned the 3 true freshmen he named that are now scheduled to not redshirt. I don't believe he mentioned the WR Howard either yesterday but he has in the past. It seems that Franklin won't reveal his plans to nearer the first game which makes sense as he wants to keep the players highly motivated and working towards making an impact on the team as soon as they can. And even at that time he'll have a number of "yellow's" that are candidates to burn their redshirt as the season goes along due to injuries or their further development as the in season practices and off weekend scrimmages go along. Arrington redshirting seems like the smart move but I'm not counting it out either....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top