Who will start for Penn State at Purdue? Projecting the depth chart, one week out (2024)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — We’re one week away from Penn State’s season opener next Thursday night at Purdue.

The Nittany Lions didn’t release an official depth chart last season. James Franklin meets with the media at 11:15 a.m. Monday, and it’s unclear if they’ll be releasing a three-deep this season. But with game week upon us, here’s how I think Penn State’s depth chart is shaping up based on conversations and observations from the spring and preseason.

Offense

QB: Sean Clifford, Christian Veilleux, Drew Allar, Beau Pribula

No surprises here. Clifford is entering his sixth season and fourth as a team captain and starter. The most interesting storyline will be the development of the quarterbacks not named Clifford. Veilleux saw extensive action in the Rutgers game last year, while the two freshmen will have to close the gap to put themselves in position to compete for the starting job in the spring.

RB: Keyvone Lee, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Devyn Ford

Singleton and Allen, the blue-chip freshmen who enrolled early, impressed this preseason, but it likely remains Lee’s starting job for now. Running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider and Franklin have wanted to see more from the third-year player, who Franklin said might be capable of doing even more than he realizes.

Allen could be an intriguing option around the goal line, while Singleton has breakaway speed that will help the Gatorade national prep player of the year push for significant playing time this season.

WR: KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Malick Meiga, Tyler Johnson
WR: Mitchell Tinsley, Harrison Wallace III, Omari Evans, Anthony Ivey
WR: Parker Washington, Jaden Dottin OR Liam Clifford, Kaden Saunders

The top five receivers are Washington, Tinsley, Lambert-Smith, Wallace and Meiga. Beyond the top three, though, there are a lot of unknowns. There will be reps up for grabs, and the addition of Tinsley, the former Western Kentucky standout, appears to be another marquee transfer portal addition.

TE: Brenton Strange, Theo Johnson, Tyler Warren, Khalil Dinkins, Jerry Cross

Coaches loved the potential of last year’s group, and everyone returns after a season in which involvement in the offense was inconsistent. There’s no need to burn Cross’ redshirt this year, though Dinkins was in consideration to do so last year, giving Penn State at least four intriguing options.

Johnson came here as one of the headliners in Penn State’s 2020 recruiting class, while nobody on the roster has the skill set of Warren, the former high school quarterback.

LT: Olu Fashanu, Jimmy Christ, Drew Shelton
LG: Landon Tengwall, JB Nelson, Ibrahim Traore
C: Juice Scruggs, Nick Dawkins, Hunter Nourzad
RG: Sal Wormley, Nourzad, Golden Israel-Achumba
RT: Caedan Wallace, Bryce Effner, Maleek McNeil

Franklin won’t publicly promise that this is finally the year for the line to turn the corner. Instead, it’s a wait-and-see approach. There will likely be three players with limited game experience who will become full-time starters. Wormley, who was projected to be a starter a year ago, has returned from a season-ending injury, while Fashanu (who started in the bowl game) and Tengwall will now have to step up too.

I went three-deep across the board, but keep in mind that should there be an injury, the top six linemen could be reshuffled (Nourzad being the sixth) to make the adjustment. Nourzad is going to play and could work at either guard spot or center. Tengwall could bump out to left tackle if needed, and Effner, who carved out a role as a depth player last year, is healthy again.

Defense

DE: Adisa Isaac, Smith Vilbert, Amin Vanover
DE: Nick Tarburton, Chop Robinson, Dani Dennis-Sutton

Who starts opposite Isaac? Tarburton has played a lot of football here, but the upside of Robinson, the former top-100 Maryland signee who transferred to Penn State in the summer, is tremendous. I think Penn State will go with the veteran starter initially, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Robinson out-reps Tarburton. If the hype that’s surrounded Robinson this preseason is true, it’ll greatly help this group.

Vilbert stood out in the Outback Bowl and now has to become a more consistent, dominant presence. We’ll see how the five-star freshman Dennis-Sutton progresses, but with Zuriah Fisher ruled out for the season due to injury, it seems likely he will burn his redshirt.

DT: PJ Mustipher, Dvon Ellies, Jordan van den berg
DT: Hakeem Beamon, Coziah Izzard, Zane Durant

Beamon was unavailable all last season for an unspecified reason but has re-emerged and just might have done enough to get last year’s projected starting spot back. We’ll see if it comes to fruition, but either way, expect Beamon to play a lot this season in a rotation. His freakish athleticism has long reminded staffers of former Nittany Lion DT Kevin Givens.

The experience Ellies and Izzard gained without Mustipher and Beamon last year was critical. Durant has been a standout since his arrival in the winter and is poised to play this season.

Will LB: Curtis Jacobs, Abdul Carter, Jamari Buddin, Charlie Katshir
Mike LB: Tyler Elsdon, Kobe King
Sam LB: Jonathan Sutherland, Dom DeLuca, Tyrece Mills

Depth is thin, and just how many moving parts Manny Diaz has to work with remains to be seen. Elsdon had a slight edge over King this preseason, but expect the redshirt freshman King to be heavily involved. Sutherland moved from safety to sam linebacker in the offseason, and the Nittany Lions need him to play well for this linebacking corps to not be a liability.

There are two X-factors here that can help improve this group’s trajectory: Carter, the freshman, and Buddin. Carter has impressed coaches and teammates since enrolling. Buddin spent time learning multiple linebacker spots last season and could move around if needed. Buddin likely fits in best at the will position, which is where the team’s best linebacker (Jacobs) is. Freshman Keon Wylie is also worth keeping an eye on.

The fact that there’s a converted safety starting at sam and he’s possibly backed up by a walk-on and a junior college transfer safety in Mills (who was spotted on crutches last week) could force Diaz to rely on the depth in this secondary. Katshir provides some position flexibility too, but this group as a whole knows many have questions about how productive it can be.

CB: Joey Porter Jr., Marquis Wilson, Cam Miller
CB: Kalen King, Johnny Dixon, Jeffrey Davis Jr.
Nickel: Daequan Hardy

Corners coach Terry Smith said he has at least five cornerbacks with NFL futures in his room. In all likelihood, those five would be Porter, King, Dixon, Wilson and Hardy. Dixon was one of the surprises of the preseason, as the former South Carolina transfer was around the ball quite a bit. Wilson is back to cornerback full-time after playing receiver last year and appears to have settled back in. The nickelback is viewed as an extra starter, and that’s a role Hardy locked down last year.

S: Ji’Ayir Brown, Jaylen Reed , Sebastian Costantini
S: Zakee Wheatley, Keaton Ellis, Kevin Winston Jr.

One of the other camp competitions was for the starting job next to Brown. My pick here is based on the person who seems to always be around the ball. Wheatley flashed his ball skills in the spring when he moved from corner to safety and continued doing so this preseason, as he won the team’s takeaways crown.

Wheatley and Reed will be a huge part of the future of this defense, and having both spend another season learning alongside Brown will be huge. Freshman Mehki Flowers is getting his first taste of college football, and his classmate Winston enrolled in the winter. Those are two important signings. I have the walk-on Costantini, a redshirt junior who played on special teams last season, rounding out this group.

2022 𝘾𝙖𝙢𝙥 𝙎𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 ⛺️🏈

👑 @BeauPrib
👑 @iam_Trey_10

🔒 @ZakeeWheatley

💪 @NourzadHunter #WeAre pic.twitter.com/sW8IihlUCm

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) August 23, 2022

Special teams

FGs and PATs: Jake Pinegar
Kickoffs: Sander Sahaydak

Punter: Barney Amor, Alex Bacchetta, Gabe Nwosu

Snapper: Chris Stoll, Tyler Duzansky
Holder: Barney Amor, Stoll

Kick returns: Devyn Ford, Nick Singleton, Omari Evans, Daequan Hardy
Punt returns: Parker Washington, Mitch Tinsley, Marquis Wilson

Penn State has worked Stoll, a team captain, at snapper, which is his usual position, but he’s also been seen at holder this preseason. Look for Sahaydak, the redshirt freshman, to get his feet wet by handling kickoffs while the veteran Pinegar likely returns to field goals after missing much of last season. Penn State is open to having one handle shorter field goals and the other longer ones if it turns out to be the best approach again.

Washington’s consistency as a punt returner has been praised. Ford has a lot of experience as the kick returner, though there are plenty of explosive options behind him. This could be another way to get Singleton’s hands on the football, and Evans and Hardy are both speedsters too.

(Top photo of Keyvone Lee: Matt Pendleton / USA Today)

Audrey Snyder has covered Penn State since 2012 for various outlets, including The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Patriot-News and DKPittsburghSports. Snyder is an active member of the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM) and is the professional adviser for Penn State’s student chapter. Follow Audrey on Twitter @audsnyder4