Penn State shuffles from praise to poise ahead of Week 2 nonconference clash with Ohio
Coming off a tight victory against Purdue, the Nittany Lions are primed for a Saturday meeting with Ohio.
Penn State squeaked out a Week 1 win and walked away with a crystal clear assessment of areas for growth.
Specifically, James Franklin pointed to two: cutting back on dropped balls (on both sides) and being more explosive offensively. The ninth-year head coach supplemented that point, adding that the Nittany Lions won the sack and field position battles.
“I’m pleased overall. We found a way to get a tough, gritty win on the road,” Franklin said of the 35-31 win at Purdue last Thursday. “Then we were able to come into practice on Friday and meet on Friday to get those things cleaned up.”
Penn State (1-0, 1-0 Big Ten) is slated to face Ohio (1-0) in a nonconference game Saturday at Beaver Stadium (noon, 6ABC).
Here are a few takeaways from Week 1 and notes heading into Week 2.
Porter leads the defense
Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was at the forefront of Penn State’s defense in the opener with a team-high eight tackles, six pass breakups (which tied a Big Ten record), and three pass deflections. He also scooped up a momentum-swinging fumble recovery before halftime.
“[He] was a national player of the week in the Bednarik Award,” Franklin said. “But he didn’t get any Big Ten love for whatever reason.”
Added Franklin: “It’s unusual to have a guy who’s as highly thought of as Joey get thrown at that much. I don’t know if they necessarily targeted him, but they didn’t avoid him. A lot of times people will go in a different direction. They were going to run their offense and do what they do no matter what.”
Most notably, the redshirt sophomore did not allow a single fourth-quarter completion. Porter got some praise from his teammates for his performance.
“He’s a great player,” said fellow cornerback Keaton Ellis, who also had three pass deflections. “I can attest to his work ethic and his preparation for the game. He has those freakishly long arms, too, which helps. He can basically touch his ankles with his hands standing up. He’s just a great player. I’m excited to see what he can do.”
Robinson’s crash course
Purdue’s offense had a propensity to get the ball out of Aidan O’Connell’s hands as fast as possible. It was a tall task for Chop Robinson’s debut. The Maryland transfer defensive end finished with just one tackle — the same as his counterpart Adisa Isaac — but felt confident in his first outing.
“Of course, it gets frustrating when you can’t get to the quarterback if he’s getting the ball out quick,” Robinson said. “But our teaching point was to rush and always keep your hands up because the least you can do is bat the ball down.”
Isaac and Nick Tarburton started at opposite ends of the defensive line with Robinson seeing significant reps in rotation.
“Adisa has a crazy bend off the edge,” Robinson said. “I’m learning that from him, getting that from his game, trying to put it in mine. Nick Tarburton, he’s just such an aggressive player. I’ve got to get that in my game too.”
» READ MORE: Penn State has struggled covering as 20-point favorites. Will trend continue against Ohio?
Who’s Penn State’s QB2?
A decision had not yet been made on who would back up Sean Clifford at quarterback as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Franklin.
Drew Allar earned the spot in the opener ahead of Christian Veilleux. In his lone drive in West Lafayette, Allar showed why. The freshman completed two of his four passes for 26 yards for an average of 6.5 yards. More noticeably, he showed arm strength and decisiveness beyond his years.
“I didn’t get to see Drew play that drive,” said Clifford, who missed a series due to cramps. “But they all said it looked good. I’m glad he got his first drive at Penn State. I thought it was good for him. He kept us on the field and moved the ball, I heard, so I’m excited for him.”
“It’s a competition week in and week out,” Franklin said.
Amor stars on special teams
In a matter of 11 days, Barney Amor went from walk-on FCS transfer to Week 1 starter under scholarship to joining the Ray Guy Award watch list, recognizing the nation’s best punter.
Amor, the Central Bucks East alum and redshirt senior transfer from Colgate, had eight punts against Purdue for an average of 46.9 yards with a long of 52. Three of his punts pinned the Boilermakers inside the 20.
Consistency has been Amor’s calling card.
“How can I get that much more consistent so when I’m miss-hitting, I’m not miss-hitting left or right, I’m missing forward?” Amor said. “That’s huge for punts because worst-case scenario, you’re hitting those 38 yards and it’s fair caught. Those are survivable. Those are good balls.”
Redemption for Carter
Abdul Carter logged two plays in his Penn State debut, which was far less than the game plan called for.
His first was a special-teams assignment. Then the freshman linebacker from La Salle College High School was ejected for targeting on his first defensive snap.
“We were expecting him to play a decent amount in that game,” Franklin said. “This week, I’d like to get him a ton of reps both on special teams and on defense. This game will give us a better feel of how that rotation will go moving forward.”
Tyler Elsdon and Kobe King will continue rotating at middle linebacker either every other series or every two series. Carter will join an outside linebacker rotation with Jonathan Sutherland, Dominic DeLuca, and Curtis Jacobs.
» READ MORE: Penn State starts off the season with a 35-31 victory over Purdue