Tag: Andrew Rappleyea

Penn State player availability report for Kent State updated

Penn State has posted its player availability report for today’s game against Kent State.

Penn State will be without one of its top defensive players on the roster this weekend when the Nittany Lions host Kent State for a mid-Saturday afternoon non-conference matchup. Head coach James Franklin announced this week that the team will be without safety, Kevin Winston Jr., for an extended period of time due to a long-term injury. This week’s player availability confirmed that for this week with Winston Jr. being among the players officially ruled out on the Penn State player availability report.

Big Ten teams are required to provide a player availability report prior to their respective games each week as part of a new conference policy put into place for the 2023 season.

The following players were listed as out for Penn State for the Kent State game.

  • [autotag]Kevin Winston Jr.[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jaxon Smolik[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Kari Jackson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Keon Wylie[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Zuriah Fisher[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Mason Robinson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Mehki Flowers[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Peter Gonzalez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Andrew Rappleyea[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Sam Siafa[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Liam Andrews[/autotag]
  • [autotag]De’Andre Cook[/autotag]
  • [autotag]T.A. Cunningham[/autotag]

Penn State hosts Kent State at 3:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.

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James Franklin declines comments on two injured Nittany Lions

Andrew Rappleyea was spotted on crutches during Penn State’s Week 2 win against Bowling Green.

Penn State head coach James Franklin had no comments to give on the current status of a couple of young Penn State stars in the making following a victory over Bowling Green. The two players Franklin declined to comment on were tight end [autotag]Andrew Rappleyea[/autotag] and safety [autotag]KJ Winston Jr[/autotag].

Rappleyea appeared on Penn State’s pregame player availability report and was listed as out. He was later spotted on the sidelines on crutches as Penn State was working to defeat Bowling Green by a score of 34-27 on Saturday afternoon. Franklin said the injury to his young tight end was recent and he does not yet know about any long-term timeline for his situation.

Winston, who had a solid Week 1 at West Virginia, was not seen on the field after the first quarter. He was spotted on the sideline with no helmet after coming off the field following a collision with Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr.

Franklin typically does not comment on injuries regarding his players unless extreme enough to warrant comment. It remains to be seen if either player will return to the field any time soon, so we may have to pay attention to the practice reports and the weekly player availability reports to learn more about them each moving forward.

Penn State will be off next week. The Nittany Lions return to action in Week 4 with a home game against Kent State.

Check out some of the top plays and best photos from Penn State’s Week 2 win over Bowling Green.

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Backup QB listed as questionable for Penn State vs. Bowling Green

Penn State will be without these players today against Bowling Green.

Penn State is hours away from welcoming fans back to Beaver Stadium for this season’s home opener. After putting on an impressive showing on the road at West Virginia last week, the Nittany Lions look to improve to 2-0 with ease as they host Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon for an early kickoff.

Penn State will be without a handful of players available according to this week’s updated player availability report, which was just released by the Big Ten football office, per conference policy.

The following players have been ruled out for Penn State in week 2:

In addition, quarterback [autotag]Ethan Grunkemeyer[/autotag] has been listed as questionable.

Big Ten schools are required to provide a player availability report no later than two hours prior to a scheduled kickoff. The policy was put into effect in 2023 and has seen a few conferences follow that idea in 2024.

MAC schools are also now required to release player availability reports beginning this season under a similar policy. We were still waiting for the player availability report for Bowling Green at the time of this posting.

Penn State and Bowling Green are scheduled to kick things off at noon Eastern on Big Ten Network.

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Chop Robinson OUT vs. Indiana

Penn State rules DE Chop Robinson out vs. Indiana in pregame player availability report.

It was likely anticipated that Penn State would be without the services of defensive end Chop Robinson on Saturday against Indiana. Those expectations were met with the release of Penn State’s player availability report leading up to kickoff against the Hoosiers from Beaver Stadium.

Robinson was officially ruled out of action for the Indiana game. Robinson, who left last week’s game at Ohio State after a blow to the head, was one of 12 players listed as out for the home game against the Hoosiers.

Here is a look at everyone ruled out by Penn State:

  • Tyler Johnson
  • Mehki Flowers
  • Elliot Washington II
  • Tyler Holzworth
  • Feyisayo Oluleye
  • Chop Robinson
  • Kaveion Keys
  • Ian Harvie
  • Liam Powers
  • Jim Fitzgerald
  • Andrew Rappleyea
  • Smith Vilbert

Penn State also listed four players as questionable for the game, including Amin Vanover. Here is who is listed as questionable for the Nittany Lions:

  • Amin Vanover
  • Mason Stahl
  • Carmelo Taylor
  • Mason Robinson

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2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 87 Andrew Rappleyea

Penn State has a veteran combo at TE this season, but the future could be Andrew Rappleyea.

Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.

Continuing this series is a look at one of Penn State’s newest additions to the program, freshman tight end [autotag]Andrew Rappleyea[/autotag]. Rappleyea joins a tight end room full of young options waiting to be key cogs in the Penn State offense, but the Nittany Lions have a pair of experienced vets to rely heavily on this fall. Here is a snapshot look at Rappleyea entering his true freshman season with Penn State.

Updated uniform numbers for Penn State football’s summer arrivals

What jersey numbers will Penn State’s latest additions be wearing this season? Here are the updated football jersey numbers.

Penn State’s roster continued to be rounded out with the recent addition of more members of its latest recruiting class and transfer additions officially joining the program. Some of the new additions should be key players for the upcoming season, including wide receiver Dante Cephas and cornerback Audavion Collins, each coming from FBS programs with the ability to plug a hole in the roster instantly. Others, like freshmen running backs London Montgomery and Cam Wallace, will add to the depth on the roster while waiting a bit longer to see their moment in the spotlight.

Now those new members of the Penn State family have confirmed jersey numbers for the 2023 season.

Here is a look at the officially confirmed uniform numbers for Penn State’s newest members to the program according to the team’s official online roster;

  • 3 – Dante Cephas, WR
  • 8 – DaKaari Nelson, S
  •  9 – King Mack, S
  • 23 – Trey Potts, RB
  • 24 – London Montgomery, RB
  • 26 – Cam Wallace, RB
  • 29 – Audavion Collins, CB
  • 39 – Ty Blanding, DT
  • 48 – Kaveion Keys, LB
  • 50 – Alonzo Ford, DT
  • 56 – Joseph Mupoyi, DE
  • 79 – Addison Penn, OL
  • 87 – Andrew Rappleyea, TE

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Top five true freshman tight ends in the Big Ten for 2023

Top five true freshman tight ends in the Big Ten for 2023 #GoBucks #B1G

It is always fun to look at recruiting rankings. The recruiting landscape receives more coverage every year and is a very important aspect of building a program. Still, it is important to remember these players and prospects are not defined by these rankings.

I was diving into the most recent class and trying to figure out which future Buckeye is going to shine brightest and fastest but noticed that the Big Ten as a whole was pretty interesting recruiting-wise this cycle, and we already discussed the quarterback position, running back position, and wide receiver group and now we are diving into the top prospects in the tight end group.

The following are the top five tight end recruits ranked by 247Sports heading to Big Ten schools this fall.

Penn State spring football preview: Wide receivers and tight ends

Who will be the wide receivers and tight ends to watch in Penn State spring football practices this year?

As Penn State gets ready to embark on the 2023 season, the offense will be expected to be the big storyline this fall. With a new starting quarterback taking the spotlight, it should not go without mentioning that the wide receiver position will be instrumental to Penn State’s success this season. And with its top two wide receivers and leading tight end from last season departing the program for the NFL, there is more to figure out on offense than whether or not its new quarterback is ready to take flight.

Penn State loses Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley at wide receiver and Brenton Strange at tight end. Together, that accounts for 1,550 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns to replace in the passing offense from a year ago. Fortunately, Penn State has some players ready to step up and make up for the lost production, including some young players that will continue to develop this spring.

Here is a look at what Penn State has to offer at wide receiver and tight end this spring when spring football practices open on March 14.

Keandre Lambert-Smith

Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Measurables: 6’1″, 184 lb

Year: Junior

Expected role: Starting wide receiver

KeAndre Lambert-Smith is Penn State’s top returning wide receiver from a season ago. Following the departures of Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley, Lambert-Smith has the most Penn State experience at the position, and he should remain a fixture in the offense for new starting quarterback Drew Allar to rely on stretching the field.

[autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag]

Harrison Wallace III

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Measurables: 6’1″, 196 lb

Year: Redshirt sophomore

Expected role: Possible starting wide receiver, solid contributor

Competing for a possible starting job could be Harrison Wallace III, who had 19 catches for 273 yards and a touchdown last season as a reserve option. Wallace finished sixth on the team in receiving yards in 2022 and is the third-leading receiver coming back from last year’s roster, although a pair of transfer additions to the roster means Wallace will look to make a statement this spring for consideration for an increased role in the fall.

NEXT: Key transfer additions

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Penn State’s 2023 football commitment tracker

The Penn State football Class of 2023 commitment tracker has been updated with the latest recruiting development

The Class of 2022 was great for Penn State, but it’s already time to turn the page toward the Class of 2023. And James Franklin and the Nittany Lions already had a few commitments on the board for the Class of 2023 as the signed letters of intent were coming in for the Class of 2022.

We’ll be keeping track of every commitment that goes on the board for Penn State in the Class of 2023. But knowing that odds are pretty good at least one player will have a change of heart somewhere along the recruiting process, we’ll keep tabs on what they are doing up until signing day.

This tracker will be updated accordingly when needed. It was last updated on February 1, 2023.

Penn State Class of 2023 signee gets big bump in final On3 player rankings

One key member of the Penn State Class of 2023 just saw his stock skyrocket.

With the traditional national signing day approaching quickly, On3 has provided its final update to its player rankings for the Class of 2023. And as a result, it turned out to be a big update for Penn State commit [autotag]Andrew Rappleyea[/autotag].

Rappleyea was among the biggest movers up in the On300 ranking, moving from no. 82 in the last update all the way up to no. 41 in the final player rankings from the recruiting service. He is now the second highest-ranked player in Penn State’s Class of 2023 behind offensive lineman [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag]. He passed another offensive lineman, [autotag]Alex Birchmeier[/autotag], in moving up as high as he did.

Penn State ended up having a number of players ranked in the final On300 rankings, and there could still be room for another. Offensive tackle [autotag]Chimdy Onoh[/autotag], from Maryland, is ranked no. 210 in the nation on the rankings from On3, and he is believed to be considering Penn State as his commitment announcement approaches.

Other Penn State commits in the On300 rankings include:

  • OL J’ven Williams (no. 9)
  • OL Alex Birchmeier (no. 74)
  • LB [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag] (no. 86)
  • S [autotag]King Mack[/autotag] (no. 113)
  • DE [autotag]Jameial Lyons[/autotag] (no. 155)
  • TE [autotag]Joey Schlaffer[/autotag] (no. 158)
  • LB [autotag]Kaveion Keys[/autotag] (no. 171)
  • CB [autotag]Elliot Washington[/autotag] (no. 194)
  • CB [autotag]Zion Tracy[/autotag] (no. 200)
  • OL [autotag]Anthony Donkoh[/autotag] (no. 216)

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