Penn State position overview: Linebacker roster overview for 2022
Penn State is prepping for a season in which the program hopes to redeem itself on the national stage. After back-to-back seasons of mediocre results, Penn State is aiming to bounce back and prove themselves worthy of being in the Big Ten championship hunt, if not a little bit more.
Penn State kicks off the 2022 season with a Thursday night primetime matchup at Purdue on September 1. When that season begins, the Nittany Lions will begin to answer whether or not the linebacker depth is truly a concern for the upcoming year. After losing a pair of starters from last year’s team, Penn State has some big spots to fill at the program’s signature position.
Here is a look at what Penn State has on the roster at the linebacker position going into the 2022 season.
A snapshot profile of Penn State linebacker Bobby Walchak, who continues to develop in 2022.
Going into the 2022 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 [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] this season.
Penn State’s linebacking situation is under a bit of a microscope this season. After losing a pair of starters to the NFL, Penn State looks to rework its linebacker unit. Among the many reserve options on the roster is [autotag]Bobby Walchak[/autotag]. Here is a snapshot profile of the redshirt freshman.
And now the grades are in for Penn State’s performance during the Blue-White Game. Here’s how each position group was graded for the spring game in Beaver Stadium on Saturday.
Quarterback: C
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
A recurring theme when it comes to the offensive grades following Penn State’s game is probably chalked up to a simple “Eh, it could have been better.” That was the basic takeaway from the performance of the quarterbacks overall, but any expectation of any passer just lighting up the spring game may have been unreasonable.
We were never likely to see a whole lot out of [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag], the sixth-year senior who really has little more to prove at this point. We know pretty much exactly what Clifford is, and if given time to process the field, he can make plays. But he had some overthrown passes at times. He did, however, throw the game’s only touchdown of the game.
The backup competition behind Clifford is the real storyline here, and the future of [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] is what fans are eager to witness. But a rough spring debut for the true freshman shows there is still work to be done in the big picture. If based solely on one afternoon, [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag] proved he should be the team’s primary backup option heading into the season, although Allar should improve quickly.
