Tag: Charlie Katshir

2022 Penn State football: Nittany Lions’ linebacker preview

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.

Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 45 Charlie Katshir

Snapshot profile of Penn State linebacker Charlie Katshir going into 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 James Franklin this season.

[autotag]Charlie Katshir[/autotag] is a veteran linebacker that will help provide some much-needed depth at the linebacker positions this fall. He may not be in the mix for a starting role, but Katshir could be a player that gets on the field in some big moments this season as he enters what may be his final season in Happy Valley.

Here is a snapshot profile of Katshir going into the 2022 season.

Five big questions for the Penn State defense

5 big questions for Penn State’s defense this spring.

Penn State’s defense was a strength in 2021 but faces some big questions this spring ahead of the 2022 season. With a number of notable departures to the NFL and a new defensive coordinator, this spring has plenty to be watching in Happy Valley on the defensive side of the football.

Penn State’s biggest change this season is the addition of defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. The former Miami head coach comes to State College to replace Brent Pry, who has left the program to become the head coach at Virginia Tech. Diaz brings a solid reputation as a defensive coordinator and Penn State appears to have found a terrific replacement for Pry. But Diaz will have some work to do in shaping the defense with a number of key starting jobs up for grabs this spring.

Penn State is set to open spring football practices on March 21, with the annual Blue-White Game currently scheduled for Saturday, April 23.

Here are five questions I have for Penn State’s offense that may be addressed this spring (we addressed the questions for the offense last week).

Who will play linebacker for Penn State in the Outback Bowl vs Arkansas?

Here are a few options on how Penn State could plug the starting linebacker holes vs. Arkansas in the Outback Bowl

Penn State’s nickname of Linebacker-U will be put to the test in the Outback Bowl after its top two linebackers have opted out of the bowl season to begin preparing for the 2022 NFL draft cycle. Days after Brandon Smith announced his decision to pass on the bowl game and declare for the NFL draft, Ellis Brooks has joined him in making the transition to the pros. And with both players choosing to not play in the Outback Bowl, Penn State is now in need of plugging two starting linebacker holes without a ton of experience or roster flexibility to work with.

Penn State has fielded its defense with three linebackers with Smith playing the WILL, Brooks lining up in the middle and Curtis Jacobs manning the SAM linebacker position. Finding a replacement for Smith appeared to be pretty straightforward before the news of Brooks opting out broke because Charlie Katshir could just be moved up a spot on the depth chart to fill the gap for the bowl game. And that may end up still being the solution Penn State goes with.

But what happens in the middle? This is where things can get a little dicey. Jesse Luketa has been moved around the defense this season and could be the best option to fill in at the vacant linebacker spot, although he has been having success at defensive end this season, and James Franklin and defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter may want to keep Luketa on the edge if they can. But if Luketa is playing on the line of scrimmage, then Penn State doesn’t have a lot of experienced options remaining at its disposal.

Kobe King would be making a huge leap up the depth chart to be a starter in the bowl game against Arkansas, as would Tyler Elsdon or Jamari Buddin. Jonathan Sutherland could be used to fill in at the position, or he could move to the SAM position and Jacobs slide over to cover the middle of the defense.

Or Luketa could be used primarily as a linebacker and Nick Tarburton could be used more on the edge against the Razorbacks. Of course, this could all change if we learn that anyone on Penn State’s defensive line will follow Smith and Brooks in their decisions to opt out to focus on the NFL. The name to watch here would be Arnold Ebiketie, who is coming off an incredible season after transferring from Temple that has seen him continue to improve his own draft stock along the way.

No matter how Penn State shakes it, replacing its top two tacklers for the bowl game with 181 combined tackles between Brooks and Smith is not easy to do. If Luketa is not an option, Penn State is looking to fill the two spots with players that may have a combined total of 23 tackles this season between the four possibilities mentioned (Katshir, Elsdon, Buddin, and King).

On the other side of the football, Penn State head coach James Franklin has not commented on the status of wide receiver Jahan Dotson, Penn State’s top pro prospect on the board for the 2022 NFL draft if he declares now. Penn State also has some other players to keep an eye on with the defense in safety Jaquan Brisker and cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields. Both are heading off to the next level after returning to Penn State in 2021, but whether or not they play in the final game of their college careers remains to be confirmed.

Penn State faces Arkansas in the Outback Bowl on Saturday, January 1, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. We’ll see who is left to take the field for either team.

[vertical-gallery id=11464]

[listicle id=11417]

[lawrence-related id=11583,11492,11487,11434,11424,11241,11136,10941,10862]

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

Penn State LB Brandon Smith declares for NFL draft, will skip Outback Bowl

Penn State LB Brandon Smith opts out of the Outback Bowl and declares for 2022 NFL draft

[mm-video type=video id=01fq53w45pygdha5xrcr playlist_id=01ey902ehrs6e9bvhw player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fq53w45pygdha5xrcr/01fq53w45pygdha5xrcr-134db6e7b03a1015e23f42c0b63fa63d.jpg]

Penn State linebacker Brandon Smith has officially wrapped up his college football career. On Friday, Smith announced he will opt out of Penn State’s appearance in the Outback Bowl and will begin preparing for the 2022 NFL draft. Smith declared himself eligible for the NFL draft with a statement on his Twitter account, confirming he has indeed played his final game in a Penn State uniform.

“I am going to forgo my senior year and the bowl game and enter the 2022 NFL Draft,” Smith said in his statement on his Twitter account on Friday. “I will continue to work hard and do my best to represent my school and my family to the best of my ability on and off the field. We Are Penn State!”

Smith was Penn State’s second-leading tackler in 2021 with 81 total tackles, including 45 solo tackles. Smith had 9.0 tackles for a loss and two sacks for the Nittany Lions during the 2021 season after making a slight position change within the linebacker position. It was a bit of an up-and-down season for Smith overall, but that doesn’t necessarily suggest he is making a bad decision in opting to turn pro heading into the 2022 season.

Although, some of the early reactions to Smith’s decision appear to be hesitant to suggest he is making the best decision. With two years of eligibility and coming off a rather unflattering season overall, there seems to be a pretty widespread opinion that Smith could have been better off returning for one more season of college football before pursuing his NFL dream.

But, of course, this is a personal decision of Smith and he surely isn’t making this decision half-hazardly. And there will be plenty of time now to begin preparing for the NFL draft cycle and work on impressive scouts and NFL coaches in workouts and combine-type activities. And if there is one thing Penn State players tend to do well, it is to leave a solid impression in the NFL combine activities.

Smith’s sudden departure leaves Penn State without one of its fixtures on the starting defense for the Outback Bowl against Arkansas. Barring any other unforeseen changes to the roster availability for the bowl game, Penn State will have to fill in a new player to start at the Will linebacker position. Charlie Katshir may be the most likely candidate to step into the role. The junior has appeared in 10 games for Penn State this season and has recorded just 10 tackles in a mostly reserve role.

[vertical-gallery id=3235]

[listicle id=11388]

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

Penn State injury report: A look at health of Nittany Lions heading to Wisconsin

What does Penn State’s Week 1 injury report look like at the beginning of the first game week of the season?

It’s officially game week, which means we will start off by breaking down the injury report for the Nittany Lions.

Going into week one, there are not too many injuries for Penn State, especially for their key players. The one player to keep an eye on is backup linebacker Charlie Katshir, who is dealing with an undisclosed issue. Katshir was sidelined late in the 2020 season with a season-ending injury. He is currently listed as the backup to sophomore Curtis Jacobs. Katshir is currently listed as questionable as of yesterday. Reports are saying he is dealing with an undefined issue, but that injury could also be part of the lingering concern since it was late in the 2020 season. 

As for COVID-19 updates, the Nittany Lions have been lucky to not have any players added to the COVID list. There are several programs around the NCAA that are requiring students to either wear masks or have their proof of vaccinations. Penn State isn’t doing any of that. However, they are still planning for capacity crowds as well as masks indoors. 

Head coach James Franklin also said that as of August 4th, 2021, 70% of his team are fully vaccinated and he is aiming for his team to be 100% vaccinated for the season.  

We are five days away and Penn State is lucky to not have a lengthy list of injured players and not a single player added to their COVID list. 

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.