Tag: Chop Robinson

Top three defensive ends in the Big Ten for 2023

Ohio State has two dominant defensive ends for 2023. #GoBucks #B1G

The Big Ten has some straight-up nasty defensive ends ready to break out in 2023 and it was hard to narrow down this talented group to just three guys, but while I was doing my rankings I did notice that the top four studs are from two schools.

The gap between the top four and the rest is rather large but that’s not an insult all three players on the below list are potential first-round picks or All-Americans. The top of the list features two Buckeyes, which should be surprising to no one, but let’s dive into the bets defensive ends in the Big Ten.

2023 Buckeyes Wire Preseason All-Big Ten team: Defensive Linemen

Ohio State football dominates in predictive All-Big Ten team #GoBucks #B1G

The 2023 college football season is right around the corner and the Big Ten is loaded with top-notch talent. Predicting who will end up on the All-Big Ten has proven challenging. Not only was it hard to choose one player over another, but it was also hard to admit that some of Ohio State’s most prominent rivals have some serious dogs on their squad.

This list dives into the defensive linemen — and as expected — the Big Ten has some dominant defensive linemen that make it very hard to narrow it down to just four. This list may appear biased considering the number of Buckeyes who made the list, but it would be hard for the most objective fan to deny the insane talent Ohio State has on the front four.

In the age of the transfer portal, it is possible for a dark horse to rise as a front-runner, but we do our best to provide the most educated guess based on previous performances and situations.

2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 44 Chop Robinson

Get ready for a big year from Penn State edge rusher Chop Robinson in 2023.

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.

Today is a look at Chop Robinson, a big-time edge rusher who is already drawing potential first-round draft buzz for the 2024 NFL draft. Robinson was a smash hit out of the transfer portal for the Nittany Lions in 2022 and could be lining up another season full of highlights and QB pressures this fall. Here is a look at one of Penn State’s top players on the roster for the upcoming 2023 season.

Phil Steele’s preseason All-Americans and All-Big Ten rosters feature multiple Nittany Lions

Phil Steele includes a number of Penn State players on his preseason All-America and All-Big Ten rosters for 2023.

You know the dogs days of summer are essentially upon us not because schools are letting out for the summer and grills are firing up for some evening cookouts and pools are being splashed in, but because the college football preview content is beginning to overflow with information for the upcoming 2023 college football season. Among the highlights of the summer preview season is when the iconic Phil Steele begins sharing his preseason All-America and all-conference teams, and this week saw the unveiling of his All-Big Ten roster. Needless to say, it includes a good number of Penn State players for the 2023 season.

Offensive lineman [autotag]Olu Fashanu[/autotag] and defensive back Kalen King headline the preseason accolades by appearing on the preseason All-America roster from Steele. The two standouts are projected to be potential first-round draft picks in the 2024 NFL draft, with Fashanu surprising many with his decision to return to Penn State for one more season after being projected as a possible first-round pick in the 2023 draft.

Linebacker Abdul Carter, entering his sophomore season in Happy Valley after a brilliant freshman debut, appeared on Phil Steele’s third-team preseason All-America list. Sophomore running back Nick Singleton also makes the preseason-All-America cut for Steele, although he does so on the fourth team. Not bad for two of Penn State’s top freshmen from a season ago.

All four of the players mentioned are locked in to Steele’s preseason All-Big Ten team, as you would expect. Fashanu, King, and Carter all appear on the first-team preseason All-Big Ten roster from Steele, and Singleton makes the second-team All-Big Ten cut.

Joining Singleton on the preseason All-Big Ten second team are linebacker Curtis Jacobs and defensive end [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag]. Wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith, center [autotag]Hunter Nourzad[/autotag], defensive end Adisa Isaac, and long snapper [autotag]Tyler Duzansky[/autotag] all received third-team All-Big Ten honors from Steele. Cornerback Johnny Dixon, who is expected to be a leading candidate to lock down a starting job this fall, was included on Steele’s fourth-team preseason All-Big Ten roster.

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Touchdown Wire mock draft has three Penn State players in first round in 2024

This new mock draft from Touchdown Wire has THREE Penn State players projected as first-round draft picks in 2024.

When [autotag]Olumuyiwa Fashanu[/autotag] announced his decision to return to Penn State for one more season, many were surprised by the news. After all, Fshanue had been projected to be a possible first-round draft pick in the 2023 NFL draft. But a return for another year of college football could actually boost his overall draft outlook according to a new mock draft from Touchdown Wire.

Touchdown Wire’s latest way-too-early mock draft has Fashanu being the fourth overall pick in next season’s NFL draft, with the Indianapolis Colts being the team in the fourth spot of the draft.

The Colts drafting an offensive lineman with a first-round pick would seem to make some sense given the team just drafted a quarterback in the first round of the 2023 draft with Anthony Richardson out of Florida. The Colts didn’t add any offensive line help in the 2023 draft until the fourth round with Blake Freeland out of BYU. The Colts also drafted Jake Witt from Michigan in the seventh round, which likely means the team will be more vested in beefing up the offensive line in the 2024 NFL draft.

If this mock draft holds true, Fashanu would be the second non-quarterback selected in the 2024 draft and the second Big Ten player chosen in the first four picks. USC quarterback Caleb Williams is projected as the first overall pick (by the Arizona Cardinals). Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. would also go to the Cardinals with the second overall pick (from the Houston Texans). North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye is projected to go third overall, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, before Fashanu goes off the board.

Fashanu is not the only Penn State player in the first round of this new mock draft from Touchdown Wire. Cornerback Kalen King also makes an appearance in the first round with the New England Patriots using the 12th overall pick to select one of the nation’s top cornerbacks in college football. The Chicago Bears actually get the first cornerback off the board with the 11th pick on Kool-Aid McKinstry of Alabama, but it seems the case is there to be made that King is unquestionably one of the best cornerbacks on the big board.

Adding to the first-round selections is edge rusher [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag]. Touchdown Wire has Robinson returning closer to home as the Baltimore Ravens are slated to use the 22nd overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft to bring the Maryland native back home to play professional football. Honestly, that feels like a perfect fit too, and Robinson would join former Penn State first-round pick [autotag]Odafe Oweh[/autotag] on the Baltimore defense.

Check out the full first-round mock draft from Touchdown Wire. We’ll keep tabs on how Penn State’s players move up and down throughout the mock draft process leading up to next spring’s NFL draft.

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Athlon Sports: Penn State football has 13 on preseason All-Big Ten for 2023

Penn State had the third-most players appearing on the preseason All-Big Ten list from Athlon Sports.

It’s that time of the year again when the preseason college football previews start making the rounds. Athlon Sports has not sent its annual preseason publication to the magazine racks just yet, but it has shared its preseason all-conference teams for the upcoming 2023 college football season.

The preseason All-Big Ten list from Athlon Sports was published earlier this week, and it included 13 players from Penn State’s roster scattered throughout its four-deep all-conference team. Yes, four-deep, because it is likely the best way to spread the word with school press releases and social media impressions. Only Michigan and Ohio State had more players listed than the Nittany Lions among Big Ten teams, which may be something that has come to be expected.

Here are all of the Penn State football players to make the Athlon Sports preseason All-Big Ten team.

Omari Evans and Dani Dennis-Sutton riding Blue-White Game momentum into summer

Penn State should be encouraged by the spring game performances of these tow players going into the summer.

Coming off of Saturday’s Blue-White Game, the game’s MVPs are looking to take the next step together with their team in 2023.

Defensive lineman [autotag]Dani Dennis-Sutton[/autotag] and wide receiver [autotag]Omari Evans[/autotag] were honored for their efforts and the success they had against their teammates on Saturday. Coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] spoke highly of Dennis-Sutton as “unblockable” and by all accounts he was. With two sacks in the game, he stood out when watching the defense play. Penn State struggled last season finding an effective pass rush after being spoiled by years of fruitful returns by players who were good enough to go to the NFL. Dennis-Sutton will hope the duo of himself and [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag] can give Penn State that edge on [autotag]Manny Diaz’s[/autotag] defense.

On offense, Evans emerged as a potential playmaker at wide receiver at a time when the team needs players stepping up at the position. Evans finished with a team-best five catches for 80 yards including a 28-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Drew Allar. Sadly it would be the only time any Nittany Lion reached the end zone Saturday but that production should skyrocket in the fall.

Both Evans and Dennis-Sutton play crucial positions of need for Penn State. Their performances may be enough to allow Franklin and his staff to give attention to other positions in recruiting and transfer portal. Regardless of what those two groups do, these two sophomores will be and should be expected to take the next step. If they do, this team could be looking like the complete package on both sides of the ball after being very weak at two important positions.

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Penn State defense shines in Blue-White Game

Penn State’s Blue-White Game is led by the defense and a potential contributing receiver shines.

For all of the attention that Penn State’s big playmakers on offense get, the defense was the real winner of the Blue-White Game on Saturday afternoon in  Beaver Stadium. Penn State’s 15th and final practice of the spring saw plenty of good pressure up front by Penn State’s defensive line and terrific coverage for much of the game from the pass defense, making life difficult for Penn State’s young quarterback combo of [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] and [autotag]Beau Pribula[/autotag].

Penn State’s edge rushers, specifically [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag] and [autotag]Zane Durant[/autotag], were impressive and the entire defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage for the bulk of the afternoon. Penn State’s offensive line may have some concerns as a result, although it was without one of its biggest players in Olu Fashanu. But it seemed as though the quarterbacks, who were playing for both teams in the spring game, were under constant pressure every time out, especially against the Blue team, which was comprised of mostly projected first-stringers.

While it was a quiet day for the offense, there was one player who seemed to make the most of the afternoon. Wide receiver [autotag]Omari Evans[/autotag] was the one receiver who seemed to find open spots on the field on a day when doing so seemed to prove difficult. Allar connected with Evans a few times, and Beau Pribula connected with him as well. With competition for a significant role in the receiving department as Penn State looks to find replacements for Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley, Evans came away as a spring game-winner.

Evans caught the only touchdown scored in the game, doing so on the second offensive possession led by Drew Allar in the first quarter.

Of course, the spring game is just one part of the offseason process that will ultimately lead to determining what happens in the fall. Head coach James Franklin got some good film to evaluate moving on after spring practices as decisions will have to be made about the roster. While a strong showing in a spring game can sometimes be the weight to tip a scale one way or another, it isn’t necessarily the final straw in any decisions by the coaching staff.

The good news for the Penn State offense is it won’t be facing too many defenses as the one it faced on Saturday once the 2023 season kicks off. There is some work to do, naturally, but there is time to fine-tune what is needed before the season begins.

Penn State will open the 2023 season at home against West Virginia on September 2. It should shape up to be a fun season for the Nittany Lions.

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5 Things to watch in Penn State’s spring game

Penn State’s Blue-White Game is this week. Here are five things to watch.

Football is in the air in State College in the month of April, and it is that time of year once again for the annual Blue and White Game.

Penn State’s spring game has taken it up a notch in previous years under [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and this Penn State team is coming off one of its best years in program history. With that comes expectations being raised and more eyeballs on them.

It all starts in the spring game as mentioned but it can all be boiled down to five things that need to be looked at in the Blue and White Game.

Three Penn State players make On3’s NIL Top 100

Three Penn State players made On3’s NIL Top 100 list. Where do they rank compared to the rest of the Big Ten?

Name, Image and Likeness, or NIL, is the biggest thing taking college athletics by storm. Prior to the application of NIL across amateur sports, college athletes could not receive financial compensation.

Now with NIL, athletes are able to capitalize financially while they’re still in school. There are tons of applications and nuances to what NIL does for an athlete, how the school is involved and how it impacts the sports specific programs, but the main thing it’s done is force athletic departments to be more progressive.

Every athletic department has dealt with the new rules differently. Some were immediately prepared and had a plan on what they wanted to do, while others are just now adapting.

For all intents and purposes, it seems like Penn State falls into the latter of those philosophies. It’s clear that the effort to adapt to the NIL era has become a major focus of the athletic department and boosters.

With all that said, there are three Penn State football players who made On3’s NIL Top 100 list. Those players are sophomore running back [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag], junior edge rusher [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag] and redshirt junior offensive tackle [autotag]Olu Fashanu[/autotag].

Where do they rank compared to the rest of the Big Ten football players?