Tag: Chop Robinson

5 Penn State players ranked in top 10 at their positions by PFF

5 Penn State players made PFF’s list of Top 10 returning players at their position in the country

Penn State is coming off a very interesting 2022-23 season.

They finished the season with an 11-2 record and as Rose Bowl winners. They also lost to archrivals Michigan and Ohio State again, missing out on the College Football Playoff for the sixth year.

Normally, an 11-2 season and New Year’s Six Bowl win is seen as a great season. But frustrations and question marks continue to surround the program as they’ve yet to prove they can get over the Michigan and Ohio State hurdle.

In the last 12 meetings, Penn State has beaten Ohio State twice. They’ve beaten Michigan four times in the last 10 meetings.

Those teams are the measuring stick in the Big Ten’s eastern division and Penn State isn’t on that tier yet.

The way to start beating those teams is to raise the level of athlete that is in the program.

Coming into the 2022 season, PFF had zero Penn State returning players ranked in the top 10 at their positions.

PFF recently put out their rankings for the 2023 season and there are five Nittany Lions ranked in the top 10.

Here are the players expected to be stars this upcoming season.

PSU recruiting: Transfer receiver has Penn State in his top 5

If Penn State ios looking for a veteran transfer wide receiver, here’s one who has his eye on the Nittany Lions.

Penn State will be heading to the Rose Bowl to take on Utah to start off the new year. After that, it’s the offseason, and when it comes to the transfer portal, [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] is no stranger to that.

The past two offseasons, the Nittany Lions have utilized the transfer portal and have found great benefits from it. Last season, they brought in Temple transfer defensive end [autotag]Arnold Ebiketie[/autotag], who went on to be a second-round draft pick to Atlanta Falcons in the 2022 draft.

This season, they brought in Maryland defensive lineman [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag], Western Kentucky wide receiver [autotag]Mitchell Tinsley[/autotag] and Cornell offensive lineman [autotag]Hunter Nourzad[/autotag].

As of right now, there is a player that has Penn State in the mix for his latest list of top schools.

We’re staying on the offensive side of the ball for another pass-catcher. South Florida wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. is down to four schools: Colorado, Penn State, Houston, and Texas A&M.

According to his social media posting, it appears Horn Jr. anticipates announcing his transfer decision on Christmas. It is worth a reminder the early signing period opens up on Dec. 21. And with Colorado making a major splash hire with Deion Sanders recently, the Buffs could suddenly be an attractive candidate for almost any transfer right now.

As mentioned, the Nittany Lions brought in Tinsley, who really started to find his groove in the offense throughout the second half of the season. He finished the regular season with 528 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

Horn Jr. finished this season with 551 receiving yards and three touchdowns. South Florida also hired their new head coach over the weekend in Tennessee offensive coordinator Alex Golesh.

With [autotag]Parker Washington[/autotag] and Tinsley potentially leaving for the draft, that leaves a receiver room full of youth. The next guy in line would be [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag]. But, if Penn State can add another veteran player to pair with him, that would be a big help for [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] in his first year starting at the collegiate level for the Nittany Lions.

There are already a few pass-catchers in the transfer portal, some of which could help the Nittany Lions quite a bit. Oregon wide receiver Donte Thornton Jr. is one of them, and USF receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. is another.

With players entering the transfer portal left and right, it will be interesting to see if Penn State brings in another pass-catcher. With the Nittany Lions in his top five, Horn Jr. is a key guy to watch for Penn State transfer portal players this offseason.

[listicle id=27145]

[lawrence-related id=27175,27163,27161,27129,27136,27132,27126]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01ey902ehrs6e9bvhw player_id=none image=https://nittanylionswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

What are people saying about Penn State’s matchup at Rutgers?

Here’s what people are saying about Penn State’s matchup at Rutgers.

Penn State takes on Rutgers this week in what could likely turn into a game that could be all toward Penn State’s way.

The Nittany Lions have all the talent to prevent any sort of momentum from Rutgers.

Rutgers has plenty of weaknesses, and Penn State can take advantage of those weaknesses.

For example, the run game of the Scarlet Knights has been struggling for much of the season. That is an area where players like [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag], [autotag]Adbul Carter[/autotag] and [autotag]PJ Mustipher[/autotag] can take advantage of.

Rutgers’ passing game has also not made much noise this season. Penn State’s secondary has plenty of talent, including [autotag]Joey Porter Jr.[/autotag] (who is questionable), [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] and talented freshman corner [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag], who has had himself an impressive 2022 season with the Nittany Lions.

So, what are people saying about Penn State’s matchup? Are they predicting a Penn State blowout or upset? Let’s take a closer look at it.

Report Card: Grading Penn State’s lopsided win over Maryland

The grades are in for Penn State in the postgame report card following a decisive victory over Maryland

After a 30-0 victory over a regional rival, you would think there are plenty of high marks to award around the Penn State roster. And there are! But the final score and box score shows that the game was fueled by a strong effort by a freshman running back and a dominant defense while other areas of the roster sort of coasted on their wings. Sometimes that is OK though, especially when the rain starts coming into the picture.

Here is a look at the position grades for Penn State following its Week 11 victory over Maryland.

Quarterback

Nov 12, 2022; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford (14) looks to throw a pass during the first quarter against the Maryland Terrapins at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

Grade: B-

[autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] didn’t exactly do much in the game, outside of becoming the school’s new all-time leading passer, but he also didn’t really have to. All in all, this was an average game at best form the sixth-year senior, and that is OK given the matchup and result.

[autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] got a little more than a quarter of playing time as well, but he also didn’t have to do too much other than get Penn State to the finish line as the rain started coming down. [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag] actually finished the game.

NEXT: Running Backs

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

5 reasons why Penn State will lose to Maryland

Here are the five reasons why Penn State will lose to Maryland on Saturday.

Penn State is back home to take on Maryland this Saturday.

Despite the Terrapins coming off a 23-10 road loss at Wisconsin last weekend, they are still a .500 team.

One notable loss on their defense is [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag], who transferred to State College to play for [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] at Penn State.

The Nittany Lions have another productive transfer in Robinson, who has been quite impressive this season.

Last season, it was the Arnold Ebiketie show, who went on to be a second-round draft pick in 2022 to the Atlanta Falcons.

Penn State’s biggest loss on offense is Jahan Dotson, but they also bring back [autotag]Parker Washington[/autotag] and add Western Kentucky transfer [autotag]Mitchell Tinsley[/autotag]. Not only that, but the Nittany Lions have a productive backfield led by Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen.

Their defense lost some crucial pieces, but they have done a nice job overcoming that.

Despite Penn State’s talent, Maryland can still be productive enough to pull off the upset on the road on Saturday.

Here are the top five reasons why Penn State will lose to Maryland on Saturday.

Defensive keys to a Penn State win against Maryland

Here are the top three defensive keys to a Penn State win against Maryland on Saturday.

Penn State takes on Maryland this week in a matchup that could be more intriguing than people think.

Last season, Penn State blew out Maryland 31-14. However, both teams did not lose a ton offensively.

[autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag], Maryland transfer defensive end now at Penn State, will take on his former teammates this Saturday.

Maryland’s biggest loss on offense was tight end Chigoziem Okonwu, who was a 2022 draft pick to the Tennessee Titans.

However, the Terrapins still have their two starting receivers in Rakim Jarrett and Dontay Demus Jr. returning this season.

As for Penn State, on top of bringing in Maryland transfer Robinson, they also bring back [autotag]Parker Washington[/autotag] on offense, along with Western Kentucky transfer wide receiver [autotag]Mitchell Tinsley[/autotag].

This could definitely be a trap game for the Nittany Lions. Maryland is a good team, better than what people give them credit for. Penn State has the talent, especially defensively, to win this game on Saturday.

Here are the top three defensive keys to a Penn State win against Maryland.

Penn State football’s top 10 NIL player values in 2022

How Penn State football players stack up in NIL value according to On3

The entire college football landscape has been changed by name, image, and likeness opportunities finally being granted to all student-athletes. While some of the NIL stories surfacing around the country have certainly raised some valid questions about the future of the sport and how the NCAA handled, or mishandled, the entire situation, the bridge to this new era of college sports has officially been crossed and there may be no turning back.

A number of Penn State student-athletes have already taken advantage of the NIL possibilities they have had presented to them, including national champion wrestler Roman Bravo-Young. But how much is each football player’s NIL value entering the 2022 season?

That is where On3 comes in handy. In addition to covering recruiting in the traditional sense, On3 specializes in monitoring NIL values for players around the country. These values can change at any point in time, but here are the top 10 NIL values for Penn State players currently on the roster or committed in the Class of 2023 heading into the 2022 season.

Noticeably absent from this current snapshot of NIL values is freshman running back [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag], who already has his first NIL deal in place. But it may be safe to imagine Singleton will pop up on this list once he gets rolling.

Penn State snapshot profile: Chop Robinson

Snapshot profile of Penn State’s newest addition to the defensive line, Chop Robinson from Maryland.

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.

One of the strengths of Penn State in 2022 could end up being the defensive line. Even with the departures of a pair of NFL draft picks at defensive end, Penn State’s defensive line provides reasons for optimism this fall. Among the reasons is a new addition by way of the transfer portal with [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag]. Robinson transferred to Penn State after one season at Maryland, and he could be a name to watch in 2022.