Tag: Juice Scruggs

Every Penn State player on Athlon Sports preseason All-Big Ten selections

What Penn State players made the Athlon Sports preseason All-Big Ten roster for 2022?

The preseason accolades and honors are beginning to flow this summer. Athlon Sports released its preseason all-conference teams as the annual preseason magazine begins to hit newsstands, and the Big Ten preseason all-conference teams have a nice handful of Penn State players sprinkled throughout. Defense is the story of Penn State’s preseason All-Big Ten honorees from Athlon Sports with two defensive fixtures named first-team All-Big Ten for the preseason.

Defensive lineman [autotag]PJ Mustipher[/autotag] and safety [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] each appeared on the preseason All-Big Ten defense first team from Athlon Sports, and cornerback [autotag]Joey Porter Jr. [/autotag]and linebacker [autotag]Curtis Jacobs[/autotag] made the second team.

In all, Penn State has eight players appearing on Athlon Sports’ four-deep All-Big Ten preseason team, with five defensive players and three offensive players. A notable exemption from the list is quarterback [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag], who is returning for his sixth season in Happy Valley. The preseason All-Big Ten quarterback according to Athlon Sports includes CJ Stroud of Ohio State, Aidan O’Connell of Purdue, Taulia Tagovailoa of Maryland, and Payton Thorne of Michigan State.

You can check out the entire Athlon Sports preseason All-Big Ten teams here, but below is a look at where each Penn State player landed in the preseason mix.

5 spring football questions for the Penn State offense

Will Sean Clifford really be challenged this spring? Can a freshman become the main running back? That and more pressing questions for Penn State’s offense this spring.

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The beginning of March can only mean one thing in Happy Valley. Because it looks like this will be another year without a spot in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, the focus can easily shift to the start of spring football practices. And once again we enter spring practices with Penn State likely feeling they need to prove something to their critics in 2022. If last year’s spring was about proving to the doubters that 2020 was a mere fluke, then this spring has to find a new way to deliver the message and set the tone after seeing a once-promising 2021 season unravel in the way it did.

Fortunately for Penn State, the program has some good pieces in place to begin setting the tone for some redemption in the upcoming season, but this is not a spring without a handful of big questions that must be addressed beginning 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 will address the defense next week).

Who stood out at Penn State’s first winter football workout?

Penn State coaches named their standout players from the first day of winter workouts.

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It was just over a month ago that the final game of Penn State’s 2021 season was played, and spring football is still a little more than a month away. But winter workouts are underway in Happy Valley as the Nittany Lions begin preparing for what they hope will be a big rebound season, and some new faces are starting to get to the grind with their new teammates.

Winter workouts officially got underway bright and early Tuesday morning and assistant coaches made sure to spread some encouraging news about who showed up to compete in the practice sessions.

Both coordinators took to their Twitter accounts to share who their unit’s best player was. Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich named starting quarterback and team captain Sean Clifford as the offensive competitor of the day. Clifford announced his return for a rare sixth year of eligibility prior to Penn State’s appearance in the Outback Bowl. It will be the first offseason in which Clifford has had the same offensive coordinator to work with leading into a new season, and Clifford would like to make up for a few down moments in 2021 in his final year of eligibility.

Penn State’s new defensive coordinator, Manny Diaz, also went with a team captain for his defensive competitor of the day, with Jonathan Sutherland getting the props of the day from the new defensive playcaller. Sutherland has been a standout on special teams during his time at Penn State, with some defense mixed in. But Sutherland is expected to be a top candidate to take on a larger role in the defense in 2022.

Other notable players from Penn State’s first winter workout included cornerback Kalen King, defensive end Nick Tarburton, cornerback Ji’Ayir Brown, running back Keyvone Lee, wide receiver Jaden Dottin, tight end Tyler Warren, offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, and punter Barney Amor.

These winter workouts are the first that have been opened to early enrollees in Penn State’s Class of 2022, so we will be keeping an eye out for possible shoutouts from the coaching staff for any of the new faces in the crowd. Penn State will eventually be adding to its roster with other recruits in the Class of 2022 that have not enrolled early and any possible additions from the transfer portal, including recent commit from Cornell, Hunter Nourzad.

Penn State’s spring game, the Blue-White Game, is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 23 in Beaver Stadium.

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What Penn State players were named All-Big Ten for 2021?

What Penn State players received all-Big Ten honors or honorable mention from B1G coaches and media in 2021?

Award season is upon us, and a number of Penn State players are receiving Big Ten accolades. The Big Ten unveiled its all-Big Ten rosters for the 2021 season as selected by the coaches and media around the conference. The Penn State defense landed two first-team All-Big Ten players after a very strong season.

Jaquan Brisker was one of four defensive backs to receive first-team accolades by the Big Ten coaches. Brisker joined Michigan’s Dax Hill and the Iowa duo of Dane Belton and Riley Moss on the first-team list.

Defensive lineman Arnold Ebiketie also landed on the first team after an impressive fall season after transferring from Temple. Ebikeitie was listed on the first-team defensive line along with Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson, Ohio State’s Haskell Garrett, and Purdue’s George Karlaftis. That would be one monster of a defensive line, for sure.

Jahan Dotson was the only Penn State player to receive All-Big Ten recognition on offense. Dotson was named to the second-team All-Big Ten along with Garrett Wilson of Ohio State. Ohio State’s Chris Olave and Purdue’s David Bell took the first-team honors.

On special teams, punter Jordan Stout was named first-team All-Big Ten. Of course, that should have been expected after Stout was named the Big Ten’s punter of the year. Dotson also received a third-team nod for All-Big Ten as a return specialist.

PJ Mustipher and Ellis Brooks each appeared on the second-team defense. Brandon Smith, Ji’Ayir Brown, and Joey Porter Jr. all appeared on the third team All-Big Ten list.

Sean Clifford, Juice Scruggs, and Rasheed Walker all earned honorable mention for the offense by the coaches. Walker was named third-team All-Big Ten by the Big Ten media, while Brenton Strange and Mike Miranda received an honorable mention by the media. Defensive honorable mentions went to Tariq Castro-Fields and Jesse Luketa as well. Luketa received third-team All-Big Ten by the media. the media also gave honorable mention nods to Mustipher, Brooks, Brown, and Curtis Jacobs in addition to those appearing on the coaches honorable mentions list.

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Here is every Penn State player on PFF’s preseason All-Big Ten team

Eight Penn State platers appear on PFF’s preseason All-Big Ten team for 2021, including a couple of First-Team honors.

The Pro Football Focus preseason All-American team may have been light on Nittany Lion representation, but the eAll-Big Ten team is a different story. As you would expect,m once you focus on just one conference, Penn State figures to receive much more attention in forming a preseason All-Big Ten team. And the PFF preseason All-Big Ten team entering the 2021 season is certainly proof of that.

In all, eight players appear on the PFF All-Big ten team at least once as a First-Team, Second-Team, Third-Team, or honorable mention on offense, defense, or special teams. Wide receiver Jahan Dotson actually appears twice on the preseason All-Big Ten list as both a wide receiver and as a punt returner.

You can check out the full PFF preseason All-Big ten roster here. Below is a full list of which Penn State players are named on the list.

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Penn State announces 2021 spring football awards

Freshman Kalen King and veterans Sean Clifford and Tariq Castro-Fields were among the spring winners for Penn State football practices.

Penn State brought their spring football practices to a close on Friday evening in Beaver Stadium in front of a limited number of fans. Before James Franklin and his staff get too deep into their next stages of the offseason schedule, Penn State coaches handed out their post-spring awards to players who stood out this spring.

Freshman Kalen King certainly left a big impact on the coaching staff with an impressive spring, and veteran leaders like Sean Clifford and Tariq Castro-Fields have continued to display their leadership skills on and off the practice field.

Here is a look at the Penn State spring football award winners, as announced by the program on Monday.