Tag: Kaden Saunders

Penn State spring football preview: Wide receivers and tight ends

Who will be the wide receivers and tight ends to watch in Penn State spring football practices this year?

As Penn State gets ready to embark on the 2023 season, the offense will be expected to be the big storyline this fall. With a new starting quarterback taking the spotlight, it should not go without mentioning that the wide receiver position will be instrumental to Penn State’s success this season. And with its top two wide receivers and leading tight end from last season departing the program for the NFL, there is more to figure out on offense than whether or not its new quarterback is ready to take flight.

Penn State loses Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley at wide receiver and Brenton Strange at tight end. Together, that accounts for 1,550 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns to replace in the passing offense from a year ago. Fortunately, Penn State has some players ready to step up and make up for the lost production, including some young players that will continue to develop this spring.

Here is a look at what Penn State has to offer at wide receiver and tight end this spring when spring football practices open on March 14.

Keandre Lambert-Smith

Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Measurables: 6’1″, 184 lb

Year: Junior

Expected role: Starting wide receiver

KeAndre Lambert-Smith is Penn State’s top returning wide receiver from a season ago. Following the departures of Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley, Lambert-Smith has the most Penn State experience at the position, and he should remain a fixture in the offense for new starting quarterback Drew Allar to rely on stretching the field.

[autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag]

Harrison Wallace III

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Measurables: 6’1″, 196 lb

Year: Redshirt sophomore

Expected role: Possible starting wide receiver, solid contributor

Competing for a possible starting job could be Harrison Wallace III, who had 19 catches for 273 yards and a touchdown last season as a reserve option. Wallace finished sixth on the team in receiving yards in 2022 and is the third-leading receiver coming back from last year’s roster, although a pair of transfer additions to the roster means Wallace will look to make a statement this spring for consideration for an increased role in the fall.

NEXT: Key transfer additions

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Top 5 position battles heading into Penn State’s spring practices

These position battles will be heating up when Penn State opens spring football practices.

Penn State football is in a very good position overall with the way that James Franklin has this team constructed. Of course, there are a few positions that need to be sorted out still.

The position battles going on this spring will be what solidify the starting lineup. The team is very deep and whoever loses these battles shouldn’t be seen as someone not of the quality you expect from Penn State. Rather, it will speak volumes as to what the starters should be seen as which is top-level quality players.

Here are the top five position battles to monitor this spring.

2022 Penn State football: Nittany Lions’ wide receivers preview

A quick look at what Penn State has on the roster at the wide receiver position heading into the 2022 season.

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. After losing a first-round NFL draft pick in [autotag]Jahan Dotson[/autotag], Penn State has some big shoes to fill at wide receiver., Fortunately, the depth of the position could be in Penn State’s favor with the returns of [autotag]Parker Washington[/autotag] and [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] and the addition of transfer [autotag]Mitchell Tinsley[/autotag]. And there are some young receivers to look forward to as well.

Here is a look at what Penn State has on the roster at the wide receiver position for 2022, starting with the top three receivers that should be a factor with the first-team offense this fall.

Penn State in top 12 for talented four-star receiver from Philly, Tyseer Denmark

Penn State included in top 12 for four-star WR Tyseer Denmark from Philly in Class of 2024

As Penn State begins to put the finishing touches on its Class of 2023, some of the recruiting focus can now begin to shift to the Class of 2024. And keeping one of the state’s top players close to home could be a priority for James Franklin and his staff.

Wide receiver Tyseer Denmark, of Philadelphia, is a four-star recruit according to the 247Sports composite rankings and he is the No. 78 player overall in the nation and the No. 2 player overall in Pennsylvania in the Class of 2024 according to the same ranking system. Naturally, that means Franklin will do whatever he can to keep Denmark from leaving the state, and the competition just went to the next level after Washington revealed his top 12 schools.

Penn State was among the 12 schools included in Denmark’s top schools. The rest of the list is a compilation of some heavy hitters on the recruiting trail with Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Rutgers, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, and USC also making the cut.

The 5′-11″ wide receiver from Roman Catholic is clearly a hot recruiting prospect with a ton of tremendous options to weigh as he continues on his recruiting process. He would certainly be a big get for Franklin if he ultimately chooses to go to Penn State, and the Nittany Lions could be in the market for a stud receiver in the Class of 2024. [autotag]Parker Washington[/autotag] and [autotag]Mitchell Tinsley[/autotag] could both be playing in the NFL after the upcoming 2022 season and [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] isn’t far away from moving on either. Penn State has obtained some key receivers through recruiting in the Class of 2022 with a couple of four-star players in [autotag]Kaden Saunders[/autotag] and [autotag]Anthony Ivey[/autotag]. Penn State also has a couple of receivers potentially lined up with commitments from Class of 2023 four-star [autotag]Ejani Shakir[/autotag] from New Jersey and three-star in-state recruit [autotag]Yazeed Haynes[/autotag]. But adding one of the top receivers in the country in the Class of 2024 would be a nice boost for the program.

While no crystal ball predictions have been officially cast on 247Sports, the On3 recruiting prediction machine calculates Penn State as an early favorite for Denmark’s commitment. Penn State is given a 37.0% chance of securing Denmark’s commitment according to its computer model, but it is far too early in the process to know how much weight Penn State is carrying in the recruiting process for sure.

What we do know is Denmark has long been Penn State’s radar, as you might expect for a talented wide receiver from Philadelphia. Denver visited Penn State’s campus early in his recruiting process in April 2021, just two months after Penn State was one of the first schools to extend an offer (Pitt was the first, with Penn State the second a couple of weeks later). He also attended Penn State’s football camp in June 2021 and returned for an unofficial visit on campus last September for Penn State’s spotlighted primetime game against Auburn. At this time, the only other visit Denmark has made is an unofficial visit to Texas A&M back in March of this year.

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Penn State makes top 5 for four-star receiver from Ohio

Penn State makes top 5 for rising Ohio wide receiver in Class of 2023.

A player who previously was committed to another Big Ten program has included Penn State among his top schools as he inches closer to a new decision on his future. [autotag]Anthony Brown[/autotag], a four-star wide receiver from Ohio, announce his top five schools on his Twitter account on Thursday afternoon. Penn State is one of two Big Ten schools in the running for his commitment.

Brown included four schools from power conferences in his top five; Penn State, Michigan, Kentucky, and Oklahoma. Cincinnati is the fifth school on his list, the only in-state option which will become an official member of the Big 12 in 2023.

Brown attended Penn State’s junior day event in January and a football camp in June 2021. It was his attendance at that Penn State football camp that ultimately led to an offer being extended to Brown to firmly put the Nittany Lions in the running.

Kentucky is perceived as an early favorite to land the commitment from one of the rising prospects out of Ohio. Kentucky owns the only crystal ball prediction at this time on 247Sports and the On3 prediction machine gives Kentucky an 82.3% chance to receive his commitment. Just based on these two trends, it would seem as though Penn State is in an uphill battle for Brown.

One team noticeably absent from Brown’s top five is Minnesota. Brown had previously been committed to the Golden Gophers. After committing to Minnesota in September 2021, Brown reopened his recruiting in February of this year, a mere two weeks after attending Penn State’s junior day event.

Perhaps Penn State has more of a shot to land Brown’s commitment than the predictions are indicating? Only time will tell for sure.

Penn State’s Class of 2023 currently consists of two wide receivers with [autotag]Ejani Shakir[/autotag] and [autotag]Yazeed Haynes[/autotag]. Penn State’s Class of 2022 added three wide receivers with [autotag]Anthony Ivey[/autotag], [autotag]Tyler Johnson[/autotag], and [autotag]Kaden Saunders[/autotag].

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Penn State adds four-star receiver Ejani Shakir to Class of 2023

Penn State adds commitment from four-star wid receiver form New Jersey to Class of 2023

Penn State’s Class of 2023 got a little bit better on Wednesday night. [autotag]Ejani Shakir[/autotag], a four-star wide receiver from New Jersey, announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions to give Penn State’s current recruiting class an offensive weapon.

Penn State had been emerging as the favorite to secure Shakir’s commitment with West Virginia believed to be the top competition in the final stages of his recruiting process. The 6′-0″ 175-pound wide receiver is rated as a four-star prospect according to 247Sports, although the 247Sports composite ranking results in a three-star rating.

Shakir is the 12th member of Penn State’s current recruiting class for 2023 and he is the first wide receiver in the class. Penn State added [autotag]Kaden Saunders[/autotag], [autotag]Anthony Ivey[/autotag], [autotag]Omari Evans[/autotag], and [autotag]Tyler Johnson[/autotag] at the position in the Class of 2022. Penn State also welcomed Western Kentucky transfer [autotag]Mitchell Tinsley[/autotag] to the program this spring to help fill the void left by first-round draft pick [autotag]Jahan Dotson[/autotag] in the 2022 NFL draft. [autotag]Parker Washington[/autotag] and [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] are each back for the 2022 season as well.

Shakir has said he felt Penn State would be his decision for. few months, but it was best to fully evaluate his options before coming to any final decision.

“To be honest with you, I felt like I knew I was going to go there since I went up there (a while ago),” Shakir said to Lions247. “A lot of schools didn’t really reach up to their potential. I knew I was going to go there for a couple of months.”

New Jersey is an important recruiting state for Penn State, as it typically is for a number of Big Ten programs. Shakir is the first New Jersey recruit in Penn State’s Class of 2023 at this point. Shakir is the No. 7 recruit overall in the state of New Jersey according to the 247Sports composite rankings (No. 3 just according to 247Sports).

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Inside the Box Score: The key stats from Penn State’s Blue-White Game

Inside the box score with some key stats from Penn State’s Blue-White Game.

Penn State’s Blue-White Game showed the Nittany Lions are still a bit of a work in progress in some key areas, but there were still some players and developments worth being optimistic about moving into the summer. And the final box score from a spring scrimmage like Penn State’s can oftentimes be misleading or unnecessarily overanalyzed. Nonetheless, it is a starting point for evaluating just where the Nittany Lions are heading once the 2022 season begins.

So, with the caution of not wanting to get too carried away with the official stats shared by Penn State from the Blue-White Game on Saturday afternoon, let’s dive headfirst into the key stats from the final spring practice of the season before Penn State moves to the next stage of its offseason.

And why not start with the quarterback position?

Quarterbacks

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
  • [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag]: 5-of-14, 75 yards
  • [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag]: 6-of-14, 61 yards, 2 interceptions, 1 sack
  • [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag]: 4-of-7, 41 yards, 1 touchdown
  • [autotag]Beau Pribula[/autotag]: 2-of-3, 7 yards, 2 sacks

Sean Clifford had some decent production in his time on the field, including the game’s only touchdown pass (to transfer addition Mitchell Tinsley. Clifford also had the best performance from passers in seven-on-seven drills, for whatever that is worth.

Christian Veilleux had the most complete performance among those vying for backup consideration to Clifford. This could have been expected given he already has some in-game experience from last season.

Don’t get too down when reviewing the stat line for five-star quarterback Drew Allar, because he was not given much help at times by his receivers dropping passes or having a ball bounce off their hands. But he did have a number of throws that seemed to be just a tad behind his intended targets. And Beau Pribula also had some freshman moments, which was to be expected.

NEXT: Who were the top running backs in the Blue-White Game?

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Blue White Game: Staff predictions for Penn State’s spring game

It’s Blue-White Game weekend in Happy Vallery. Staff predictions and thoughts from Nittany Lions Wire for Penn State’s spring game.

Penn State will welcome fans to Beaver Stadium for a spring family reunion, as head coach James Franklin likes to call it. This weekend will see spring football practices come to a close with the annual Blue-White Game, Penn State’s spring game extravaganza. This year sees fans back in the stands and the game will utilize a modified scoring system in an offense-vs-defense structure to accommodate roster depth concerns on the offensive line.

Our staff has come together to share some of our final thoughts and predictions for what will happen in this weekend’s spring game. Feel free to share your thoughts and predictions with us on Twitter or in our comment section below the post.

Sam Dehrig, Contributor

I think this will be a game of upperclassman. A few will jump out here and there from the class of 2022. Guys like [autotag]Dani Dennis-Sutton[/autotag] and [autotag]Kaden Saunders[/autotag]. I’m a big fan of Saunders. A few months ago, James Franklin said Saunders reminds him of a mixture of [autotag]KJ Hamler[/autotag] and [autotag]Jahan Dotson[/autotag].

I also think [autotag]Parker Washington[/autotag] pops off this season. [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] Is another player that deserves more attention. He is my guy to watch out for in this spring game.

Andrew Harbaugh, Contributor

I think we get to see the new faces take center stage after some old ones get some shine. Sean Clifford is obviously the elder statesman of the team but it does seem that there is a youth movement going on with this Nittany Lion team. I expect guys like Drew Allar and Nick Singleton to get a lot of work to honestly be a pitch to recruits who will be visiting the game.

How can this serve as a pitch to recruits? If the freshman class shows out in what time they earn it shows that Penn State is already developing these players into potential starters and rotational roles. What better thing can you see when deciding which program is best for me and my career if you are a recruit? Not to mention the NFL players like Mike Gesicki and Micah Parsons coming back as well, expect some recruiting news as well within the next week from the game.

Kevin McGuire, Editor

The most important thing I wanted to see this weekend was the development of the offensive line, but Penn State is using a modified scoring system to accommodate a shortage of available linemen. So instead, my focus shifts more to the linebackers and the quarterbacks. I don’t need to see much of [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag], and I suspect we won’t see a ton of the returning starter. So I think we will get a solid showing from [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag] to make his case for being the backup to Clifford this season, holding off the eventual reign of [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag].

I think Veilleux gets the majority of the offensive reps and performs well enough to enter the summer with a strong case to be Clifford’s first backup option in the fall.

I’m also calling it now. [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag] is going to have a pick-six, much like last year’s open scrimmage in front of fans.

Attendance will be around 52,000.

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PHOTOS: Twitter captures images from Penn State’s first week of spring football practices

Check out these images from Penn State’s first week of spring football practices in Happy Valley.

Penn State opened its first week of spring football practices this week in Happy Valley with a mix of legitimate questions about the team in 2022 and optimism for the future it holds. Early enrollees such as quarterback Drew Allar and running back Nick Singleton and wide receiver Kaden Saunders got their first taste of spring football practices and new defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has officially started working with his new roster of defensive players.

For Pen State to have success later in the fall, the work being done in the spring will be critical as the Nittany Lions look to rebound from two seasons of .500 football. But just as spring training in baseball is a breath of fresh air for every team, spring football practices at Penn State allow for a sense of renewed pride and drive for the entire program.

Here are the top images shared on Twitter from Penn State’s first week of spring football practices.

Penn State also held its annual pro day for NFL draft hopefuls, including Arnold Ebiketie, Jahan Dotson and Jaquan Brisker, this week. Head coach James Franklin also opened the week of practices with his traditional spring press conference.

Penn State will conclude spring football practices with the annual Blue-White Game on Saturday, April 23.

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Penn State announces uniform numbers for new players

Penn State has confirmed the jersey numbers for 10 new players in the program as spring football practices open

Penn State officially kicks off the spring football practice season on Monday, and a handful of new faces will get their first taste of spring football in Happy Valley. A number of early transfers from Penn State’s highly-touted Class of 2022 and a key addition through the transfer portal are getting to work with returning members of the program as Penn State looks to set the tone for what they hope will be a better 2022 season.

And with the start of spring football practices comes an official update to the roster, including a batch of new jersey numbers for the newest members of the program.

Penn State officially announced a batch of new uniform numbers for its newest players on the roster, including Western Kentucky transfer wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley, and Class of 2022 running back Nick Singleton and quarterback Drew Allar.

Here are the jersey numbers for 10 new players to the Penn State roster in 2022.

  • 5 – Mitchell Tinsley, wide receiver
  • 7 – Kaden Saunders, wide receiver
  • 9 – Beau Pribula, quarterback
  • 10 – Nick Singleton, running back
  • 13 – Kaytron Allen, running back
  • 15 – Drew Allar, quarterback
  • 18 – Omari Evans, wide receiver
  • 28 – Zane Durant, defensive tackle
  • 55 – JB Nelson, offensive line
  • 88 – Jerry Cross, tight end

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