What I know about Penn State after Week 1: Abdul Carter’s shaky day, Julian Fleming’s debut (2024)

It was about as good of a season opener as Penn State could have hoped for, a road win that hit on everything this offense was promised to be under new coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.

The Nittany Lions offense was explosive. It was creative. Its best players touched the football. And although the last detail might seem way too simplistic, after last season, it’s notable. Last season, receiver Omari Evans disappeared for long stretches only to reemerge late in the year. His 55-yard catch late in the first half on Saturday led to the turning point of the game. Last season, questions about if and when Nick Singleton would rush for 100 yards became a weekly storyline. Saturday, he looked like the Singleton of old, ripping off 114 yards on 13 carries. Eighty of those yards came on two plays.

Quarterback Drew Allar, who at times last year looked scared to make a mistake, was lighting into the referee and barking at defenders after he stiff-armed linebacker Josiah Trotter to the ground. And his backup Beau Pribula? He played 19 snaps, and not because Penn State had a commanding lead late in the game but by design. This offense looked and felt different.

So here’s how this will work. I’ll empty the notebook here throughout the season with what I think I’ve learned about this team. Maybe they’ll prove me right or wrong in the coming weeks and months. After the 34-12 win against West Virginia, this is what I think I know.

1. This offense has the ingredients to be a Playoff contender

Who knows which way West Virginia’s season goes, but Penn State’s offensive performance Saturday flashed everything you could want to compete with high-level opponents, from the creative coordinator to the confident quarterback to the overall talent level. It was fun to watch a massive offensive lineman go in motion and see the backup quarterback run a speed option. So much of this season hinges on the offense being less erratic and more explosive. Kotelnicki’s attack will look a little different each week, but so far it looks like head coach James Franklin made a brilliant hire.

With the win, Penn State now has the fifth-highest odds to make the College Football Playoff at 74 percent, according toThe Athletic’s projections. It’s behind only Georgia, Ohio State, Texas and Oregon.

2. Nick Singleton is as explosive as ever

With all the preseason conversation about Allar and the receiving corps, it was easy to forget that Singleton was coming off an underwhelming season of his own. Singleton has re-entered the conversation of the best running backs in college football.

There are going to be weeks when Kaytron Allen stars and Singleton takes a backseat. It will be a tricky balancing act to make sure the close friends are both satisfied with their workloads. They’ve bought into the idea of a timeshare for a long time and its utility in getting both of them to the NFL as healthy as possible. Per TruMedia, Singleton played 27 snaps on offense, Allen 30. Penn State also wants to get both on the field at the same time, which it did against West Virginia.

3. Julian Fleming’s role will grow

One of Penn State’s most important transfer portal additions, the veteran receiver did not start and wasn’t even targeted. Is that a reason for concern? I don’t think so.

A good indicator of how the staff feels about any player is by looking at the snap counts. Harrison Wallace III and Liam Clifford started, with Wallace earning the target on half of Penn State’s 18 pass attempts. However, it was Fleming, not Clifford, whose 35 snaps tied with Wallace for the lead among the receivers.

Fleming’s willingness as a blocker is part of why I believe he’s going to have a significant role. No, he didn’t transfer in just to block, but when Penn State has more than 18 pass attempts in a game, he certainly should be in the mix. It’s important to also note that Evans played 31 snaps, third most among receivers, while Clifford logged 21. The only other receiver to take snaps with the offense was Tyler Johnson (5). Kaden Saunders didn’t record a snap on offense, but he did see the field after dealing with an injury this preseason, fielding all four punts as fair catches. I’m curious to see how his role evolves in the coming weeks.

4. Phil Trautwein replaced three starters, and few noticed

The days of the offensive line being the punching bag for the offense’s struggles are long gone, and Trautwein deserves a lot of credit for overhauling the position group. Consider that this offseason Penn State had to replace Olu Fashanu, Caedan Wallace and Hunter Nourzad, and Penn State still ran the ball for 222 yards and didn’t surrender a sack.

Franklin said this preseason that the Nittany Lions could play at least eight offensive linemen in the opener. They played 10: Nick Dawkins (50 snaps), Vega Ioane (50 snaps), Drew Shelton (50), Anthony Donkoh (50), Sal Wormley (40), JB Nelson (20), Cooper Cousins (12), Nolan Rucci (11), Dom Rulli (10) and J’ven Williams (10).

The expected rotation at right tackle between Donkoh and Rucci never materialized. A year ago, Donkoh had yet to even play tackle in practice. Now he’s starting, playing the majority of reps in favor of an experienced lineman who was once among one of the most coveted recruits in the country. Donkoh’s development is impressive, but the fact Penn State has developed this much quality depth is also notable.

5. The Pribula package will be polarizing

Either you’ll love it or hate it, but it’s here to stay. In fact, Franklin said Penn State went for a two-point conversion in part because it wanted to get Pribula involved.

“Beau’s gonna be a big part of what we’re doing moving forward,” Franklin said.

The flip side of this is either taking the ball out of Allar’s hands or taking another player off the field to put Pribula on. There are going to be moments when this works and moments when Pribula’s insertion seemingly stalls the offense.

For the record, I like it. We’ve consistently heard that Pribula’s change of direction makes him one of the best athletes on this offense. Pribula played a total of 19 snaps on Saturday, some of them with him and Allar both on the field. His 19-yard touchdown to Tyler Warren was a highlight.

6. Abdul Carter looked like he was playing a new position

Even the best athletes have to overcome a learning curve. Carter was twice flagged for being offside in his first game moving from linebacker to defensive end and also earned a personal foul for a late hit out of bounds. There were still plays in which his explosiveness, speed and power shone through, and the scouts who lined the sideline to watch him warm up no doubt took note. I’m curious how many game reps Carter will need to settle in. The next two games won’t be a great indicator given the dip in the quality of competition.

7. Jaylen Reed’s move to the Lion position will make him invaluable

Penn State started the game in 4-2-5 personnel, with Reed at the Lion position and Zakee Wheatley at safety. Tony Rojas and Kobe King were the linebackers. Reed spent all offseason working in the Lion role, a showcase spot for versatile players in Tom Allen’s defense that could serve as a strongside linebacker, a nickel corner or a safety. Reed, who has no issue being physical and playing in the box, has held onto the role since testing it out in the spring. It certainly looked like the perfect fit as he was flying all over the field. When Reed got the wind knocked out of him, cornerback Cam Miller briefly filled in at Lion.

Per TruMedia, Penn State played nickel on 62.1 percent of defensive snaps against West Virginia, up from playing 28.1 percent of its snaps in nickel last year. Yet again, there’s so much depth in this secondary. Six cornerbacks recorded snaps with the defense: A.J. Harris (51), Jalen Kimber (45), Miller (20), Elliot Washington II (15), Audavion Collins (12) and Zion Tracy (3). So yes, the two corners who saw the most work arrived in January from SEC programs via the transfer portal.

8. There’s uncertainty at kicker

Sander Sahaydak handled extra points and took the team’s lone field goal attempt late in the game. Sahaydak was 4 for 4 on extra points but missed the 47-yard field goal wide right. The kicking competition between Sahaydak, Ryan Barker and Chase Meyer was close all preseason, Franklin said. Sahaydak clearly won the job, but the rest of nonconference play will be full of opportunities to either build his confidence or reopen the competition.

(Photo: Ben Queen / USA Today)

Audrey Snyder has covered Penn State since 2012 for various outlets, including The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Patriot-News and DKPittsburghSports. Snyder is an active member of the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM) and is the professional adviser for Penn State’s student chapter. Follow Audrey on Twitter @audsnyder4