Five Penn State Football Players Who Exceeded Expectations in 2024

Every football season teams have players who exceed expectations. When you have a season like the Nittany Lions did in 2024, one that goes down as one of the best in program history, the spotlight can shine even brighter on these players.

Today, we will take a look at five players who exceeded expectations for the Nittany Lions this past season. Without these five players not just having a strong 2024 season, but exceeding expectations the Nittany Lions would not have racked up a program record 13 victories on their way to coming up one play short of a trip to the National Championship Game.

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The offensive line

As I sat here compiling this list, multiple offensive linemen came to mind. So, made the decision that it was easier just to include the entire unit as a whole.

Nick Dawkins entered the season as a question mark at center, but by the end of the year was the leader of the offensive line and was doing a good job with the center's pre-snap duties. Anthony Donkoh was having a breakout season at right tackle before suffering a season ending knee injury. Nolan Rucci stepped in for Donkoh and was arguably Penn State's best offensive linemen in the postseason (for reference, the postseason includes both the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff). Rucci's play exceeded what had to be viewed as even the best case scenario for his first year in the program.

After a slow start to the season, Drew Shelton was playing at a high level by the end of the season. It was a much needed bounce back season for Shelton following a sophomore slump, albeit injury aided, in 2023. Sal Wormley remained a stalwart at right guard while Vega Ioane was a consistent run blocker whose pass blocking improved this season.

The offensive line helped pave the way for a rushing attack that averaged 202.3 yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry. The level the line played at was also a big reason why Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen were among the best running back duos in the country.

Abdul Carter

There may not have been a player on Penn State's roster with higher expectations entering the 2024 season than Abdul Carter. Despite that, the potential no. 1 overall pick in April's NFL Draft still found a way to blow past them.

In his first season playing defensive end, Carter may have been the best defensive player in the country. On his way to winning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Carter racked up 68 tackles, 12 sacks, 4 pass breakups, and a FBS leading 24 tackles for loss.

Carter also shined brightest when it meant most. He was a complete game wrecker in the first round of the College Football Playoff against SMU and was off to strong start in the Fiesta Bowl before getting hurt.

Playing with essentially one arm against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff Semi-Finals at the Orange Bowl, Carter was the best player on the field. The Fighting Irish could not block him and had he not reaggravated his injury in the second half the Nittany Lions may have been on the other side of the 3 point score and punched their ticket for the National Championship Game.

I said it after the Orange Bowl, but Carter should be no. 1 on every NFL's big board going into the NFL Draft. He is an elite pass rusher with true game wrecking ability. By being the best defensive player in college football, and doing so in his first year at a position, Carter found a way to exceed his already sky high expectations this past season.

Tyler Warren

Few players in program history put together a season quite like Tyler Warren did in 2024. In the lead up to the season James Franklin continued to hype Warren up as the best tight end in the country, and Warren's play on the field backed that up.

Warren led the Big Ten in receptions with 104 for 1,233 yards and 8 touchdowns. He rushed for 218 yards and 4 more scores on his way to putting up 1,451 yards from scrimmage.

Warren won the Mackey Award, given to the best tight end in the country, while finishing 7th in Heisman Trophy voting. Warren put together one of the best single season performances in program history and solidified himself as a first-round pick, if not a top 10 pick in April.

Jaylen Reed

Most of the talk around the Penn State safety room in August centered on KJ Winston, and for good reason. Entering the season Winston was viewed as one of the best safeties in the country and potential 1st round pick. Well, a knee injury ended his second just two series into the second game of the year, and that came on the heels of being the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week in week 1.

Well, in Winston's absence Jaylen Reed stepped up and played at an All-American level. Reed became the leader of a strong Nittany Lion secondary, and one of the leaders of the defense as a whole. He was all over the field and had a knack for big plays, maybe none being bigger than his pick-6 with Penn State trailing in the 3rd quarter at Wisconsin to flip the game.

Reed also had a big game in their victory over a top-20 Illinois team, and shined in the College Football Playoff as well. Reed made himself a lot of money with his performance as a senior, and without this performance the Nittany Lions likely would not have made a run to the College Football Playoff Semi-Finals.

Zane Durant

Penn State's defensive tackle room was viewed as deep and talented to start 2024. As the season went on, the depth would be tested due to both injury and retirement. Through it all, Zane Durant was the mainstay who anchored the group.

Durant finished the season with 42 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, and 3 sacks. But as is often the case for interior defensive linemen, the stats did not tell the whole story for Durant's season.

He was the team's best defensive tackle, one of their best defensive players, and one of the most disruptive defensive tackles in the Big Ten. The junior provided consistent pressure and blew plays up at a rate that was among the best in the conference.

After exceeding expectations in 2024, Durant will enter 2025 with very high expectations. He will be expected to be a defensive anchor for Jim Knowles and the Nittany Lions, while also being talked about as one of the best defensive tackles in the Big Ten, if not the entire FBS.