11/8/2023 football Edit

News / Notes from James Franklin following Wednesday's practice

Zach Seyko

Staff Writer

As the Penn State Nittany Lions prepare for the Michigan Wolverines, media members were able to witness an open portion of practice late Wednesday afternoon, once again. Here are some notes and observations about the Penn State offense.

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NOTES FROM PRACTICE.....

Wide receiver Trey Wallace could not be seen at practice. Wallace has been absent from the turf since sustaining an upper body injury against the Indiana Hoosiers. I do not feel good about his availability going into the game against Michigan, but we will not know for sure until Saturday. It is a big game, so there is an off chance he could suit up for emergency reasons.

Offensive linemen JB Nelson and Caedan Wallace were taking standard reps. Nelson and Wallace were banged up in separate contests, but seem to have no restrictions. It is impressive to see Penn State’s depth at O-line fully intact to this point in the season.

Tight ends Khalil Dinkins and Andrew Rappleyea were practicing in full. Dinkins and Rappleyea were not fully available against the Ohio State Buckeyes. It showed in the play-calling, as offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich was hesitant to run the T-formation without three, trusted tight ends. Dinkins caught a touchdown against Indiana and played versus Maryland, which is an obvious indicator that he is fine. But, it is important to note their healthiness given Penn State’s reluctance to run a bread and butter play without either of these two.

A small detail I noticed at this practice was how Rappleyea dawned no. 18 instead no. 87, his normal jersey number. Penn State has scout players wear the numbers of opposing key players for its upcoming opponent to simulate who the starters will be defending. Michigan starting tight end Colston Loveland wears 18. I found it interesting that Rappleyea is a scout player, given that he seems to be ahead of Jerry Cross on the Nittany Lions’ depth chart. In my opinion, Penn State is testing Rappleyea against the starters to accelerate his development.