OPINION: It's time for Penn State's youth movement
Perspective can be a funny thing....
Sometimes it's hard to look at things from different perspectives. Right now, most Penn State fans are sitting back and are unhappy with the program's performance in two of the last three weeks. Against the Nittany Lions' two biggest opponents of the season, Michigan and Ohio State, the program was 0-2 and was outscored 85-48. While neither program may fit the true definition of a rival, for most Penn State fans, it comes down to those two games of the season and how that season is measured.
Ultimately, despite the two losses, Penn State's chances of winning out the remainder of the schedule are considerably high. All their remaining games are manageable opponents and opponents they should beat.
Indiana is 3-5 and losers of five straight, Maryland presents perhaps the biggest challenge but the Nittany Lions will get the Terrapins at home and match up well. Rutgers is improved on defense but their offense is still among the worst in all of college football while Michigan State has regressed drastically from a season ago and is 3-5 this season. Penn State will be favored in each of these four remaining games.
All in all, if Penn State does in fact go 10-2 on the season, it should be seen as a resounding success in terms of the big picture. After what has been a disappointing last two seasons in Happy Valley, going 10-2 with a great chance of heading to a New Years Six bowl game would be a big accomplishment for the program in what is a transition season.
But for a lot of fans, a 10-2 season with those two losses to Michigan and Ohio State will feel quite empty. After all, while the Nittany Lions may have re-established themselves as the Big Ten's clear No.3 program, the gap between not just Ohio State and Penn State but the gap between Ohio State/Michigan and Penn State has seemed as big as it has been since 2015 or 2016.
So from one perspective, a 10-2 season would be a great accomplishment, on the other, a 10-2 season with the losses and in the fashion they were, would feel a bit empty. But that's what comes with looking at different perspectives.
Now, you've read those first few paragraphs and probably are wondering what this has to do with Penn State's youth movement as mentioned in the title. Here's how.
James Franklin over the remainder of the regular season and whatever bowl game Penn State ends up in must change the perspective of how he's looked at his program this season and what lies ahead.
The Nittany Lions brought in one of the best-recruiting classes in the 2022 recruiting cycle. A lot of those recruits have played so far; QB Drew Allar, RB Kaytron Allen, LB Abdul Carter, DE Dani Dennis-Sutton, DT Zane Durant, WR Omari Evans, CB Cam Miller, RB Nick Singleton, S KJ Winston, have all burned their redshirts this season. Quite a few of them have seen their roles grow as the season progresses, some have not.
That being said, with the College Football Playoffs, not a possibility at this point for Penn State and a manageable schedule the rest of the way, this is no longer the time for loyalty from James Franklin toward his older players. The time is to start building toward the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Remember how I said above that the gap between Ohio State/Michigan and Penn State maybe as big as it has been since 2015 and 2016?
There's really not much time for Penn State to shrink that gap because once the conference expands in 2024 with USC entering the mix as well as UCLA and whoever else decides to join, the potential for Penn State to fall down the pecking order is quite possible. USC under Lincoln Reilly surely has the potential to become the USC of the 2000s. Michigan, after having its own disappointing 2020 season has become one of the country's elite. Penn State on the other hand? While a 10-2 season is a nice rebound, one can't help but feel the program is stuck at the very least, in neutral since the 2019 season.
However, the Nittany Lions' 2022 recruiting class and even their 2021 recruiting class is one thing that could help give the program a boost heading into the new landscape of college football and that of course starts with the quarterback position.
Sean Clifford and Drew Allar:
Sean Clifford deserves a lot of respect for what he's done over his four years as Penn State's starter.
Overall, he's been an above-average college quarterback who has usually given Penn State a chance to win almost every game they've played in. Sometimes to his own faults and at other times, not so much, Penn State has failed to pull out quite a bit of winnable games. That being said, very few quarterbacks have taken beatings as he has both on the field and off.
No, he didn't deliver Penn State another Big Ten Championship or take them to the College Football Playoff but as said above, he gave Penn State a chance to win almost any given week. We can discuss Clifford's legacy as a Nittany Lion in the offseason, but right now, it's time for Penn State to begin planning for the future.
"He's earned the right to play," is what James Franklin said about Clifford a few weeks ago and when it comes to playing Clifford or Allar. That perspective was fine at the time and on paper is still a fine perspective to have. But at this juncture of the season, with their toughest games behind them and an incredibly important offseason coming up leading into an even more important 2023 when it comes to the future of the program, it's time for Franklin to begin moving towards that future.
Franklin the past has been open about his loyalty to players and how it can even be seen as a fault. Perhaps, there's no player in his tenure at Penn State that Franklin has shown as much loyalty to, and while this isn't professional football, Franklin needs to look at the remainder of the season in the light of it being a "business decision".
While Sean Clifford can still receive a considerable amount of playing time going forward, there is no reason for Drew Allar to NOT get his fair share of drives in each of the Nittany Lions' remaining games. His redshirt is already burned and whether or not Franklin will admit it, a lot of the program's future rides on Allar's shoulders. The Medina (OH) native is Penn State's first truly elite quarterback prospect since Christian Hackenberg and presents the hope and opportunity of taking the program to new heights. In today's college football world, it's nearly impossible to win without an elite quarterback, unless you have a generational defense like Georgia did last season. While Penn State's defenses have often been amongst the best in the country, there are no early signs they'll be generational in the next two years.
Allar has taken his fair of snaps this season but has attempted just 31 attempts this season including just 15 in conference play. While the remainder of the season will still present a small sample size, it's a sample size that Penn State must take advantage of. While it also won't be a sole decider in any major decisions regarding this offseason or next season, it will give the program the opportunity to see what the true freshman can do for an extended amount of time. Sure, it may go ugly or it could go super well, either way, the playing time for Allar could prove pivotal down the road in his development, especially with a season opener next season against West Virginia. While the Mountaineers are not expected to become anything of major note heading into next season, taking a middle-of-the-pack Power Five program is a much different start to the season than a Group of Five or FCS opponent.
Heading into next season with Allar only throwing a game full of passes this season would be a failure in preparing for the future. Now, I expect Allar to get some playing time going forward but it can't just be for a series here or there or perhaps an entire fourth quarter in a blowout situation. At one point or another, Franklin and his coaching staff have to put Allar out there early and often. Get him looks against Big Ten starters, and see what he can do with the starting offense, many of whom will be back in 2023. Giving him just looks against second and third-string defenses when you're already up 20, or 30 points won't equate to many learning experiences down the road.
That could mean giving him a start and giving him an entire first quarter or first half. When he's hot, leave him in and ride the hot hand. If he throws an interception, allow him to learn from it and bounce back. Yes, it's okay to still play Sean Clifford, but James Franklin must be willing to give Allar a large chunk of the snaps over the remainder of the season. In an ideal situation, it should be somewhat close to a 50/50 split. Will that happen? Who knows.
But by giving Allar a large number of snaps, somewhere around 50-60% or more over the remainder of the season, Penn State is moving toward the future and getting those key developmental snaps in. Would you rather him make a terrible mistake now or would you rather it in a potentially pivotal game next season, perhaps in a fashion that he could've learned from had he gotten the opportunity this season? It shouldn't be a difficult question to answer.
But if they would choose to play Clifford a significant amount the rest of the way, it would be a head-scratching decision. A quality quarterback that you know will give you a chance to win a game every time out but at this juncture, playing Clifford for a majority of the snaps (65%-75%+) would simply be a complete oversight of the future.
The truth is, even if Sean Clifford goes out and has four tremendous, career games, it's not going to change the trajectory of the program or Clifford's post-Penn State football career. While he may get a chance in an NFL training camp and even perhaps hang around for a year or two, Sean Clifford doesn't project to be an NFL quarterback long-term and everyone knows he's set up for great success off the field whenever his playing career does come to an end. If there's any quarterback who would understand that it's simply a business decision for the program to start moving toward the future, it would be Clifford.
At the end of the day, it's simple. Drew Allar represents the future of Penn State football and is arguably the program's best chance to take that next step into becoming an elite college football program. The need to put him out there and get him these snaps greatly outweighs almost any con of putting him out there in these situations.
Also, to Franklin's comments regarding questions about the quarterback situation coming off, "as if this game is not really important,"? It's simple, based on what we've seen in-game situations this season, the potential dropoff to Sean Clifford from Drew Allar doesn't seem to be all too drastic, many will argue there's no drop off at all. That's nothing against Sean Clifford but the arm talent that Allar has shown in his small sample size of snaps thus far is phenomenal, his instincts are phenomenal.
At one point or another, Penn State has to let Drew Allar sink or swim and a road trip to Bloomington on Saturday in an environment that will not be hostile and against a team that is losers of five straight is a great time to start letting him do just that.
It doesn't stop at the quarterback...
As we listed above, Penn State has played quite a bit of their top freshmen this season and that cannot be understated in importance. James Franklin in the preseason spoke to the importance of building depth in the program and getting young talent playing time and he's done just that. That being said, it cannot stop, it must only continue and grow.
Running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton have been getting a majority of the snaps for most of the season and barring injury that's unlikely to change.
Linebacker Abdul Carter's role has grown immensely over the last few weeks and is likely to continue. It's clear that Carter is perhaps already Penn State's best linebacker when on the field and he's only gotten better each week.
Defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton's role is slowly growing and should continue to grow. He has a chance to be a game wrecker off the end for Penn State and once he puts it all together could be a truly dominant force. Defensive tackle Zane Durant despite being a bit undersized but has shown flashes, his playing time should continue to increase as he's seen as an important part of the Nittany Lions defensive tackle rotation in the future.
Wide receiver Omari Evans has seen more and more snaps recently and that trend should continue. He has elite speed and can be a tremendous asset to the offense going forward much in the mold of a KJ Hamler-type wide receiver. Then there are members of the secondary in Cam Miller and KJ Winston who both have flashed as true freshmen and will look to continue Penn State's success in the secondary in 2023 and beyond.
Outside of, Allen, Singleton, and Carter, the rest don't need to receive a large majority of the snaps but ensuring that they receive a quality portion of snaps going forward will also be incredibly important. Practice snaps are great but it's impossible to simulate real game snaps in practice. They don't need to see starter-level snaps but getting them out there as much as you can albeit in the right situations is going to be key for going into next season.
Getting other true freshmen such as WR Kaden Saunders and LB Keon Wylie some action down the stretch wouldn't be the worst of ideas either. You don't have to burn their redshirt but what is there to lose in playing them in two additional games to get to their four allotted games?
Again, going back to Franklin's "as if this game is not really important," comment from Tuesday. I offer one last rebuttal.
Yes, you play to win the game, but based on the skill talent of some of Penn State's true freshmen (and even redshirt freshmen) talent compared to those veterans that are playing ahead of them, the gap is not that big. While you wouldn't necessarily want to put all of them out on the field at the same time, getting one or two of them snaps here or there in situations that matter likely doesn't drastically change Penn State's ceiling or potential for the rest of the season.
Sure, there's a chance the games are closer than they should be on paper when leaning towards a youth movement, or you may even drop a game that you should win but that possibility shouldn't stop it from happening.
. Take the lumps, bumps, and bruises of inexperience now rather than next season when they will matter all that much more. While it may result in a 9-3 record this season, it could also be a big reason Penn State beats the likes of Michigan and Ohio State, win a Big Ten Championship, and perhaps even find yourself in the College Football Playoff down the road.
Sure that's all possible even if they decided not to go in the direction of a youth movement but ultimately, at this point in the season, and with what the youth has shown thus far, there are very few reasons not to go in that direction.
The last nugget and opinion I will leave are that in the case Penn State does go with the youth movement over the remainder of the season even if that means just looking moreso at quarterback. In the potential scenario of Drew Allar playing a large number of snaps, playing as well as any Penn State fan can realistically hope and the Nittany Lions still go 10-2 or even 11-2 with a bowl game victory? One could argue that would be the most momentum Penn State would have since the 2016 or 2017 seasons.
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