Penn State finished up its spring season on Saturday afternoon with the annual Blue-White game taking place at Beaver Stadium.
During the non-conventional scrimmage there were both old and new faces that stood out on the offense, showing some impressive flashes at times.
While there were positives and negatives to take away from the game, here were the primary storylines that surrounded the offensive personnel on Saturday.
QUARTERBACK
For the select few who are still wondering, there is no doubt that sixth-year quarterback Sean Clifford should be the man under center against Purdue in Week 1.
In his sixth Blue-White game, Clifford showed coaches and fans what everyone already knows in his limited time on the field, looking confident and healthy as well which is a good sign for offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.
Whether the majority of the fans agree or not, it is quite obvious that Clifford simply gives the Nittany Lions the best chance to win immediately as the inexperience and raw mechanics of the others have shown all spring. That includes Drew Allar.
The highly coveted quarterback prospect looked a bit shaky in his first Beaver Stadium appearance, throwing a few misplaced balls along with a couple of interceptions.
Christian Veilleux and Beau Pribula had some intriguing moments as well with Veilleux seeming to build off his solid outing against Rutgers last season.
The competition to monitor should be for the primary backup spot, with all three of the quarterbacks other than Clifford bringing something unique to the room.
“Sean’s [Clifford] had his best spring and Veilleux was able to build on the success he had in the Rutgers game,” Franklin said. “Sean and Veilleux had really good springs and the two young guys really flashed some potential.”
Receivers Shine
While many of the most anticipated newcomers for Penn State are a part of the incoming freshman class, one of the more highly talked about players this offseason has been Western Kentucky transfer Mitchell Tinsley.
Tinsley, who had over 1,400 yards receiving last year, caught the first touchdown of the day on a beautifully designed play that saw Sean Clifford throw a swing pass out of the backfield in the red zone.
Tinsley then shook defenders off and glided into the end zone, looking much like the former Nittany Lion receiver who wore No. 5 in Jahan Dotson.
“At wideout, with Parker [Washington] and KeAndre [Lambert-Smith] back, I thought Mitchell Tinsley came in and did some really good things,” Franklin said. [Things] that you'd expect out of a veteran wideout.”
He was not the only one to produce on Saturday, with many of the younger wideouts getting a chance to show their abilities to the coaching staff and 62,000 in attendance.
Among the best were Malick Meiga, Jaden Dottin, Harrison Wallace and returning starter KeAndre Lambert-Smith who has the potential to take a big step in 2022.
Lambert-Smith in his limited reps on Saturday displayed his playmaking and yards-after-catch ability, so if Penn State can complement Tinsley and Parker Washington with an effective KLS, then the passing game should be in good shape.
Offensive Line
One of the major talking points in the weeks leading up to Blue-White has been about the depth of Penn State’s offensive line, or lack thereof.
The primary reason for the format change to the game this season is that Penn State doesn’t have the proper bodies on the offensive line right now to make two separate teams to simulate a real game.
Thus, the program played it in an offense versus defense setting, which gave fans a chance to see the starters and key depth pieces face off against each other within the trenches.
Among the standouts on the offensive line on Saturday was left tackle Olu Fashanu, who figures to be in line to start Week 1 after his impressive Outback Bowl and spring outings.
Another name that James Franklin was sure to mention in his postgame remarks was interior offensive lineman Sal Wormley.
Wormley was a projected starter before last season and after sitting out a year due to injury he looks to be in line to start this fall.
Franklin says that there will be some steady competition at both guard spots before the season gets under way, with a mix of young players, veterans and transfers making up the depth.
“We’re gonna have a really good competition at guard,” Franklin said. “We'll still have competition in those [other] positions, but we’ll have really good competition at guard. We’ll see how that plays out, getting Salim Wormley back from injury that we lost last year is really valuable.”
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