Over the weekend, Penn State wrapped up its 2025 spring practices with its annual Blue White Spring Game. With the dust settled and all attention now looking towards the summer and spring, Happy Valley Insider takes a crack at projecting the Nittany Lions' offensive depth chart for their week one matchup against Nevada.
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QUARTERBACK
1. Drew Allar - Sr.
2. Jaxon Smolik - RS SO, OR Ethan Grunkemeyer - RS FR
3. Jack Lambert - RS SO, OR Bekkem Kritza - FR
The starting quarterback position is obviously locked in with Drew Allar; barring any sort of injury, the senior quarterback will be leading the Nittany Lions onto the field on August 30 against Nevada. The backup quarterback job is up for debate and will carry into the fall.
Ethan Grunkemeyer came into the spring as the favorite to win the backup job, but Jaxon Smolik put together a great spring, including a strong Blue White Game performance. He'll have a legitimate chance to win the battle in the fall.
RUNNING BACK
1. Nick Singleton - SR OR Kaytron Allen - SR
2. Quinton Martin Jr. - RS FR
3. Cam Wallace - RS SO
4. Corey Smith - RS FR
Again, the starters here are locked in with Signleton and Allen. Two of the most productive backs in program history, they'll have a chance to finish No.1 and No.2 in all-time rushing yards with the program by season's end.
Behind them is a much bigger question mark. The Nittany Lions have a great stable of talent behind the pair of seniors, but how the depth chart will sort itself out remains to be seen. Right now, we'll give Quinton Martin Jr a bit of an edge in that No. 3 job with Cam Wallace and Corey Smith right behind him.
Watch out for true freshman Tiqwai Hayes to also get some snaps this fall.
WIDE RECEIVER
X - Kyron Hudson - RS SR, Peter Gonzalez - RS FR, Matthew Outten - FR
Z - Devonte Ross - SR, Liam Clifford - RS SR, Kaden Saunders - RS JR, OR Koby Howard - FR
SL - Trebor Pena - RS SR, Tyseer Denmark - RS FR, Kaden Saunders - RS JR
The wide receiver room is still very much a work in progress for Penn State, but coming out of spring practices, I think the Nittany Lions have four or five legitimate receivers that they can trust weekly.
The revamped room will likely feature a trio of transfers at starters in Kyron Hudson, Devonte Ross, and Trebor Pena. All three have a history of production and raise the floor and the ceiling of the room significantly. Redshirt senior Liam Clifford may not be anything overly special on the field, but he's a solid option that can be trusted to catch the ball more than not when it's thrown his way, while redshirt freshman Tyseer Denmark is expected to take a notable step forward this upcoming fall.
TIGHT END
1. Khalil Dinkins - RS SR
2. Luke Reynolds - SO
3. Andrew Rapplyea - RS SO
4. Joey Schlaffer - RS SO
We're pretty confident at this point that Khalil Dinkins will be the starting tight end in week one against Nevada. The veteran pass catcher was one of the few tight ends healthy this entire spring, and that should play into his hands quite well heading into fall camp.
How the depth chart falls behind Dinkins remains to be seen as Luke Reynolds missed parts of the spring while Andrew Rapplyea continues to work his way back from his season-ending injury from last September.
We don't expect any of the true freshman to really have an impact this fall though notably Brian Kortovich did get significant snaps during the Blue White game, but that was more due to necessity than anything else.
Joey Schlaffer could be a name to watch as a potential rotational option this season. He's likely entering the season as the No.4 tight end and would be an injury away from seeing his fair share of snaps.
OFFENSIVE LINE
LT - Drew Shelton - SR, Eagan Boyer - RS FR
LG - Vega Ioane - RS JR, J'ven Williams - RS SO
C - Nick Dawkins - RS SR, Dominic Rulli - RS JR
RG - Cooper Cousins - SO, TJ Shanahan - RS SO
RT - Anthony Donkoh - RS SO, OR Nolan Rucci - RS SR
We feel pretty good about how the Nittany Lions' starting offensive line will fall this upcoming season, with only right tackle as the only question mark, due to injuries. Drew Sheleton, Vega IOane, Nick Dawkins, and Cooper Cousins are all locked into starting spots. At right tackle, it will all depend on who's healthy at the start of the season. Nolan Rucci missed a large chunk of the spring while Anthony Donkoh is still recovering from a season-ending knee injury in November.
When it comes to the second string, redshirt freshman Eaan Boyer seems like a good bet to back up Drew Shelton, while Domonic Rulli appears locked into backup Nick Dawkins at center. The right tackle is obviously going to be whoever doesn't win the starting job, though if Donkoh isn't ready to go to start the season, expect J'Ven Williams to fill in at that spot.
Talking about Williams, he's also likely to see time at guard this upcoming season, he'll step into the role left by JB Nelson, acting as a swing man for the offensive line playing both guard and tackle when needed.
Texas A&M transfer TJ Shanahan rounds out the two deep at right guard as Cooper Cousins's backup, though he may be more of a third-string option with Williams acting as that potential swing man.
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