Projecting Penn State's Outback Bowl starters
With opt outs and injury aplenty, James Franklin is going to have to play a lot of new faces in new places in Saturday's Outback Bowl.
Below, we take a quick look at what the Nittany Lions' starters could look like against the Razorbacks.
QB: Sean Clifford
RB: Keyvone Lee
TE: Theo Johnson/Brenton Strange
WR: Malick Meiga
Not much is set to change from a skill position standpoint for Penn State, but the obvious change comes with the absence of Jahan Dotson, who announced on Monday that he would not be playing the bowl. In his plays steps redshirt freshman Malick Meiga, who has been heavily praised by coaches and teammates of late and could be a potential breakout candidate.
LT: Olu Fashanu
LG: Eric Wilson
RG: Bryce Effner
RT: Caedan Wallace
With Rasheed Walker out injured, the expectation is that redshirt freshman Olu Fashanu will get his first career start and, in fact, his first notable playing time against the Hawgs. Eric Wilson appears set to get the call at left guard while Juice Scruggs continue to make the center spot his own. That moves Bryce Effner in at right guard, while Caedan Wallace continues to man the right tackle spot.
DE: Nick Tarbuton
DT: Coziah Izzard
DT: D'von Ellies
DE: Zuriah Fisher
Things become far, far messier on the defensive side of the ball. Tarburton remains at the strong-side defensive end spot he's manned most of the year, while Izzard continues to hold the starting spot he inherited when PJ Mustipher went down injured. Ellies appears set to step in for Derrick Tangelo who hasn't been practicing of late, while Fisher slots in at defensive end in place of Arnold Ebiketie, who has yet to formally announce but is expected to opt out of the game.
SAM: Jonathan Sutherland
MIKE: Jesse Luketa
WILL: Curtis Jacobs
There are a number of ways Penn State could play this, but given what we've seen at practice this is the most likely one, at least to start. The opt outs of Ellis Brooks and Brandon Smith make the Nittany Lions incredibly light at the second level, especially with freshmen Kobe King and Jamari Buddin having already played their four games and wanting to retain their redshirt status. So Luketa moves from his hybrid role to more of linebacker focus role, Sutherland comes in at the SAM, and Curtis Jacobs moves across the formation to WILL. It's also likely you see a lot of nickel from Penn State, while Tyler Elsdon and Charlie Katshir should rotate in at times, especially if Luketa is used off the edge in passing situations.
CB: Joey Porter Jr.
FS: Ji'Ayir Brown
SS: Jaylen Reed
CB: Kalen King
Both Porter Jr. and Brown retain the starting spots they've held all season, while Michigan products Reed and King cap their impressive true freshmen campaigns with bowl starts in place of Jaquan Brisker, who has opted out, and Tariq Castro-Fields, who hasn't been seen with the team. Daequan Hardy would be the starter at nickel should they opt to start in a 4-2-5.
On the special teams' side of things, expect Jordan Stout to continue to handle all three aspects of the kicking game, though it wouldn't be a huge shock if Jake Pinegar got an attempt or two on field goals or extra points.
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