Penn State's August checklist: Camp, recruiting rewind, and more

Camp is here and the Nittany Lions opener at Wisconsin is right behind it.

Welcome to August, Penn State fans.

All of the waiting to see head coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lions back on the field will soon pay off, as summer camp starts this week and the opener at Wisconsin is now nearly a month away.

What should fans be watching for as the march toward game day continues? Here’s our checklist.

The chase for elite prospects that can take the Nittany Lions to the next level never ends, but it slows down tremendously in August.

There are two reasons for that: 1. There is an NCAA dead period that prohibits visits. 2. Penn State wants to focus on its current team as much as possible, and recruits want to do the same as they prepare for another prep season.

Virtual chats and social media interactions will still take place, but for the most part, few offers will go out and no scheduled commitments are on the docket.

It’s one of the many reasons why the Lions’ tremendous July run was so important, as it helped all but fill up the Class of 2022. There will still be attention paid to uncommitted seniors, but the list to handle is considerably smaller.

The Penn State Nittany Lions are about to put the pads back on.

Head coach James Franklin is ready to preside over his eighth preseason camp in blue and white, and while the questions are endless, the optimism is large, too.

"There's a lot of excitement in our program, our leadership is tremendous, we have had a great summer, on top of that all the feedback from the strength coaches as well as from the players has been really good," Franklin said in July.

"We're hungry. I would say obviously we got a chip on our shoulder, had a lot of success at Penn State, and excited to get back to that. So appreciate the opportunity, it's always great to be here, this is the beginning of it for all of us right, media days and looking forward to the season to get going"

Penn State has many questions to answer, among them are:

● Will Sean Clifford thrive in Mike Yurcich’s offense or run too much and make too many mistakes? If he does need to be replaced, is one of Ta’Quan Roberson or ChristianVeilleux even remotely ready to lead the offense despite never taking a college football snap?

● Everyone loves the transfer portal additions, and with good reason, but will they all live up to their hefty expectations?

● How effective will the new offensive coordinator be? Is a mostly veteran offensive line going to keep him upright?

● Can Noah Cain play at 100 percent right away?● Might linebacker depth be an issue?

● After the starting four, is there enough production along the defensive line? And can the secondary make more impactful plays and produce more turnovers?

● Generally speaking, can the defense be more bend and less break?

● If Wisconsin wins, will another tailspin ensure like it did to start the 2020 season?● Is this the year that there are no in-game coaching blunders to question?s

There are many questions to answer but excitement abounds. It's one of the more interesting camps of the Franklin era because there is so much to figure out, which will make each passing week entertaining.

It is hard to believe the summer is almost gone, but it is a fact nonetheless.

The opener at Wisconsin is about a month away, and before long, we will all be back inside of Beaver Stadium again for the Ball State game on Sept. 11.

Penn State has had a tremendous recruiting run leading into camp, and you can feel the energy around the program. Everyone is feeling fantastic as the pads prepare to go on.

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