Phil's Corner: Freshmen making immediate impact
The newest issue of Blue White Illustrated's magazine has been printed and mailed out to our subscribers. Check out our monthly feature from BWI publisher Phil's Grosz, below!
To order an annual magazine subscription, CLICK HERE!
********
Coming out of spring practice at the end of April, it was clear that Penn State's only path to a repeat New Year's Six bowl was if the recruiting classes of 2017 and ’18 played major roles both on and off the field.
Those two classes were rated among the top dozen in the country. Rivals.com ranked Penn State’s Class of 2017 third in the Big Ten behind Ohio State and Michigan and 12th nationally. The class was headlined by five-star defensive back Lamont Wade of Clairton, Pa., and included 10 four-star players and 10 additional prospects who had earned three-star recognition. It was James Franklin’s most highly rated recruiting class to that point in his head coaching career at Penn State.
The following year, Franklin and staff took another major step forward, landing a class that Rivals rated second in the Big Ten behind only Ohio State and fifth nationally. The headliners from the Class of 2018 were five-star linebacker Micah Parsons of Harrisburg, Pa., and five-star wide receiver Justin Shorter of Monmouth Junction, N.J.
Parsons was ranked as the sixth-best overall prospect in the country, while Shorter was considered the No. 3 wide receiver nationally and the No. 18 overall prospect in the Class of 2018. As rated by Rivals, Penn State’s Class of 2018 consisted of two five-star players, 16 four-star players and five three-star players. In addition, Jake Pinegar was widely considered to be one of the top five place kickers in the country.
With the departure of players such as Saquon Barkley, Mike Gesicki and DaeSean Hamilton from Penn State’s offense, along with nine starters on defense, it was quite obvious when Franklin assembled his team for the start of preseason practice in early August that the contributions of the aforementioned players would play a vital role in the success of the team throughout the 2018 season.
During the first two weeks of preseason practice, reports seemed to indicate that all those positive recruiting evaluations were right on the money. But it wasn’t all good news. The Lions had already lost four-star offensive lineman Nana Asiedu due to a heart condition that was discovered over the summer, and in late August they lost defensive back Jordan Miner, also to a recently discovered heart abnormality. Both Asiedu and Miner have been forced to give up football permanently.
Another piece of bad news filtered out of preseason practice just before the opening game of the season against Appalachian State, as it was learned that Shorter would be out of action at the beginning of the season. He had been one of the freshmen to receive a “green light” from Franklin, meaning that he was viewed by the staff as someone who could help the team right away. But he sustained a leg injury during preseason drills and was not listed on Penn State’s first official depth chart of the season.
Even with those losses factored in, it was understood that the Lions would be relying heavily on their 2017 and ’18 recruiting classes. There were 28 members of those classes on the depth chart that was released prior to the App State game: quarterback Sean Clifford, running back Ricky Slade, receivers K.J. Hamler, Mac Hippenhammer, Cameron Sullivan-Brown, Jahan Dotson and Daniel George, tight end Pat Freiermuth, offensive linemen Des Holmes, Rasheed Walker, Mike Miranda, C.J. Thorpe, Bryce Effner and Juice Scruggs, defensive ends Yetur Gross-Matos, Nick Tarburton and Jayson Oweh, defensive tackle Fred Hansard, linebackers Ellis Brooks, Jesse Luketa and Parsons, defensive backs Jonathan Sutherland, Tariq Castro-Fields, Donovan Johnson and Wade, and kickers Rafael Checa, Vlad Hilling and Pinegar.
Of those players, only Gross-Matos, Wade and Castro-Fields have sophomore eligibility. That means 25 players on the Nittany Lions’ season-opening depth chart have seen action for the first time in 2018.
During the 30-plus years I’ve covered Penn State football, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen more than a dozen freshmen on the first official depth chart of the season. The abundance of freshman-eligible players clearly illustrates the success that Franklin and his staff have had on the recruiting front the past two years.
What is probably even more remarkable than the sheer number of first- and second-year players who were listed on the depth chart earlier this month was the fact that 21 of those players ended up seeing action against App State, Pitt, and Kent State. That list includes 14 true freshmen: Walker, Kuntz, Shorter, George, Dotson, Slade, Freiermuth, Tarburton, Gordon, Oweh, Luketa, Mustipher, Pinegar and Checa. Gross-Matos, Wade and Castro-Fields all played last year, which leaves 10 players from the Class of 2017 who got on the field against App State, Pitt, and Kent State: Brooks, Hamler, Hippenhammer, Sullivan-Brown, Johnson, Hansard, Sutherland, Miranda, Thorpe and Clifford.
With the NCAA now allowing freshmen to play in up to four games without losing a season of eligibility, coaches have much more flexibility in terms of how they introduce players to the rigors of college football. So even those freshmen who don’t get on the field immediately still have an opportunity to contribute at some point. For example, Dotson, George, Shorter and tight end Zack Kuntz all made their debuts against Kent State, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them contribute in the Big Ten campaign if the need arises.
The players in Penn State’s past two recruiting classes have already had a major impact on the season. One player – Hamler – has begun to garner some national attention. In Penn State’s first five games, the redshirt freshman wideout has a 32-yard touchdown run, plus 13 receptions for 308 yards and another four scores.
Besides excelling at the slot receiver position in Penn State’s first two games, Hamler showed he has the potential to become one of the leading kickoff returners in the Big Ten. He posted a 52-yard return in the final two minutes of the game against Appalachian State – a runback that led to his 15-yard TD reception that tied the score, 38-38, and gave Penn State the opportunity to win in overtime. Hamler is now fifth in the Big Ten for kick return average, returning nine times for 26.2 yards per attempt.
His status, of course, is now in doubt however following a game-ending injury late against Ohio State on Saturday night. As is program policy, the nature of Hamler's injury and his prognosis has not been discussed.
Additionally, tight end Pat Freiermuth has risen to the top of the heap among the tight ends. He now has seven receptions, highlighted by his three grabs against Ohio State, for 89 yards and two scores.
Defensively, the player from the Class of 2018 who has had the biggest impact so far is Parsons. The true freshman outside linebacker entered Penn State’s third game of the season against Kent State tied with senior safety Nick Scott as the third-leading tackler on the team with 11 stops.
A few days after their 51-6 romp over Pitt, Franklin said he was pleased with the two-man rotation that the Lions had been using at the Will outside linebacker position, with Koa Farmer and Parsons both seeing substantial action.
Two additional players from the Class of 2017 who have had prominent roles in the Nittany Lions’ games to date are Gross-Matos and Castro-Fields.
Gross-Matos played in all 13 games last season and started in the Fiesta Bowl against Washington, filling in for an injured Ryan Buchholz. He totaled 17 tackles, including two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. With Buchholz’s football career at Penn State now over due to recurring problems with his back, Gross-Matos has taken over the starting defensive end position opposite Shareef Miller.
Castro-Fields played in 12 games last year, totaling 10 tackles, one interception and three pass breakups. With John Reid out of the lineup against Pitt and Kent State, Castro-Fields started at the field cornerback position, and has seen substantial time as the third corner on the field. I believe that he will turn out to have NFL potential.
Castro-Fields stands 6-0, 186 pounds, posted a 3.97-second time in the pro agility drill and broad jumped 10 feet, 11 inches during the team’s most recent winter workout sessions. He and Gross-Matos both have the potential to become first-team All-Big Ten selections before they graduate from Penn State.
The impact of Penn State’s recent recruiting surge was plainly evident during the nonconference season, and that impact has already extended into the Big Ten campaign. It seems that the classes of 2017 and ’18 richly deserved their lofty rankings. And as good as the results have been so far, the best is yet to come.
********
What else is in the latest issue of our magazine? Check out our lineup, below:
THE RUNDOWN:
RECRUITING - As always, BWI recruiting analysts Ryan Snyder and Tim Owen have your Penn State football recruiting fix! In this issue, we break down the latest happenings with the Nittany Lions on the recruiting trail, plus an exclusive Q&As with verbal commitments Emory Simmons and Lance Dixon.
THE 2018 SEASON: BWI editor Matt Herb kicks off our football coverage with an analysis of Penn State's youth across the board of its depth chart and how it has immediately impacted the team.
K.J. HAMLER: On and off the field, Penn State's redshirt freshman wide receiver has been making noise. Go inside Hamler's ascent into a critical component of Penn State's success this season!
TRACE MCSORLEY - BWI web site editor Nate Bauer delves deep into what makes the Nittany Lions' signal-caller tick, and how he'd like to be viewed by the fans that currently cheer him on, into the future.
MICHAL MENET - A position switch has helped stabilize the Nittany Lions' offensive line going into the 2018 season, with redshirt sophomore Michal Menet assuming the starting center job to then free up Connor McGovern to move to the right side of the line.
JOHN REID - John Reid's return was all-too-brief to start the season, but he's continuing to battle injury to make an impact with the Nittany Lions in his redshirt junior season.
LOU PRATO - Blue White Illustrated special contributor Lou Prato highlights the connection between Penn State and the Pittsburgh Steelers through the years.
These stories, plus basketball, wrestling, women's volleyball, and women's soccer are all part of our bursting magazine. You won't want to miss this in-depth issue!
These are just a few of the many stories and features that come with every edition of Blue White Illustrated's magazine! Be sure to order your annual subscription, here: