Phil's Corner: Nittany Lions catching up to early enrollment trends
The following story appears in the latest edition of Blue White Illustrated's magazine. To order your annual magazine subscription, click here.
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It’s been a few years since Power Five football programs began embracing the early enrollment trend, urging members of their recruiting classes to graduate from high school in December and enroll in January in order to take part in winter workouts and spring practice ahead of their freshman seasons.
The practice really took on a different meaning when Alabama enrolled 12 members of its Class of 2017 in mid-January. That same year, most Southeastern Conference schools, plus blue blood programs such as Oklahoma, Clemson, Ohio State and Texas, all had seven or more January enrollees in their recruiting classes.
Penn State was a latecomer to this new recruiting trend. Its Class of 2017 included only four January enrollees: defensive back Lamont Wade, linebacker Brelin Faison-Walden, wide receiver K.J Hamler and offensive lineman Mike Miranda. None of those players had any real impact on Penn State’s football team as freshmen that fall.
A year later, the Lions brought in six early enrollees: linebackers Micah Parsons and Jesse Luketa, defensive end Nick Tarburton, cornerback Trent Gordon, tight end Zack Kuntz and safety Isaiah Humphries.
Of the 10 Penn State players listed above, all but three redshirted as true freshmen. The ones who played were Parsons, Luketa and Wade, and of that trio, Parsons was the only one who had an immediate impact on the team’s fortunes. He ended up starting a game in 2018 and finished the year as the team’s leading tackler, making 83 stops, including five tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Following the season, he was named a consensus Freshman All-American.
In 2019, Penn State started to match its most successful Power Five counterparts in the number of early enrollees it brought in. The Lions signed 23 players that year and welcomed 11 of them in January. All 11 of those players had received four-star ratings from Rivals.com.
It was the Class of 2019 that confirmed to the Nittany Lions the value that early enrollees can bring to a program. Five of those 11 January enrollees ended up forgoing redshirts. Those five were running back Noah Cain, cornerbacks Keaton Ellis and Marquis Wilson, defensive end Adisa Isaac and linebacker Brandon Smith.
Of those players, the one who had the biggest impact as a true freshman was Cain. Despite missing all but a handful of plays in the team’s final five regular-season games due to an ankle injury he suffered in late October against Michigan State, he ended the season as Penn State’s second-leading rusher with 443 yards on 84 carries and also set a school record for freshmen with eight rushing touchdowns.
At the end of Penn State’s winter workouts last February, it appeared that Cain and Journey Brown would enter the 2020 season as the Big Ten’s top running back tandem. Throughout the off-season, Penn State was considered to be a top-10 team and Ohio State’s leading challenger for the Big Ten East Division title and a chance to play in the league championship game and College Football Playoff.
Those dreams quickly evaporated when Cain was lost for the season on the opening drive of Penn State’s first game. After three carries for 13 yards against Indiana, he suffered a foot injury that forced him to sit out the rest of the year. Brown had also been sidelined, and a few weeks later it was revealed that he would have to retire from football due to a rare heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
The personnel losses at running back ended up being a major reason why Penn State began its 2020 season with five consecutive defeats. It was the first time in the program’s 134-year history that the Lions started 0-5.
Ellis, Isaac, Smith and Wilson all had impactful freshman seasons in 2019. Ellis was John Reid’s No. 1 backup at the field cornerback position, totaling 18 tackles and three forced fumbles, and he was considered to be one of the hardest hitting CBs on Penn State’s roster. Maybe that’s why, going into the 2021 off-season, there was talk that he might be moved to the field safety position.
Isaac played in 11 games as a true freshman, totaling 14 tackles and 1.5 sacks. With Shaka Toney now headed to the NFL, Isaac is the projected starter at the weakside DE position for the 2021 season.
Smith was Cam Brown’s backup at the Sam OLB position in 2019, totaling 14 tackles and two tackles for loss. This past season, he was Penn State’s fifth-leading tackler with 37 stops, including a team-high eight tackles for loss and two sacks. It’s expected that Smith will move to the Will OLB position when Penn State’s spring practice sessions (hopefully) begin in mid-March. Luketa, who started the entire 2020 season at Will, is expected to be moved to middle linebacker in spring practice, where he will compete with senior Ellis Brooks for the starting job.
Wilson came on strong in the second half of the 2019 season. He ended up playing in 10 of Penn State’s 13 games, totaling 18 tackles and two interceptions and tying for the team lead in the latter category. This past season, Wilson played in all nine games and made 18 tackles. He figures to battle Joey Porter Jr., Tariq Castro-Fields, transfer John Dixon and possibly Ellis for a starting cornerback job during the upcoming off-season.
That brings us to Penn State’s Class of 2020. It was a large class consisting of 27 signees, and 11 players made the decision to enroll in January. On offense, the list included running back Caziah Holmes, tight end Theo Johnson, offensive lineman Nick Dawkins, and wide receivers Jaden Dottin and KeAndre Lambert-Smith. On the other side of the ball, there were six early enrollees: linebacker Tyler Elsdon, defensive tackles Cole Brevard and Fatorma Mulbah, defensive end Bryce Mostella and defensive backs Enzo Jennings and Joseph Johnson III.
Given the disruption that the pandemic caused and the presence of nearly 50 underclassmen on Penn State’s 2020 roster, it’s not surprising that only three of those 11 January enrollees – Holmes, Johnson and Lambert-Smith – ended up playing in more than one game.
With Brown forced to give up football and Cain injured, it was all but assured that Holmes would see extensive action. He ended up playing in all nine games, finishing the season as the team’s fifth-leading rusher with 227 yards and two touchdowns on 51 carries.
Johnson saw his role change when Pat Freiermuth was forced to miss the final four games of the 2020 season with a shoulder injury that required surgery. The true freshman from Canada saw action in eight games, totaling four receptions for 56 yards. He also proved to be a surprisingly effective blocker considering that he was still adjusting to the American game.
The third and final January 2020 enrollee to see action was Lambert-Smith. He finished the season with 15 receptions for 138 yards as the Nittany Lions’ starting X-wide receiver.
Those contributions from the January enrollees were significant, but they don’t come close to showing the impact that Penn State’s true freshman class had on the 2020 season. Keyvone Lee, who was the last member of the class to arrive on campus last July, finished the season as the team’s leading rusher with 438 yards and four touchdowns on 89 carries.
Parker Washington won the starting slot receiver position and finished the season as Penn State’s second-leading pass catcher with 36 receptions for 489 yards and six touchdowns. Washington may have been the top freshman wide receiver in the Big Ten for the 2020 season.
On defense, linebacker Curtis Jacobs saw action in eight games, totaling nine tackles, and is expected to compete with Lance Dixon for the starting Sam OLB position in spring practice.
Three other Class of 2020 players saw limited action during the season. Elsdon earned playing time at middle linebacker in one game, Amin Vanover played at the strongside defensive end spot in two games, and three-technique defensive tackle Coziah Izzard played in two games.
That brings us to Penn State’s Class of 2021. As of mid-January, the class numbered only 15 players, seven of whom enrolled at Penn State on Jan. 18, the start of the spring semester. Those seven were quarterback Christian Veilleux, offensive linemen Nate Bruce and Landon Tengwall, defensive end Rodney McGraw, linebacker Kobe King, and defensive backs Kalen King and Jeffrey Davis Jr.
It would not surprise me if all seven of Penn State’s January enrollees end up redshirting next fall. Veilleux, Davis and Tengwall all had their senior seasons canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak and haven’t played football in more than a year.
But as Penn State’s director of player personnel, Andy Frank, pointed out in December, the chance to take part in winter workouts and spring practice is going to be beneficial no matter what the players’ roles turn out to be in the fall.
“Whether we have spring ball or not – we’re hoping that we do – they are going to gain experience in the weight room,” Frank said. “It’s a chance to get on campus and get trained like they’ve never been trained before.
“We feel real confident in our development staff here. Coach [Dwight] Galt and his crew do a great job with these guys, both from a weightlifting standpoint, but also a running standpoint. They’ll be in better condition than they’ve ever been in their life, and they’ll be close to being able to play for us. It’s still a challenge, even for midyear enrollees, to play as true freshmen, but these guys will definitely have a leg up on the rest of the class in terms of being able to play early.”
In addition to its early enrollees, Penn State welcomed four transfers to campus when the spring semester began. The Nittany Lions have brought in Dixon (formerly of South Carolina) at cornerback, as well as defensive end Arnold Ebiketie (Temple), running back John Lovett (Baylor) and defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo (Duke). If you include those four, Penn State’s Class of 2021 has 19 members.
All four transfers could and should impact Penn State’s 2021 football season. Tangelo is expected to start at the three-technique defensive tackle position, Ebiketie will vie for a starting spot at strongside defensive end now that Jayson Oweh has moved on to the NFL, Lovett will provide quality, veteran depth in the backfield, and Dixon, who was rated the fifth-best press cornerback in the SEC for the 2020 season, could compete for a starting spot in spring practice.
What else is in our February issue of Blue White Illustrated's magazine?
Let's take a look at this month's offerings, from the news of Mike Yurcich taking over at offensive coordinator to our feature on Jahan Dotson's return to the Nittany Lion offense for the 2021 season, you won't want to miss our coverage!
THE RUNDOWN:
FAST FORWARD - BWI editor Matt Herb opens our football package with a look at the Nittany Lions as they'll appear to begin the 2021 season. Every position, every break down, every possibility for the season ahead as the Penn State football program attempts to bounce back from its disappointing 2020 campaign.
RECRUITING - As always, BWI recruiting analyst Ryan Snyder has your Penn State football recruiting fix with a deep dive on the Nittany Lions' top targets in the Class of 2022, plus an Up Close and Personal feature on newcomer Drew Shelton.
FOOTBALL - With the Nittany Lions transitioning through a sea change of new players producing this season, we break down the names and faces that will play a major role in Penn State's future successes or shortcomings, including feature stories on Brenton Strange and Brandon Smith, as well as a first look at the depth chart ahead of the 2021 season.
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 print subscription here:
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