Which Penn State football seniors are most likely to return in 2022?

In total, Penn State has 24 players listed on its 2021 roster as seniors or redshirt seniors as the season quickly approaches.

Whether or not all of those players appear together when the Nittany Lions exit the Beaver Stadium tunnel on Senior Day against Rutgers is another matter, though.

Coming in the wake of the NCAA's decision to extend the eligibility of all participants of the 2020 season, each of the Nittany Lions in that group would conceivably have the opportunity to return for a fifth or sixth year in the program.

Already, Penn State has six players who fall under the exemption, five of whom are on scholarship this season. Walk-on receiver Benjamin Wilson is back for a fifth year, and secondary starters Tariq Castro-Fields and Jaquan Brisker are returning for a fifth year of ball themselves. Meanwhile, Penn State picked up three graduates through the transfer portal in the offseason including offensive lineman Eric Wilson, defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo, and running back John Lovett, all of whom otherwise would have exhausted their college eligibility.

While Penn State has declined to take an official stance on the matter publicly, the graduate transfers of Antonio Shelton and Shane Simmons following the 2020 season might offer some hints as to how the program will approach its options moving forward.

In short, fourth-year players who didn't take a redshirt, but missed time due to injury (Castro-Fields), junior college transfers (Brisker), seem most likely to have the opportunity to return for a bonus year at Penn State. Being highly regarded, productive players who are anticipated starters probably doesn't hurt, either.

Not counting against the scholarship limit of 85 this year, but expected to count next year, the financial component and Penn State's robust incoming recruiting Class of 2022 are certain to come into play on this, too. Then again, the always amorphous component of potential transfers out, especially as the one-time transfer rule goes into full effect, could also change the calculus for players Penn State might want to see stick around an extra year.

So who would we see as potential candidates for what is likely to be an "exception to the rule" type of situation at Penn State?

To be blunt, it ain't happening for Sean Clifford to see a sixth season with the Nittany Lions for two very clear reasons:

1) If Clifford plays well this season, as the program is anticipating, he's going to take his crack at the NFL.

As the East-West Shrine director of operations, Eric Galko, explained earlier this summer, the league doesn't want 25-year old rookie quarterbacks. Clifford recently turned 23. If he were to stay for another year past his 24th birthday, that'd make him 25 by the time he started his first preseason camp in the NFL.

2) If Clifford doesn't play well this season... well... you can probably do the math on how Penn State would feel about his potential return for a sixth season.

Granted, the precarious position of the program at quarterback could create something of a desperate need. Little is currently known about redshirt sophomore Ta'Quan Roberson, and Christian Veilleux just got to campus in January. Who knows what Penn State's options will be in the transfer portal, and banking on Drew Allar or Beau Pribula to be ready for the jump would be a risky proposition.

So, maybe? But, honestly, probably not.

That Des Holmes already took a redshirt is what makes this unlikely, but his trouble staying healthy, particularly last year, might open the door for a sixth year.

His redshirt freshman year in 2018, Holmes saw just 16 total snaps, then saw that production increase to 288 as a redshirt sophomore in '19 before reducing back down to 71 last year as he missed five games. Only returning for the Illinois game to round out the season, a year in which Holmes was expected to be a big contributor to the offensive line was effectively lost.

Able to play both guard or tackle, Holmes is slated to compete with Anthony Whigan for the starting left guard job this season, but then was forced out of action in the open scrimmage the program held on April 17. Bringing a versatility that's always useful along the offensive line, if Holmes can stay healthy and make the most of the 2021 season, maybe another opportunity comes in '22.

As soon as Penn State returned to campus last summer from its COVID-hiatus, word started to emerge that Cam Sullivan-Brown was making a push for a starting job.

An infrequent contributor due to injury his redshirt sophomore season in 2019, that Sullivan-Brown had started to emerge bode well for his potential during the '20 campaign. It wasn't meant to be, though, as health issues forced him out of action entirely for the first three games of the year and, even upon returning for the last six, Sullivan-Brown never met his preseason expectations.

In fact, he finished with just 58 total offensive reps, only making his first catch of the season in Penn State's season-ending win against Illinois.

Lumped with a second-tier group of receivers all looking to step up behind the likes of Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington, CSB no doubt has the opportunity to become an integral part of Penn State's offense this season, especially with new coordinator Mike Yurcich and his preference for spreading around the football.

This is where the extra year of eligibility starts to become more realistic on Penn State's roster.

Arriving to Penn State not quite ready for the level, Whigan took a redshirt in 2019, appearing in just two games. But even after a year of seasoning, in 2020, Whigan was still limited to a minor role on special teams as he continued to pick up the ground-up instruction of new offensive line coach Phil Trautwein.

Now expected to be a contributor this season, the late-blooming nature of Whigan's career at Penn State could open the door for not just a serious contribution in 2021, but also in '22 if the opportunity arises.

Of all Penn State's options to take advantage of the bonus year of eligibility, Brown checks the most boxes.

Playing for two years at Lackawanna College before transferring to Penn State in 2020, Brown was thrust into action last season as the Nittany Lions dealt with injuries in the secondary. Seeing the most snaps (46) of the season in the opener at Indiana, Brown gradually saw action as a backup at free safety, ultimately finishing with 222 snaps for the year.

Turning the page onto the 2021 offseason, though, Brown has been a steady topic of conversation as a true breakout candidate for the upcoming season. Now having the opportunity to become a starter this year opposite Jaquan Brisker, Penn State might see Brown as a prime candidate to take advantage of the bonus year, particularly given the expectations in front of him this season.

*******

• Talk about this article inside The Lions Den

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue-White Illustrated

• Follow us on Twitter: @BWIonRivals, @NateBauerBWI, @RivalsSnyder, @DavidEckert98, @GregPickel, @ThomasFrankCarr

• Follow us on Instagram

• Like us on Facebook