UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- We all know the names of the stars who will have to carry Penn State this season -- Drew Allar, Nicholas Singleton, Abdul Carter, Kalen King, Olu Fashanu, Chop Robinson -- but there are a whole bunch of other guys who will need to have a big year if the Nittany Lions are to live up to the tremendous expectations.
Here are my six picks, the players whose names are recognizable but who need to take a big step forward in their overall play.
LB CURTIS JACOBS
Maybe you agree, maybe you don't, but I've always thought of Jacobs as very ... average.
He has great potential, for sure, and sometimes shows it with flashes of brilliance. But the 6-foot-1, 238-pounder has been so inconsistent, often disappearing for long stretches and not doing much of anything, which is really not all that acceptable for a Penn State linebacker.
Now, let me point this out: I hold Nittany Lion linebackers to extremely high standards, so it's possible I don't always give enough credit to guys who are really good but not great. But hey, when you think about all the superstars who have played at LBU over just the past 20 years -- Micah Parsons, Sean Lee, Paul Posluszny, NaVorro Bowman, Dan Connor, etc. -- the standard is, well, the standard at Penn State.
Jacobs had 52 tackles last season, 61 the year before. He had four sacks and 7 1/2 tackles for loss last season. Those are solid numbers, yet not as good as true freshman Abdul Carter (56 tackles, 6 1/2 sacks, 10 1/2 tackles for loss), who quickly emerged as the best linebacker on the team.
OK, so Jacobs isn't as good as Carter. That in and of itself isn't a terrible thing, given how good Carter is already.
The point with Jacobs is that he's always been expected to do so much more than he ever has at Penn State. His inconsistent play has prevented him from reaching his potential.
And what exactly is Jacobs' potential? Well, I was floored when I read a story last week from Penn Live proclaiming that some NFL folks think he's already an elite caliber player.
Ummm ... as of now, numerous NFL Draft projection sites don't even have Jacobs getting picked next year. A lot was made that he came back for another season at Penn State this year, but in all honesty, he wasn't going to get drafted, so the choice may have been an easy one for him.
If all of this sounds like me being too critical of Jacobs, hey, I won't deny it. It's just that he'll be a third-year starting linebacker this season, and he finally needs to play up to his full potential if he's going to reach his personal goals while helping Penn State reach its massive team goals.
RT CAEDAN WALLACE
He was the biggest underachiever on the team last season. If he plays to his potential this year, Penn State could end up having one of its best offensive lines in decades.
As is, the other four starters on the line figure to be great or really good -- LT Olu Fashanu, LG Landon Tengwall, C Hunter Nourzad, RG Sal Wormley. Wallace is the wild card, and a potential weak link if he fails to play with consistency, which was a problem last year.
The 6-5, 341-pounder appeared in eight games last season, starting seven, and dealt with an undisclosed injury. He was good at times, but the inconsistency led to him getting benched on occasion.
Drew Shelton stepped in and played well at left tackle after Fashanu was injured late in the season. Shelton could be called upon to step in at right tackle if Wallace struggles, so the line still could be strong. But if the more experienced Wallace, a redshirt senior, plays well, it could take the unit to a whole other level.
CB JOHNNY DIXON
Last year, Joey Porter Jr. drew all the attention as the primary cornerback, and Kalen King was able to step up when challenged as the No. 2 corner.
With Porter gone to the NFL, King now ascends to the top cornerback, and Dixon will have to prove he can be a shutdown kind of guy at the No. 2 spot. Dixon had a solid season in 2022, starting six of his 13 games and recording two interceptions with 10 pass breakups.
Penn State seemingly landed a big cornerback addition from the transfer portal in Storm Duck, and it was widely assumed he would step in and be the No. 2 corner. But Duck apparently couldn't beat out Dixon in the spring and wound up transferring out.
That can only be seen as a sign that Dixon, who came to Penn State as a transfer from South Carolina a couple years ago, has improved so much that he's earned the trust of the coaches.
If Dixon can indeed give the defense a second shutdown cornerback, like it had last year, then look out, because coordinator Manny Diaz can do a whole lot with that type of luxury.
S KEATON ELLIS
Staying in the secondary, Ellis started all 13 games last season and did ... pretty good. He had 24 tackles, seven pass breakups and two tackles for loss.
Ellis has always been a nice player. But if he could somehow transition into a big-time playmaker in his final season, it could make a huge difference on the defense.
Penn State has had a pair of fantastic safeties in recent years in Jaquan Brisker and Ji'Ayir Brown. Ellis isn't in the same caliber as those two, or at least he's yet to show he can be that impactful.
But the State College native has one more year left. Let's see if he can take a giant leap forward.
DT HAKEEM BEAMON
He missed the 2021 season for undisclosed reasons, then started 12 games and appeared in all 13 last year. He finished with 16 tackles (six for loss) and four pass breakups.
Beamon is yet another player who was solid last season, but has much more untapped potential.
At 6-3, 284 pounds, Beamon isn't as big and bulky as one would expect from a Big Ten defensive tackle. After Michigan ran all over Penn State last season, James Franklin had this to say about his defense:
“We got to get bigger. We’re undersized at some spots. Everybody thinks they're Aaron Donald, and they're not.”
That seemed then -- and still does now -- to be a direct shot aimed at Beamon, although Franklin never actually named any names.
“It would be better to weigh a little bit heavier on the inside,” Beamon said after that Michigan game last season. “There’s still a lot of things I’m excelling in. I still have weaknesses, and it’s on me to get 1 percent better every day.”
Point is, Beamon plays in the Big Ten East, against the likes of Ohio State and Michigan. He's a defensive tackle who has to be a big-time run stuffer when necessary.
His athleticism and quickness are more suited to play against a team like Ohio State, which relies more on speed than Michigan. But when you play the Wolverines, you'd better have big guys on the D-line who can get a push and stuff the run.
Can Beamon become that kind of player? Will he need to be that kind of player in numerous games, besides just Michigan?
Bottom line is, with P.J. Mustipher gone to the NFL, the Lions need to be able to line up and shut down even the strongest running games. And Beamon will need to be a big part of that.
WR HARRISON WALLACE III
Who will be the No. 3 wide receiver, behind KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Dante Cephas? There's a lot of young talent at the position in the program, but Wallace might have a leg up on all of them.
He caught 19 passes for 273 yards and one TD last season. Given that, it's reasonable to think he could be in the 35-40 catch range this season.
Wallace had some problems with drops last season, and also seemed to have issues running crisp routes. Overall, it was an uneven season for him, but he did show good potential.
If Wallace does not take a huge step forward, someone else will have to. Florida State transfer Malik McClain figures to be the other primary candidate.
