UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State should have an outstanding, multi-dimensional offense that can beat opponents in a lot of different ways.
Eventually.
One issue with all the hype surrounding this year's team, and in particular prized young quarterback Drew Allar, is that seems like many people believe the offense will be ready to come out firing on all cylinders right from the get-go. While that could and should happen over time, there are simply too many question marks at this early stage to think it's a foregone conclusion that the Nittany Lions are just going to light up defenses.
"We know what we want to be," coordinator Mike Yurcich said of the offense. "You want to be a physical offense that attacks from many different aspects and is very dynamic."
Will all of that happen in the season opener Sept. 2 against West Virginia? Ehhh, probably not. And it doesn't have to, either.
"I don't think you have to figure it all out on day one," Yurcich said. "I think you have to be able to adjust a little bit. You know what you want to do, you know the direction that you want to head in.
"At the same time, you've got to be able to take a broader perspective and be able to evaluate it for a certain amount of time and see where you're at, and then be able to adjust."
All of the hype surrounding Allar -- the former No. 1 pro-style QB recruit in the country -- is justifiable. When you're that talented, it gets everybody excited about the enormous possibilities.
But no matter how good we think Allar can be, the fact of the matter is he has never started a college game. And he plays the toughest position in sports. And he doesn't have a legitimate star wide receiver. And he plays in a very difficult conference plus perhaps the toughest division in college football.
All of those are reason enough to think that Allar will probably end up going through a lot of growing pains early in the season. How long will those growing pains last? Should fans possibly be prepared for it to take quite a while, perhaps even the entire season?
Well, yeah, maybe.
Changing the subject for a second ...
Penn State's defense should be fantastic. You know it, I know it, James Franklin and Manny Diaz know it. Because of that terrific defense, Franklin and Yurcich surely realize they can take their time with Allar and the offense, making sure all the T's are crossed and I's are dotted in the development plan early in the season.
The ground game should be very good with Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen running behind a strong offensive line. In trying to establish the ground attack the first few weeks, it might lead to ups and downs, which has often been the case over the years early in the season for Penn State.
I cannot stress enough the importance of the week 3 game at Illinois, which very well could end up being a rugged, physical contest where the Lions have a tough time moving the ball consistently.
There are lots of reasons to believe the Lions can have a very successful season. And the potential of the offense is part of that equation.
But even if the offense can't find a legit No. 1 wide receiver, and even if Allar has ups and downs learning the ropes in college football, Penn State can still win a whole bunch of games because of its excellent talent and depth on both sides of the ball.
However ...
For the team to truly live up to the highest expectations of making the College Football Playoff, at some point the offense is going to have to light it up with some dynamic play against the likes of Ohio State and/or Michigan.
Will that happen? Again, the wide receiver situation must become more clear, plus the line has to play up to expectations and the running backs have to stay healthy.
With regards to the receivers, Yurcich said it's "like a puzzle" that the offensive staff is trying to figure out.
"You do have some things that you know with some returners," Yurcich said. "The fun part of fall camp is also seeing the things that can grow and what you see in the new guys in the program and how they can develop and how far you can take them.
"Even from the beginning of camp to the end of camp it's going to be like a puzzle. You're just trying to figure out all the pieces and develop the guys."
KeAndre Lambert-Smith is the frontrunner to be the No. 1 wide receiver, and he'll have to play a lot more consistently than he did a year ago.
Dante Cephas was a big get from the transfer portal, but as the coaches have talked about on occasion, he's got to learn how to compete week in and week out at this level after playing several years at Kent State.
"What we've seen so far is a guy that, he's got experience, I think he's really good at understanding the overall picture concepts," Yurcich said of Cephas. "He's still trying to (learn) a different system, so it's gonna take some time for him to acclimate a little bit.
"But I think what you're seeing is a guy that understands the game and the fundamentals of the game. I think he catches the ball well in traffic. He understands that press coverage, you're going to see a lot of press against physical, experienced, talented defensive backs. So he's further ahead than most in that regard. He likes to compete, and you can see that he loves the competitive aspect."
One thing we should expect opposing defenses to do is load up the box trying to stop Singleton and Allen and to force the youngster Allar to have to beat them with his arm. Once Allar proves he can do that, then wow, the sky will be the limit for the offense, simply because it should be a given that the running game will produce.
"They're well-versed in the offense," Yurcich said of the sophomore runners.
"They're more experienced, they're just well ahead of it," he added. "You can install a little bit faster tempo than what it was a year ago. So, it's just sped up the whole process. ... It's just gonna come a lot faster and easier."
When everything starts to click for everybody on the offense, then all of what Yurcich wants to do should become faster and easier. The sooner that can happen, obviously, the better.
But will it happen in week 1? By week 3? Or might it take half the season or longer for all the puzzle pieces to come together?
That's the great unknown for this Penn State team entering the season.
Here's my projection of who we can expect to see starting early in the season. One note: I expect a lot of moving parts at wide receiver, as the coaches give a bunch of guys an opportunity to establish themselves.
O-LINE
LT Olu Fashanu
LG Landon Tengwall -- He missed some practice time in camp, so his health will play a big role on the line
C Hunter Nourzad
RG Sal Wormley
RT Caedan Wallace -- I've always expected him to beat out Drew Shelton for the job
BACKFIELD
QB Drew Allar
RB Nicholas Singleton OR
RB Kaytron Allen -- It really doesn't matter who starts a given game, since both will play a lot
RECEIVERS
WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith
WR Dante Cephas
WR Omari Evans OR
WR Malik McClain -- This will be part of the overall wide receiver rotation that will need to be watched closely
TE Theo Johnson -- Tyler Warren also will play a lot
