Happy Valley: Off-season and Season 2

Following a somewhat expected 8-5 season, Penn State rode into the off-season on the momentum from a Gator Bowl victory over Johnny Football and the Aggies. Coach Eversole dove into the recruit pool head first in what would be his first chance at recruitment for his Nittany Lion squad. When the off-season recruits had made their choices, Penn State emerged with what is a likely Top-10 draft class.

Penn State added to their already young and talented offensive core, adding a duo of 4star WR recruits and the #1 ranked LT in the nation. The LT, Dustin Hart, will move to RT and start immediately for the Lions, while WRs Casey McKnight and BJ Mayes will compete in the spring for depth chart positioning. Freshman 3star RB Jim Douglas arrived slower than expected and will be redshirted his freshman season. 

The biggest surprise of the recruiting season was athlete Justin Butler. With initial interest in Penn State, the Lions didn't recruit him heavily and he became an afterthought during the recruiting process. Once he arrived in State College, Butler showed speed and exceptional skills at RB and WR, leaving the coaches surprised and with a tough decision to make. With logjams at WR and RB, Coach Eversole has decided that Butler will play RB. With his 95 speed and 79 route running ability, he figures to see a lot of time split out at the WR position as well. 


Defensively, Penn State landed Jon Justice, the #1 MLB as their prized recruit. He will step in and immediately start, filling the void of defensive captain Glen Carson. OLB Eric Dukes and SS John Odom are likely to be redshirted.

Offense: Last season, Penn State stuck with their Spread-Option playbook despite abandoning the option late in the season and opting for a more air-attack offense. Coach Eversole has decided to nix 75% of the option plays from the playbook and start fresh, with an Air Raid offense featuring more 4WR, 5WR, and spread formations. Penn State plans to keep several Pistol and IForm plays, but the focus this off-season has been spreading out the offense and getting the ball out of Hackenberg's hands quickly. Plays are already being installed for incoming freshman Justin Butler, who will see plenty of time at WR as well as receiving RB.

Defense: After a dreadful and pathetic season defensively, Penn State revamped their playbook and will have a base 4-2-5. Lacking LB depth, Penn State hopes the change in philosophy can help stop the ridiculous passing yardage against them last season. Penn State is currently working on more blitz packages to get pressure on the QB.

FB: Former TE Jesse James will be moving to FB. With 2 stud receiving TEs on the roster, James hasn't seen playing time. At 6 foot 7, 250 pounds, Penn State is hoping he can clear holes on short-yardage downs for 240 RB Zach Zwinak. Last season PSU used a walk-on at FB. With James's upgrade in speed, Penn State hopes to be able to get to the edge faster as well.

MLB: Shocking news from Happy Valley, but safety Adrian Amos will be moving to MLB. Amos almost went Pro after the season, but came back to State College for his senior season. He is reportedly very unhappy with the move, especially after coming back on the promise of being a first round pick in the NFL Draft. With 89 tackle, Amos rates 82 as a MLB, and what he lacks in run support he makes up for in finesse and coverage. It will be interesting to see how PSU utilizes him this season alongside #1 MLB recruit Jon Justice. Amos might see time back at safety against run-heavy teams like Wisconsin.

RB: True Freshman Justin Butler figures to get the label as starter. With a new shotgun-heavy offense installed, Penn State is hoping Butler can add some explosion to the running game and use his WR background as a mismatch in the passing game. Zach Zwinak, the 240 pound Senior will be the short-yardage back, and all-freshman team RB Akeel Lynch will now be limited to reserve duties.  Senior Bill Belton, 83OVR, was shelved last year in favor of Lynch and will compete for playing time.

WR: All-American WR Allen Robinson locks down the #1 slot. Behind him is a complete logjam. Fellow senior Alex Kenney is likely to remain as the #2 WR.  Sophomore Eugene Lewis has the edge as slot WR, but freshmen McKnight and Mayes will compete for the spot along with 6'3" Matt Zanellato. Figuring to use plenty of 4WR sets, it might not be an issue. Coach Eversole has publicly stated his desire to use heavy rotations and keep the WRs fresh.

FS: Redshirt sophomore  Malik Golden and Freshman John Odom both check-in with a 75OVR rating. Given Golden's experience, and improved speed and awareness, he is the early front-runner for the starting nod. Given the depth at SS, Odom could possibly be redshirted if he does not win the starter's role.


More to come as the off-season Progresses. Interesting player progressions and next season's schedule will be coming shortly.

Hey coach ill, mike hunt from fake-newspaper-gazette here. Any reason why you didn't just move Amos to be that hybrid db/olb in that 4-2-5 scheme? I know a lot of people in Happy Valley were excited to see Justice start right away at MLB. 

[Also I'm totally jealous that you landed him.  He was one of my main targets at the start of the year last year and the bastard locked me out]

Hey Mike, of course I will answer any questions from highly reputable newspapers such as yours. 

Justice will be on the field almost all the time, but last year at safety Amos just wasn't an impact player. Passes over the middle were being taken for touchdowns and we think we need to take the chance or deep balls in order to stop the short throws. Speed was a priority for us and last year we just felt like our athletes couldn't compete with other teams. By moving Amos down at LB we think that we can matchup better with 3 and 4WR sets. Expect Amos to move around a lot depending on formation. He will still see some time at safety and possibly even corner.

The plan is to always have 4 lineman and Amos and Justice on the field at all times. The add an extra LB or DB depending on style of the offense. We hope the added speed can help prevent the big pass plays.

Penn State has elected to redshirt their duo of 4star WR recruits. Each WR showed promise, but they each lacked in a specific attribute and coaches will give them a year to train and learn the playbook. With seniors at the #1 and #2 WR positions, PSU is counting on the redshirted freshman to come in next season and make a big impact in the pass game.

Senior RB was also redshited in a surprising move. At 88OVR, Belton fell out of favor last season to Freshman Akeel Lynch and rarely saw the field. Two freshman running backs were not redshirted, with one expecting to start against Florida State in Week 1. Coach Eversole didn't think Belton would get touches in a crowded backfield and plans to use him next season after 240 pound powerback Zach Zwinak graduates.

illmatic_216 wrote:Senior RB was also redshited in a surprising move. At 88OVR, Belton fell out of favor last season to Freshman Akeel Lynch and rarely saw the field. Two freshman running backs were not redshirted, with one expecting to start against Florida State in Week 1. Coach Eversole didn't think Belton would get touches in a crowded backfield and plans to use him next season after 240 pound powerback Zach Zwinak graduates.

Redshirting a senior not for medical reasons?  Yikes

Unfortnately not enough footballs for all 4 RBs to be useful this year 

illmatic_216 wrote:Unfortnately not enough footballs for all 4 RBs to be useful this year 

Nice problem to have. 

Its working so far as you're off to a great 2-0 start.

The defense still looks terrible, I am not feeling confident for playing Mich. State, then going on the play Nebraska and ND in back to back weeks. I will enjoy being undefeated while it lasts.