Defense dominates rain-soaked scrimmage: What we saw from Penn State’s open practice

Penn State began its practice under a light rain Saturday night with a few alterations around the Lasch practice fields. On the sideline sat several sets of bleachers where fans looked on at the Nittany Lions. Beyond one of the end zones sat a bouncing castle and multiple food trucks, along with carnival games. And while those additions made Saturday more of a festive atmosphere, the heavy rain came in and left a smaller, dedicated group of fans to see the main event — a rare open fall practice on the football field.

The program ran through individual drills quickly before moving its scrimmage up in the practice.

Here’s what we saw on the field in those scrimmage situations and in the drills before and after.

Offensive scrimmage notes

• All of this comes with the caveat that this is one practice three weeks before the season starts — one that happened in rainy conditions. This is not necessarily indicative of who the team will be, but it is the most complete picture of the on-field product until the season opener against West Virginia.

• That being said, the offense struggled in the scrimmage portion of the night. Sophomore quarterback Drew Allar let it rip more than a few times, showing off his impressive arm strength and the ability to throw with touch down the field. However, he wasn’t always able to connect. It seems that timing is still an area of improvement at the moment, which should come as the season approaches.

• Sophomore quarterback Beau Pribula is competing with Allar for the starting job, but was not as impressive as his classmate. His accuracy wasn’t great and he seemed inclined to tuck and run before working through his progression. That being said, he’s also the type of quarterback who should play better in games than in practice because of his athleticism and ability to improvise.

• There’s not much to say about the running backs from a scrimmage standpoint. They didn’t have a lot of room to run and were often stopped in the backfield.

• KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Harrison Wallace III are the top two receivers right now for good reason. Both did a great job of separating in the middle of the field and finding ways to get open. Both have easy speed and athleticism to make things happen as downfield threats.

• Omari Evans is a good complement to the other two receivers as an elite speed weapon who can blow by his opponents, but Dante Cephas looks comfortable as a potential third starter as he continues to acclimate to a Big Ten program. Like the two starters, he was able to separate in the middle of the field and had a good rep with Pribula at quarterback doing just that and pulling a pass in.

• Malick Meiga showed off his downfield speed and made a good catch over the top from Allar with Cam Miller covering him. Meiga should continue contributing on special teams, but he and Malik McClain have the size and long speed to be true deep threats as rotational receivers.

• Liam Clifford has strong hands and did a good job of finding open space, even if the ball didn’t come his way. He should have a role this season as a potential slot option.

• The tight ends weren’t overly involved in the offense from a passing game standpoint. That could be a result of the offense looking more vanilla because the practice was open to the public. I would still anticipate Theo Johnson having a large role this season. That being said, the only touchdown during the scrimmage was scored by freshman tight end Joey Schlaffer on a pass from freshman quarterback Jaxon Smolik.

• Projected starting guard Landon Tengwall was not seen at practice, while star left tackle Olu Fashanu didn’t participate in the scrimmage.

• The offensive line didn’t create many lanes in the running game but did better in pass protection. Chalk it up to bad weather and not having one of the best linemen in the country in those reps.

Defensive scrimmage notes

• This is going to be one of the best defenses in the country. There’s talent at all three levels and it’s elite talent at that.

• Kalen King might be the best corner in the country. He was dominant at times during the scrimmage, breaking up multiple passes, including a deep shot intended for Wallace. He and Johnny Dixon might somehow be an even better starting duo than he and Joey Porter Jr. were last season.

• Daequan Hardy is as competitive as ever in the slot. He’s in position to bounce back to his 2021 form after a down 2022 season.

• Keaton Ellis, K.J. Winston and Zakee Wheatley were rotating in at first team safety. Winston continues to be really impressive and someone that could be the next great Nittany Lion safety. He’s only in his second year but he might be talked about as one of the team’s elite defensive talents by the end of the season.

• King Mack did well in his reps and seems ready to play at this level. He’s good enough to burn his redshirt and play all season if the coaching staff views it as worthwhile. He was all over the place Saturday night and should be right behind Winston as a potential elite safety.

• Abdul Carter and Curtis Jacobs are as advertised at linebacker. Both are excellent athletes, but Carter is probably a level above Jacobs from that standpoint.

• It will be interesting to see how the inside linebacker spot plays out. Kobe King was very impressive and moves well for the position. He and Tyler Elsdon split reps there last season.

• The defensive line won against the offensive line more often than not and Adisa Isaac and Dani Dennis-Sutton played a big part in that on the outside, while Jordan van den Berg made his presence felt from his spot at defensive tackle.

• It can’t be stressed enough — this defense it elite and it has the type of young talent to make you think it’s going to be this good for a while.

Special teams notes

• Sander Sahaydak and Alex Felkins each had their share of struggles and successes at field goal kicking. They both did better in the post-scrimmage kicks from within 40 yards. Felkins did hit from 53 yards out in the scrimmage.

• Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen both got the primary reps on the kick return team while Kaden Saunders had the first crack at the punt return job.

One-on-one reps

• Penn State closed the practice with a one-on-one drill between a ball carrier and a defender. It wasn’t a traditional Oklahoma drill, with both players coming in at an angle.

• Both sides of the ball were vocally engaged, with plenty of trash talk after each rep.

• Mack was very good each time he went, stuffing Cephas on one rep before getting freshman tight end Andrew Rappleyea later on.

• The drill was entertaining, but is also a good indication of some of the “make you miss” ability this offense has.

• For instance, Singleton ran right by linebacker Dom DeLuca, not even needing to make a move to blow by him. His position mate, Allen, ran through an arm tackle from Carter.

• Lambert-Smith elicited “oohs” from the fans and team when he evaded Kalen King with a juke that left the cornerback on the ground.

• Winston, unsurprisingly, was very impressive in a rep against Schlaffer. He and Lambert-Smith went head to head for the final three reps. The safety won the first one, wrapping up the receiver before he could make a move. But Lambert-Smith got his revenge on the final two reps, leaving Winston on the ground like he did King to award the defense with 20 push-ups.

Scenes from the evening