ESPN's Greg McElroy is the latest national college football commentator to name Penn State as a preseason favorite. McElroy released his preseason college football top 10 on his podcast, “Always College Football,” and ranked the Nittany Lions at No. 8. He called the list “a little haphazard,” but interesting.
McElroy pointed out one thing that stood out to us at AllPennState: When Penn State won the Big Ten in 2016, coach James Franklin replaced both coordinators before the season. “And that's exactly what we had to do again this year,” McElroy said.
McElroy, who scouted the Nittany Lions coming off a 10-3 season, provided a fairly detailed analysis of the personnel and changes on offense and defense. Here's how McElroy assessed Penn State football. “Always college football.” Podcast.
Penn State's offseason offensive moves
“They’re bringing in Andy Kotelnicki from Kansas, and he’s really good at creating matchups, being creative and, for the most part, [being] It's unorthodox. If you look closely, [Kansas’] The offense is triple option. That's what it is. At least that was the case last year. [quarterback Jaylon Daniels] “We had injuries. We went to the triple option, and the way it works, offensive linemen shift, they go in motion, they do all these crazy things. Andy Kotelnicki is really creative. [Penn State] Their offense was great last year. They were great against average opponents. They averaged over 36 points per game against everyone except Ohio State and Michigan. They averaged under 14 points against Ohio State and Michigan.
game.
“So Andy Kotelnicki is going to have to take what I think is a pretty good personnel hire and then enhance that personnel with creativity. The good news is I think he has a great one-two punch in running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. … Those two should be outstanding. I think tight end Tyler Warren is a potential All-American. But the offensive line is going to lose a couple guys up front, most notably O'Fashanu, who was a left tackle. But I don't think O'Fashanu was as good a run blocker as he was a pass blocker. [He was an] He was an elite athlete, but he wasn't just a guy who was going to knock guys off the football.
“I think wide receiver also needs to step up. We lost a couple of guys in the portal, but we have Julian Fleming transferring in from Ohio State. He was kind of a forgotten player in the shuffle at Ohio State. So; [it’s] Not so different from Jameson Williams a few years ago. [from Ohio State] He transferred to Alabama and was an All-American, and maybe Fleming will play that role next year for the Nittany Lions. [Quarterback] “Drew Aller is really efficient and makes good decisions, but I think he needs a little bit more. His touchdown-to-interception ratio of 25-to-2 is crazy. I know that's great, but against the best teams, he's going to need to get a little bit better and a little bit more willing to run down the field and kick the ball into tight spaces.”
On Penn State's defense and the changes they made
“They were really good last year,” McElroy said. “And then they bring in a new coordinator, Tom Allen. Tom Allen takes over for Manny Diaz, and Tom Allen's really good. He was the head coach at Indiana, but he's been an elite defensive mind for most of his career even before he was a head coach. And Penn State allowed the fewest total yards and yards per play last year in 2023. They also had the most sacks. So Allen's definitely walking into a situation where they're in a really good position and he has the potential to have a superstar take over at defensive end from linebacker Abdul Carter.”
“So, your team [Carter] Pair him with Dani Dennis Sutton, who combined with Carter for eight sacks last year, to create a dynamic one-two punch off the edge. The tackle corps is very well-stocked, and the defensive tackles are very confident. [secondary] The Penn State Nittany Lions could be a great team. They added some guys to the secondary that will make them even stronger. Jalen Kimber transferred from Florida and AJ Harris transferred from Georgia. Tony Rojas is a rising star at linebacker. The Penn State Nittany Lions have a lot of stuff they want.”
Penn State will open the 2024 season at West Virginia on Aug. 31. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET on FOX.
More on Penn State Football
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AllPennState is the home for Penn State news, opinions and views on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years and has followed three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and plenty of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter ). Mark Wogenrich.
