Penn State Football Camp Update: Notes and Observations From Practice

Quarterback Drew Allar often wears sweatpants during practice regardless of temperature, but today was different. Was it the heat? Or is the quarterback more confident, because he was wearing shorts. 

During Penn State’s local media day, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki said that he jokingly told Allar, “You’ve got to stop wearing sweatpants at practice. …You’ve got great hamstrings now.” Maybe Allar is just listening to his coach, but he’s also gotten leaner and faster this offseason. 

“He wears more sleeveless shirts now that he has a few muscles for the first time in his life,” quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien joked. “He’s in the best shape of his life.”

A setback at RB3?

Franklin ended his post-practice media session with a short answer about the competition for the third running back spot. Cam Wallace, Quinton Martin Jr. and Corey Smith are the top contenders for the job backing Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Wallace. However, Franklin said that no one has separated, for a variety of reasons.

“I think it’s still wide open,” Franklin said. “We’ve had some inconsistency there in terms of who’s practicing and who’s not, guys getting dinged up and things like that, so that thing’s still wide open.”

Allen Robinson in attendance

Allen Robinson knows a thing or two about being a wide receiver at Penn State and was keeping a close eye Tuesda on the Nittany Lions.

The All-American, in town for a few days, still holds Penn State’s single-season record for receiving yards (1,432 in 2013), a mark that also led the Big Ten. So it’s no surprise that a lot of Penn State’s receiver drills Tuesday focused on jump balls. Even head coach James Franklin yelled, “That’s the jump-ball king right there,” while Robinson watched.  

“Whenever we have those guys back, it’s great,” Franklin said after practice.

Now what makes someone good at catching jump balls? Receivers coach Marques Hagans elaborated: “The guys that can exhibit that they have arrogant hands where they can catch the ball away from their body, because that’s a lot of the times the difference between converting on third and seven or having to punt are those tight contested windows,” he said.

In practice, Trebor Pena and Kyron Hudson executed those drills well, and Hagans said that he’s encouraged several Penn State receivers will have “arrogant hands” this season.

Could Ethan Grunkemeyer be QB2?

Right after Allar took a rep during the media viewing window, quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer was next in the rotation. During some drills, Jaxon Smolik was on the other side of the field away from the two quarterbacks. 

But O’Brien said that the backup quarterback job is “still wide open and still rotating.” 

“It’s a very healthy competition, like our room is very tight-knit, but they both know what they’re competing for,” O’Brien said. 

Practice concluded with Allar and Grunkemeyer throwing deep balls to receivers in the end zone, and both looked fairly accurate and on time with their throws. O’Brien said there’s no timeline for naming the backup quarterback but that he's pleased with how Grunkemeyer and Smolik are progressing.

Classic ball-handling 

You don’t always need rain to simulate wet playing conditions. Kotelnicki, sporting a College Football Playoff t-shirt, sprayed water on the footballs while players moved through ball-handling drills at the start of the open practice window. 

Kotelnicki is always very involved with those drills, talking to players while they go through reps, and Tuesday was no different. O’Brien said that in year two of Kotelnicki’s offense, there’s strong chemistry, and the staff is a lot more comfortable together. 

“Everyone feels empowered to voice their opinion and come out on the same page, no matter which way it goes,” O’Brien said. “Fall camp kind of feels like a continuation of last year versus a starting point this time last year.”