Just when I thought there would be no significant Penn State football news until late July I was proven wrong by the Athletic Department at PSU which on Thursday released an updated post-spring practice depth chart. As I said in my last article college football truly has become a sport requiring year round coverage. As for the depth chart itself were a few surprises on it so I will take this opportunity to comment on some of the more notable ones.
1. Quarterback. The official listing is Tyler Ferguson OR Christian Hackenberg. This is surprising considering that Hackenberg has not participated in one official practice at Penn State and won’t until August 5th-less than 4 weeks before the opener against Syracuse. Of course Hackenberg will be on campus in about a week and will immediately become involved in the strength and conditioning workouts led by Craig Fitzgerald. He also will surely participate in unofficial practices organized by various players. What this listing indicates to me is that Coach Bill O’Brien is not sold on Tyler Ferguson as a long-term answer to the opening at quarterback. More and more it appears quite possible that at some point this season Hackenberg will take over the starting QB position at PSU and absent injury keep it through the 2016 season.
2. Running Back. The surprise here is not that Zack Zwinak is listed as the starter; it is that Bill Belton is still second on the depth chart. Akeel Lynch, who had an excellent Blue-White Game, is still third. I anticipate that all three backs will se time early on; however, if Belton continues to have problems holding on the ball I would expect Lynch to become the primary outside threat at running back for PSU. Obviously if healthy Zwinak will be the primary ball carrier for the Lions this fall.
3. Tight End. The surprise here is that Adam Breneman is third at one of the tight end positions after Kyle Carter (no surprise given he was all Big Ten last season) and also Brent Wilkerson who saw little time on the filed last season. Yes Breneman could not fully participate in spring drills due to a knee injury he suffered last summer. However, an inability to participate in practice, albeit for another reason, doesn’t seem to have hurt Hackenberg. Perhaps a red shirt for Breneman is in the cards.
4. The Secondary. Adrian Amos, who started at corner last season, is now a starting safety. One would therefore expect the third corner last season (Stephon Morris having exhausted eligibility), Da’Quan Davis to be one of the two starters. However, he is not; the listed starters are Trevor Williams and Jordan Lucas, both of whom like Davis are sophomores. As for safety neither of last year’s starters is a lock to be one at the start of this season. Stephen Openg-Apyapong is Amos’ back up at one spot while the other 2012 starter, Malcolm Willis, who it seems has been at PSU forever, is listed with Ryan Keiser as the starter (using that OR designation.). What this indicates to me is that John Butler may not be particularly happy with the way the secondary played this spring. I think that changes in the depth chart in the secondary as the season progresses are much more likely than in the front 7 of the defense.
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