Penn State football notebook | Opening on the road, injury update

Penn State will begin Big Ten play this Saturday as it travels to Illinois and will look to improve to 3-0 in 2023.

James Franklin met with the media on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and several storylines arose entering the contest against the Fighting Illini.

Here are the biggest takeaways from Franklin’s availability.

Injury update

Penn State has been without three contributors to begin the season, but the trio’s return seems imminent.

Defensive linemen Amin Vanover and Coziah Izzard, as well as cornerback Daequan Hardy, were spotted at practice on Wednesday in their regular uniforms.

Although the trio of defenders have yet to make their debut this season, they are still impacting the game from the sidelines.

Defensive end Adisa Issac was extremely complimentary of Vanover’s leadership and hustle to return to the field.

“He’s keeping his head up. He’s gonna make a turn very soon,” Isaac said. “[He’s] keeping his head up, not slacking off and keeping his foot on the gas because when he gets in there, he’s gonna cause havoc as well.”

Allar hits the road

Drew Allar impressed in his first two starts this year, but he faces his toughest test yet, making his first career start away from the confines of Beaver Stadium.

Franklin mentioned the second-year quarterback has grown more comfortable and confident within the offense and as a leader.

“He’s doing all the right things and taking all the necessary steps,” Franklin said. “We expect it to be a challenging road environment, but we didn’t wait until this week to prepare for that.”

However, Allar does have experience playing on the road. In his collegiate debut, he came in for Sean Clifford midway through the contest as Clifford went down with an injury.

Allar completed two passes and picked up a pair of first downs before Clifford returned to action, but Franklin noted the experience was valuable for the young gun-slinger.

Road Warriors

This campaign marks the eighth consecutive where Penn State begins conference play on the road.

The last time the Nittany Lions had opened Big Ten play at home was in 2015 against Rutgers, and Franklin wants to break the streak opening away from Beaver Stadium.

“We’re just experts of opening on the road, whether it’s the first game, the second game, the third game, the fourth game, not only in my 10 years, but I think over the last 15 years,” Franklin said. “I think we’re gonna put an offseason clinic on how to open the Big Ten.”

The last time Penn State and Illinois played was in 2021, and the Fighting Illini took down the Nittany Lions 20-18 at Beaver Stadium in a record-setting nine overtimes.

Standout freshman

In the blue and white’s 63-7 victory over Delaware, it had the opportunity to get many of its true freshmen their first game experience.

Safety King Mack, whom Franklin gave the “green light” to play before the season opener, has already played in two games and received praise from the head coach.

“He was a guy that we identified very early on in training camp,” Franklin said. “We felt like he was going to factor in on defense.”

He also added that Mack plays aggressively and violently, and his role should continue to progress as the year rolls on.

However, Mack wasn’t the only true freshman that stood out on Saturday as defensive lineman Jameial Lyons notched his first career sack.

Despite proving “that he belongs” in both practices and games, Lyons still has the “yellow light,” Franklin said.

Two freshmen offensive linemen, Jven Williams and Anthony Donkoh, made their collegiate debut against the Blue Hens as well.

Donkoh showed up “really far ahead developmentally,” Franklin said, while Williams has made “tremendous strides” in his pass protection.

Alex Rocco is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email alex.rocco1702@gmail.com.