Penn State Football: 7 Burning Questions as Nittany Lions Open Spring Practice
Penn State Football hits the practice field with pads and balls for the first time this offseason Tuesday.
After six offseason winter workouts in the books over the past month, the Nittany Lions will be able to participate in on-field drills and prepare for the 2025 season, where Penn State will have extremely high expectations.
As Penn State Football opens spring practice, here are seven burning questions for the 2025 Nittany Lions:
How will Penn State deal with veteran players during spring practices?
Penn State has typically given veteran players lighter treatment during spring practices.
With so many veterans returning in 2025, will Penn State stick to this practice again this spring or with a new defensive coordinator and new pieces to involve in the passing game, will Penn State need to keep veterans involved to get ready for the season? Particularly with quarterback Drew Allar and perhaps safety Zakee Wheatley, I think the approach will be to keep these players involved more than normal throughout the spring.
Allar must develop a rapport with the new Penn State wide receivers if the Nittany Lions want 2025 to be different than 2024.
The connection must be built between Allar and the new receivers this spring and throughout the summer if Penn State wants its wide receiver corps to produce more consistently next season.
On the other hand, Penn State will be implementing at least a few changes on defense with Jim Knowles taking over that unit. After stepping up in a massive way after KJ Winston’s injury last season, Zakee Wheatley will be a focal point on the defense in 2025.
With Knowles installing his changes to the defense starting this spring, it will be important for veterans like Wheatley to get exposure before fall camp begins.
Who will step up in the wide receiver room?
Penn State’s top two wide receivers, Omari Evans and Harrison Wallace III, transferred out of the program after last season.
Even with those two on the roster, Penn State’s receivers failed to catch a single pass in Penn State’s season ending loss to Notre Dame.
With transfers Devonte Ross and Kyron Hudson now suiting up for the Nittany Lions this spring and younger, unproven players on the roster returning, Penn State must use spring practices to determine who will step up for the Nittany Lions at the position next season.
Before spring practice, I took a shot at predicting who will start for the Nittany Lions as the season begins next fall. Throughout spring practices, all eyes will be on this position for hope heading into the 2025 season.
Penn State has plenty of wide receivers who can break out this spring, but fans will want to see it on the field before they believe heading into 2025.
Who will take the lead for Penn State’s QB2 job?
Another transfer out of the program last fall that changed the dynamic of the roster for Penn State was backup quarterback Beau Pribula.
While the program has full trust in returning starter Drew Allar, the Nittany Lions will need to develop a new backup quarterback that they can rely on in 2025.
During his true freshman season, Ethan Grunkemeyer earned plenty of praise from the Penn State staff for his development, eventually being elevated to the QB2 role after Beau Pribula’s transfer.
Jaxson Smolik likewise earned praise from the staff for his handling of a long-term injury last spring that led to him missing the 2024 season.
Now, heading into 2025, both Grunkemeyer and Smolik will battle it out for the backup role to Drew Allar.
While Penn State certainly hopes nothing will happen to Allar in 2025, in the event Allar gets injured like he did against Wisconsin last season, the Nittany Lions must feel confident in either Grunkemeyer or Smolik to take snaps under center.
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How quickly will Penn State pick up Jim Knowles scheme?
Jim Knowles is widely regarded as one of the top defensive minds in college football.
Last season, he led the top ranked defense for the Ohio State Buckeyes to a national championship. However, the talk behind Knowles scheme is that it can be difficult to implement in the first year.
With Penn State bringing back a ton of third-year talented players for one final go around in blue and white, Penn State will need to get up and running with Knowles scheme immediately.
With players like Allar, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Dani Dennis-Sutton, and Zakee Wheatley returning next season, the Nittany Lions championship window is now, and Penn State must show urgency to keeping the defense elite while transitioning to Knowles scheme.
Who can step up to replace Tyler Warren and Abdul Carter?
Its no secret that Penn State must replace two major playmakers before the 2025 season.
Both Tyler Warren and Abdul Carter are considered top 10 talents in next month’s draft, and the Nittany Lions must find ways to replace their production on the roster.
In the tight end room, Penn State and tight ends coach Ty Howle has no shortage of talent waiting after Warren’s departure from the room, but it’s a tall task to actually step up and replace one of the most impactful offensive players in the country last season.
Luke Reynolds looks primed to be the next star at tight end for Penn State, but both Khalil Dinkins and Andrew Rappleyea will not make it easy for Reynolds to claim the TE1 slot outright this spring.
In the defensive ends room, Deion Barnes also has a bunch of talent, but outside of returning star Dani Dennis-Sutton most of the talent is unproven on the field for Penn State at defensive end.
Zuriah Fisher is returning from injury at the position in a fifth season for the Nittany Lions, hopefully healthy enough to step into a starting role opposite Dennis-Sutton. Outside of Fisher, young talents Max Granville, Jaylen Harvey, and Mason Robinson and transfers Jordan Mayer and Enai White could also push for playing time as Penn State needs to fill out both a starting role and rotational positions.
What will Stan Drayton bring to Penn State’s running back room?
After seven seasons hearing the same voice coming from the running back room, Penn State will head into spring practice with a new running backs coach in Stan Drayton.
With both Singleton and Allen returning for a fourth season together in Happy Valley, both could see veteran treatment during spring practice while younger players see important reps.
Both Corey Smith and Quinton Martin Jr. flashed at times last season, and both will have the opportunity to compete this spring for an overlooked but important RB3 job.
Its unclear how far along Cam Wallace is on his recovery from a long-term injury last season and when he will return to the field for the Nittany Lions.
Whoever wins the RB3 battle will play an important backup role to Singleton and Allen in 2025 but could also get a head start on the 2026 starting job after Singleton and Allen head off to the NFL after next season.
Which young linebackers will step up on defense?
While a large cohort of players eligible to return for the Nittany Lions in 2025 opted to return, one NFL draft departure stung for the Nittany Lions in middle linebacker Kobe King.
Heading into 2025, Penn State will likely need to roll with a linebacker that has not recorded a start for the Nittany Lions.
There are a few younger players that could step up at the position, in Anthony Speca, Keon Wylie, Kari Jackson, and Ta’Mere Robinson, but the Nittany Lions will need one or two to step up throughout the spring and fall practices to feel comfortable heading into the 2025 season.
Eyes will be kept on this position all spring, as veteran Dom Deluca may get the veteran treatment with a lighter workload and Tony Rojas’ availability is in question after taking care of lingering injuries this offseason.
Penn State Football will have plenty of time to answer questions on the field ahead of the 2025 season.
The next month of spring practice before the April 26 blue and white game will be vital for the Nittany Lions to get better before taking some time off before fall camp.
Penn State will have extremely high expectations from both themselves and the media heading into 2025. To live up to those expectations, the Nittany Lions will need to take advantage of every rep this offseason.
MORE Penn State Football News via NittanyCentral:
- How James Franklin Can Secure a Top-10 Class in 2026 Recruiting Cycle
- Nittany Lions’ Top Breakout Stars to Watch During Spring Practice
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