Penn State Offense Projection: Drew Allar Leads Dynamic Lineup as Transfer Portal Looms
Penn State Football is now just over two weeks away from its annual spring game, signaling the end of spring practice. However, with the transfer portal opening next week, the Nittany Lions roster is already in flux with JB Nelson no longer listed on the roster as of Friday morning.
So, before the spring transfer portal window opens next week, let’s take a shot at projecting Penn State’s starting lineup on offense.
Penn State Football Projected Starting Lineup: Offense
Quarterback: Drew Allar
No surprise here, Penn State’s former five-star signal caller is back for a fourth season on campus and a third straight season starting for the Nittany Lions.
Behind Allar, Penn State is in the midst of a heavy competition to find a new backup quarterback for 2025 after Beau Pribula transferred to Missouri. Heading into Allar’s final season on campus, Penn State fans will be looking for another year of improvement and for Allar to push Penn State once again deep into the College Football Playoff.
Running Back: Nick Singleton AND Kaytron Allen
In the surprise move of the offseason, both Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen are back with the Nittany Lions for the 2025 season.
Now with a new position coach in Stan Drayton, the dynamic duo will aim for the record books in 2025, with the all-time rushing record in reach for both Singleton and Allen next season.
After three seasons together on campus, its clear that Singleton and Allen are 1A and 1B and will both start and play a ton of football for the Nittany Lions this season.
Wide Receiver: Kyron Hudson, Devonte Ross, and Tyseer Denmark
This is a change from my projection earlier in the spring that Liam Clifford would join Hudson and Ross in the starting lineup, at least initially, because of his experience. From the practice field so far, both Hudson and Ross look like starters for this Nittany Lions team in 2025.
Both transfer players came in with a different energy around them in a wide receiver room in flux after last season.
For the third starter in the room, right now I will go with Tyseer Denmark. Denmark caught attention on the practice field for Penn State last season, but outside of a last-second touchdown in Penn State’s final regular season game against Maryland, was not able to break onto the field for the Nittany Lions.
However, through a few weeks of spring practice, Denmark looks like he could be a valuable contributor for the Nittany Lions this season after an offseason of development and will push for the third starting spot. Beside Denmark, Kaden Saunders looks healthy after missing most of last season due to injury and will push hard for that third starting spot as well.
Tight End: Luke Reynolds OR Khalil Dinkins
Realistically, Penn State will likely have both Reynolds and Dinkins as starters this season with Penn State running a lot of 11 personnel similar to last season.
With Tyler Warren off to the NFL, Dinkins becomes the proven veteran in the room, heading into his fifth season with the Nittany Lions. In 36 games in his career, he has amassed 23 catches for 232 yards and five touchdowns.
On the other side of this position battle, Luke Reynolds looks like the next great tight end in Ty Howle’s position room. Reynolds is a former five-star who ranked as the top tight end in the country in the 2024 class. During his freshman season, Reynolds showed off his high potential, catching nine passes for 111 yards and one touchdown. However, Reynolds 32 32-yard run on fourth and one against Minnesota to help close out the road win remains one of the best moments of Penn State’s 2025 campaign.
Offensive Tackle: Nolan Rucci and Drew Shelton
Drew Shelton is a known commodity at left tackle, having started 23 games over the past three seasons at the position.
On the other side, however, Penn State has a sort of embarrassment of riches with a tough decision to make.
Nolan Rucci and Anthony Donkoh both started and played substantial snaps for Penn State at the right tackle position last season, with Rucci stepping up in the college football playoff after Donkoh went down with an injury late in the regular season.
This spring, however, both Rucci and Donkoh have been sidelined with injuries, leaving offensive line coach Phil Trautwein to turn to former five-star Jven Williams to fill in at the position.
The battle for the right tackle position will be fierce throughout camp, and may even go into the season as it did last year. However, with Rucci heading into his last season of eligibility and Donkoh recovering from the injury, I will project Rucci to win the job for now.
Offensive Guard: Cooper Cousins and Vega Ioane
This projection got quite a bit easier after JB Nelson’s departure from the roster Friday morning. Nelson and Cousins were competing at left guard, and Nelson’s departure seemingly leaves Cousins able to pencil his name into the starting spot. At right guard, Vega Ioane will move over after spending last season at left guard with Sal Wormely heading off to the NFL after exhausting his eligibility.
Center: Nick Dawkins
Another surprise this offseason was the return of captain and starting center Nick Dawkins.
Dawkins enters his second season starting at center for the Nittany Lions with one final season of eligibility in 2025.
With the roster in flux and plenty of competitions still ongoing, this could well change before the season starts in August. However, it is still a fun exercise to project even four months out from the opening kickoff for the Nittany Lions.
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