The fact Penn State is under scholarship sanctions is about as rehashed as something can get.
But on the off chance that you missed that, in a very broad sense scholarship numbers impact recruiting and in turn impact the quality of depth and skill across the roster at every position.
But how do those scholarships spread out across Penn State’s roster as things stand six weeks into the season? People know Penn State doesn’t have the normal allotment of scholarships but where those scholarships ended up is a little less obvious.
Here’s the answer to where they can be found on Penn State’s roster.
Heading into this season Penn State was permitted to have 75 players on scholarship for 2014-15 academic year. That is an increase from the original sanctions which saw Penn State down in the range of 62-65 scholarship players in 2013. Teams not under NCAA sanctions are permitted to operate with up to 85 scholarship athletes.
As it stands today there are 64 recruited scholarship players currently available to play. That number goes down though when you subtract the 16 freshman players likely to redshirt this season. Certainly it isn’t against the rules to play them, but Penn State isn’t going to do it unless something out of the ordinary happens. This largely has to do with physical and mental adjustments that have to be made during the transition from high school to college football.
That brings down the number to 48 recruited scholarship players who are at the disposal of James Franklin and his staff any given week.
Where are the rest of the scholarships?
- Four recruited players who have been injured this season and have not played (G Miles Dieffenbach, LB Ben Kline, TE Adam Breneman, WR Jake Kiley).
- Five former run-ons who have been placed on scholarship.
- Two former players that left team are still enrolled at Penn State and remain on scholarship until they graduate or their eligibility expires, as required by the NCAA sanctions.
All of that added together: 48 active players + 16 to be redshirted freshman + 4 injuries + 5 run-on players + 2 former players = 75 scholarships.
By class it breaks down in favor of the future and not so much in favor of this season. In a similar vein, Penn State is the nation’s second youngest team, with 76 underclassmen (49 freshmen/27 sophomores) among the NCAA limit of 105 players during training camp. Only Pittsburgh had more underclassmen, with 81.
Assuming no injuries or unexpected news items impact the roster over the next 13 days, Penn State will take these scholarship numbers to battle in two week. Seniors – 7; Juniors – 11; Sophomores – 15; Redshirt Freshmen – 7; True Freshmen – 24 = 64
In total there are 12 seniors on the roster. Eleven of the seniors are on scholarship; 8 were recruited scholarship players; 7 are available to play against Ohio State.
And remember when there was mention of scholarships impacting depth and experience?
With the injury to returning starting guard Miles Dieffenbach, the offensive line entered the season with a combined total of 20 career starts, all by junior tackle Donovan Smith. Center Angelo Mangiro (Jr.), tackle Andrew Nelson (RS Fr.) and guards Brian Gaia (Soph.) and Brendan Manhon (RS Fr.) all made their first career starts in the season opener vs. UCF.
In fact, junior Donovan Smith is the team’s only scholarship offensive tackle among the sophomore, junior and senior classes. There are four scholarship true freshman offensive tackles who have not played this season that the coaching staff hopes to redshirt.
-Future-
Penn State can sign a full class of 25 recruits and return to the maximum of 85 players in 2015-16 according to the NCAA which recently removed the remaining years on the Nittany Lions’ sanction sentence.
But can they make it to 85 that soon?
Currently the Nittany Lions have 19 verbally committed players to the 2015 class. Assuming for the sake of argument that one more signs that rounds things out at 20 incoming freshman.
Assuming that all 11 seniors depart following this season that brings 75 down to 64 scholarship players heading into the offseason. Adding 20 freshman puts the number at 84. For the sake of argument though we will assume that over half of them redshirt which really brings the available numbers back down into the high 60s to low 70s. That number could change depending on injuries and transfers that are difficult to predict or anticipate. (*Penn State is permitted to sign 25 players for the 2015 cycle, the limit under the usual NCAA rules)
So technically yes, Penn State can get close to the 85 scholarship players it hasn’t had for years. It won’t play all 85, but no team in the nation plays every single freshman or even every single player during the course of the year.
What will take Penn State time though is stocking up on positions across the board with quality down through the depth chart. Not all scholarship players are created equal and it might be a while before Penn State’s 85 is back on par with the likes of Ohio State and Michigan State.
Ultimately this doesn’t create clarity in terms of how Penn State will perform this season, but it does give a clearer picture of the situation Franklin and company are dealing with on a regular basis. Forty-eight scholarship players competing against 70+ Ohio State scholarship level players is a tough ask.
And that’s not an excuse, it’s just reality.
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