After Andrew Rappleyea scored his first college touchdown a week ago against Nebraska, Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith described the redshirt sophomore tight end as “Terry Smith tough.” His definition was “we fight to the death.”
On Saturday in the bowels of SHI Stadium, he doubled down. While Rappleyea was speaking to the media following a career day against Rutgers, Smith walked through the tunnel toward the team bus and shouted “Rap is Terry Smith tough.”
“No, I’m Superfly tough,” Rappleyea responded, referring to Smith’s nickname from his playing days as a wide receiver at Penn State, drawing a smile from his coach.
He finished with a career-best four receptions for 75 yards, finding the end zone for the second consecutive week.
He also converted a critical fourth down on the final drive of the game to seal the 40-36 win. Facing fourth-and-two, Rappleyea motioned across the alignment pre-snap. When a defender followed him, signifying man coverage, he knew the ball was coming to him.
“Getting myself more and more opportunities week to week has been awesome,” Rappleyea said. “I’m just doing my job and coach (Ty) Howle believing in me to go out there and do my job has been absolutely great. Throughout the years, I was coming back from a tough time, so it might have taken me a little while to shake everything off. I was playing fast, playing physical. Felt good, but now I’m at the top of my game.”
Rappleyea was referring to an injury that took nearly his entire 2024 season, when he started the season-opener at West Virginia and didn’t return to action after. Since recovering, he’s battled with veteran Khalil Dinkins and talented sophomore Luke Reynolds for playing time.
Dinkins still leads the group with 495 total snaps this season, while Reynolds and Rappleyea trail with 388 and 333, respectively, per PFF. Rappleyea also ranks third in receiving yards (162) this season, behind Reynolds (229) and Dinkins (167). On paper, he’s been the third option, but in recent weeks there’s been a growing sense that he’s the future of the room for his growing prowess as both a blocker and pass-catcher.
“Talent goes a long way. Everybody’s got talent in the Big Ten,” Rappleyea said. “But I think the thing with Terry that really separates him from a lot of coaches that I’ve had the experience to play for is, he’s just a tough dude. At the end of the day, go do your job, be physical, put the guy on the ground.”
In addition to his receptions, Rappleyea earned a season-high 89.1 run blocking grade from PFF against Rutgers and played a big role in the team’s season-best 300 yards on the ground.
He helped spring a 55-yard run from Kaytron Allen and was celebrating on the field after. That’s not unusual for Rappleyea, who often shows excitement after pancaking or otherwise bullying a defender.
“Legal physicality, plain and simple,” Rappleyea said. “My father has instilled a lot of things in me, and I love the dude to death. I’ve had a great support system my whole life … I’ve always taken it very personal when you try to run through me. Occasionally, it’s gonna happen, you end up being the nail, not the hammer, but that’s something I take a lot of pride in.”
