Penn State doesn’t have a game this coming Saturday, but practices continued as usual over the team’s first bye week of the season.
On Tuesday evening, members of the media were let in for a glimpse at the Nittany Lions’ practice following a win over Villanova to advance to 3-0 on the year. Here’s what went down.
DDS DNP
Dani Dennis-Sutton was fully dressed in pads, but he stood off to the side, helmet in hand, while his teammates ran through drills. Many of the defensive line drills involved some form of simulated pass rushing, with Dennis-Sutton remaining nearby and attentive to instructions from position coach Deion Barnes, though he didn’t participate.
He appeared to get banged up late in the Villanova game and was taken out for what many assumed to be a precaution.
Head coach James Franklin will likely be asked about and provide an update on Dennis-Sutton’s status when he speaks to the media on Tuesday evening.
Coaching moment
Though the team was pumping in simulated crowd noise throughout practice in preparation of the White Out against Oregon in two weeks, possibly the loudest noise of the day came from defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
Typically calm and reserved, Knowles was watching the linebackers run through a drill involving lots of movement and coordination. The drill appeared to simulate a zone defense, with the linebackers reacting to movement from three players and coaches simulating offensive pass-catchers and determining who was covering who.
After a particularly disorganized rep, Knowles yelled “Do it again, do it again,” his voice cracking and echoing across the field.
One-on-ones
Toward the end of the viewing session, Penn State’s pass-catchers and defensive backs ran one-on-one drills, with Drew Allar and Ethan Grunkemeyer both getting passes in.
The drill kicked off with wide receiver Tyseer Denmark running a slant and getting lots of separation from safety Zakee Wheatley. Denmark later got a step on safety Antoine Belgrave-Shorter for another reception. His only incompletion came on a pass breakup from safety King Mack, who matched him stride for stride.
Wide receiver Ethan Black dropped his first pass, which hit him in the chest, but bounced back with a sliding catch against cornerback Xxavier Thomas.
Koby Howard also had a nice basket catch down the left sideline in tight coverage, but he was called for offensive pass interference. On a later rep, Howard drew a pass interference call on safety Kolin Dinkins. Freshman cornerback Jahmir Joseph put the clamps on Howard, however.
On his two reps, wide receiver Jeff Exinor Jr. beat safeties Dejuan Lane and Braz Thomas on shorter routes.
Other results among reserves included wide receiver Anthony Ivey besting defensive back Max Heffner and wide receiver Matt Outten beating Tyler Armstead twice.
