Penn State Football Practice Observations: Day 2

The Nittany Lions returned to the practice field for the second day of fall camp on Thursday, and so did members of the media, who were granted a viewing of nearly the entire session.

It remained hot and humid outside, but this time with a smattering of rain throughout the afternoon, which created a slicker playing surface and resulted in some slippage.

After spending much of my time watching the offense Wednesday, I made it an emphasis to watch some defensive drills. Coincidentally, we were allowed access to the far sideline, which had previously been off limits but allows a closer look at the defense.

I made my way to the defensive line, where the overall size of the unit stood out most. Oklahoma State transfer tackle Armstrong Nnodim, in particular, appeared to be of a different species.

Also worth noting, linebacker Caleb Bacon spent time practicing with the defensive ends during indy drills, potentially preparing for some kind of hybrid edge role this season.

Defensive end Max Granville, who’s coming off an extensive injury that held him out for the entire 2025 season and kept him limited throughout the spring, was fully active and looked sharp.

Slightly farther down the field were the cornerbacks, who practiced breaking up passes while I was there.

Everyone seemed to enjoy yesterday’s “quote of the day” from running backs coach Savon Huggins, so today I’ll include two. The first, from cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, was “This is how we make plays. This is how we change the game.”

If the ball was jarred loose during the drill, Smith constantly reminded his players to scoop it up in case of a fumble, a nice touch that could prove important in a real game situation.

Sophomore cornerback Jahmir Joseph was wearing No. 0 despite being listed on the roster as No. 23. I was able to confirm he’s made a permanent switch for the upcoming season to a number previously worn by special teams captains Jonathan Sutherland and Dom DeLuca at Penn State.

Even farther down the field, safety Jeremiah Cooper was off to the side rehabbing from an injury sustained midway through the 2025 season at Iowa State. In his place, Jamison Patton was getting first-team reps alongside Marcus Neal Jr.

As I made my way back to the offensive field, I passed by NFL scouts from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens. The 49ers scout had a quarter zip with a faded logo, so I had to get up close to see what team it was and may have looked like a creep in doing so, but it was a crucial detail for this story.

Tight end Gabe Burkle was absent for the first portion of practice and later came out in pads but no helmet. He didn’t participate in any drills as he recovers from injury, but he hung around the tight ends regardless.

The most entertaining portion of practice was once again the 7-on-7 period, which we couldn’t record. Wide receiver Brett Eskildsen had the catch of the day, hauling in a contested deep ball with an impressive toe tap, causing the team to erupt.

However, wide receiver Logan Cunningham had the second best reception, coming down with a great diving catch from the arm of quarterback Rocco Becht.

The celebrations were brief, however, as the coaches ushered new groups onto the field to maximize time. To help illustrate the intensity of this period, running back Carson Hansen’s Gatorade towel, which was tucked into his pants, was somehow ripped cleanly in half despite it not being a tackling drill.

Tight end Andrew Rappleyea and wide receiver Peter Gonzalez (who was wearing a brace on his right leg) brought some extra physicality, continuing to run and colliding into multiple defenders despite being whistled down already.

I’ll close with the second quote of the day, from offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, who yelled “I wanna see some sexy-ass routes from you here, James” as running back James Peoples lined up out wide.