Penn State Football Practice Observations: First Day of Camp

The Nittany Lions returned to the practice field outside Holuba Hall for a sweltering Wednesday afternoon practice, kicking off the first fall camp of the Matt Campbell era.

In addition to picking up a sunburn, I also gained valuable insight into the program as the countdown to kickoff dwindles below a month. As the headline implies, here’s what I observed.

First and foremost, quarterback Alex Manske and linebacker Tony Rojas returned to practice after missing the spring. While this was anticipated based on recovery timelines given by Campbell, it was nice to get our first look at them this offseason.

Manske is projected as the Nittany Lions’ backup behind Rocco Becht, but it was Christopher Newport transfer Connor Barry who seemed to take second-team reps throughout practice. This could be an indication of the depth chart, or it could be Manske slowly working back into things after extended time away from the team.

Rojas looked sharp in his return to the field, recording a pass breakup in coverage of tight end Ben Brahmer and faring well in an interesting drill against the running backs (more later).

While the rest of the roster began practice with a comprehensive stretching routine, punters Nathan Tiyce and Lucas Tenbrock took turns booming punts to team managers, most of which were caught by the wind. For any special teams enthusiasts who are particularly interested, Tiyce appears to have the starting spot locked up, based on the rep distribution throughout the afternoon.

The three players I saw returning punts later in practice were wide receivers Chase Sowell, Amarion Jackson and Logan Cunningham.

A lot of the individual and team drills were different from what we had become accustomed to under the previous regime. I’m not going to pretend to know which staff’s drills are more effective, but it was interesting to see something different.

While I was in their corner, the offensive line spent lots of time working on one-on-one blocks, with position coach Ryan Clanton offering advice on just about every rep.

One of the more interesting drills (the one I mentioned before) featured the running backs and linebackers facing off in a test of speed and agility, playing to “thud” contact. I haven’t seen anything similar to that before, and it’s rare to see an offensive and defensive position group working together during indy periods.

The most entertaining part of practice was the 7-on-7 period near the end, which included some interesting matchups (we couldn’t record this part so I have no video to attach). Becht nearly connected with wide receiver Chase Sowell on a nice fade route, but he couldn’t come down with the catch at the pylon. Cornerback Daryus Dixson was in coverage and played it well. Most other plays were fairly routine.

Others on the field with the “starting” offensive group were wide receiver Brett Eskildsen, tight ends Ben Brahmer and Andrew Rappleyea and running back Carson Hansen. Joining Dixson defensively were linebackers Rojas and Kooper Ebel, cornerbacks Audavion Collins and Zion Tracy and safeties Jamison Patton and Marcus Neal Jr.

While Rappleyea was fully participating, he still wore a sleeve on his right leg. It’s a significant improvement from wearing a boot and riding a scooter like he did at Pro Day, but also a sign he’s not at 100%. Also, he stopped to correct fellow tight end Finn Furmanek during a blocking drill, showcasing some of the leadership skills we’ve heard about.

Other Notes

• Rocco Becht broke a huddle with “work” on three.
• At one point, linebacker Alex Tatsch, wide receiver Ben Whitver and safety Jeremiah Cooper were running up and down the field together, away from their teammates. It’s unclear whether it was disciplinary, some kind of conditioning or rehab/recovery.
• The quote of the day goes to running backs coach Savon Huggins, who yelled “You will not get reps if you don’t f—ing finish through the end zone” after a couple lackluster finishes from Quinton Martin Jr. and Cam Wallace while running routes.