Penn State Game 7 Snap Counts at Michigan and Season Totals

Penn State’s struggles continued with another loss on Saturday, this time at the hands of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

The Nittany Lions blew a 3-0 halftime lead and quarterback Rocco Becht committed three turnovers but remained in the game. Defensively, Penn State made some personnel changes against the Wolverines, which were reflected in the snap counts.

Here’s a look at who played, and how much, in the game, per PFF (season totals in parentheses):

Quarterbacks

Rocco Becht – 80 (419)

Alex Manske – 0 (45)

Connor Barry – 0 (17)

Jack Lambert – 0 (1)

Becht completed 28 of 44 pass attempts for 267 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He added seven carries for a loss of 1 yard (including sacks) and a fumble in the loss.

Running Backs

Carson Hansen – 61 (219)

James Peoples – 16 (147)

Quinton Martin Jr. – 3 (66)

Cam Wallace – 0 (45)

Amar’e Glover – 0 (4)

Hansen returned to being the bell-cow back, racking up 15 carries for 51 yards and one touchdown. While unimpressive on paper, the eye test showed some growth, with Hansen battling for tough yards even if he continued to miss running lanes. Peoples and Martin combined for seven carries for just 16 yards.

Wide Receivers

Chase Sowell – 59 (354)

Brett Eskildsen – 51 (298)

Zay Robinson – 23 (119)

Amarion Jackson – 5 (55)

Keith Jones Jr. – 2 (14)

Koby Howard – 0 (94)

Karon Brookins – 0 (35)

Peyton Falzone – 0 (7)

Peter Gonzalez – 0 (2)

Sowell set career highs with 11 catches for 151 yards plus a touchdown, but there was little production from the other wideouts. Jones saw his first action since the season opener against Marshall but wasn’t targeted.

Tight Ends

Andrew Rappleyea – 71 (303)

Benjamin Brahmer – 65 (304)

Gabe Burkle – 35 (165)

Finn Furmanek – 7 (92)

Brian Kortovich – 0 (37)

Bobby Mears – 0 (30)

Logan Cunningham – 0 (18)

Rappleyea was heavily involved for the second consecutive week with seven receptions for 34 yards. Brahmer hauled in four passes for 24 yards while Burkle had his longest reception of the season at 20 yards.

Offensive Line

Malachi Goodman – 80 (437)

Cooper Cousins – 80 (425)

Anthony Donkoh – 80 (425)

Trevor Buhr – 80 (424)

Brock Riker – 80 (386)

Garrett Sexton – 2 (51)

Vaea Ikakoula – 0 (91)

Donnie Harbour – 0 (45)

Chimdy Onoh – 0 (42)

Will Tompkins – 0 (31) – out for season

Owen Aliciene – 0 (21)

Henry Boehme – 0 (18)

Jim Fitzgerald – 0 (18)

Hunter Albright – 0 (8)

The Nittany Lions stuck with the typical five-man rotation for the entire game, bringing in Sexton for jumbo packages

Defensive Line

Alexander McPherson – 37 (194)

Keanu Williams – 35 (246)

Ikenna Ezeogu – 30 (212)

Armstrong Nnodim – 28 (126)

Ty Blanding – 24 (99)

Yvan Kemajou – 21 (233)

Dallas Vakalahi – 19 (136)

Siale Taupaki – 18 (200)

Caleb Bacon – 16 (177)

Alijah Carnell – 0 (39)

De’Andre Cook – 0 (34)

Liam Andrews – 0 (25)

Jackson Ford – 0 (22)

Max Granville – 0 (22) – out for season

Kemajou was listed as a game-time decision and appeared limited with a smaller workload than normal. Blanding made his first career start and was one of three defensive tackles on the field to begin the game.

Linebackers

Tony Rojas – 55 (270)

Kooper Ebel – 43 (255)

Cael Brezina – 12 (127)

Alex Tatsch – 0 (81) – out for season

Cam Smith – 0 (17)

John Klosterman – 0 (4)

The Nittany Lions rolled with just two linebackers on every defensive snap, with Rojas on the field for every play while Brezina subbed in for Ebel as the Mike at times. Tatsch was recently announced as out for the season, while Smith was a game-time decision and did not play after suiting up.

Cornerbacks

Audavion Collins – 51 (316)

Josiah Zayas – 46 (250)

Zion Tracy – 44 (254)

Daryus Dixson – 40 (274)

Jahmir Joseph – 19 (167)

Ibn McDaniels – 0 (51)

Tyler Armstead – 0 (19)

Donte Nastasi – 0 (10)

Christian Askew – 0 (1)

Penn State’s cornerbacks continued to be a strength of the team, limiting Michigan to just 90 passing yards with Zayas and Tracy coming away with interceptions. Tracy played in a safety role for the second consecutive game.

Safeties

Jamison Patton – 48 (204)

Marcus Neal Jr. – 11 (168)

Jeremiah Cooper – 7 (226)

Xxavier Thomas – 1 (33)

Vaboue Toure – 0 (73)

Bryson Williams – 0 (16)

Tyrell Chatman – 0 (6)

With four cornerbacks on the field most of the game and Tracy playing in a safety role, there were few snaps to go around. Cooper saw a significant reduction in time, while Neal saw some burn after not playing a week ago against USC.