Penn State hit the practice field on Wednesday afternoon for another day of work ahead of the team’s final nonconference matchup against Villanova.
The viewing window began with two offensive groups, one consisting of tight ends and running backs and the other consisting of quarterbacks and wide receivers, alternating through two drills.
One drill featured a classic ball security aspect, with players diving onto a large padded mat and being hit with equipment while holding footballs.
The other drill required players to stiff arm a yoga ball rolled by tight ends coach Ty Howle before dodging a second ball rolled by running backs coach Stan Drayton. The second time through, players dodged Howle’s yoga balls and stiff-armed Drayton’s. Drayton began throwing the ball through the air, making it more difficult to stiff arm away. Wide receivers Tyseer Denmark and Anthony Ivey received praise from Howle for good reps.
Nearby, the offensive linemen practiced blocking, with Nick Dawkins snapping the ball before he, left guard Drew Shelton and left guard Vega Ioane burst into action and ran to the left. After they went through a couple times, Cooper Cousins and Matt Detisch got reps at left guard and left tackle, respectively.
At the same time, the wide receivers transitioned to a blocking drill, an aspect they’ve emphasized this season which has paid dividends through the first two games. They partnered up and blocked each other, practicing going side to side while maintaining good foot and hand placement.
On the defensive practice field, the defensive backs spent an extended time backpedaling, running alongside a teammate without flipping their hips.
James Franklin made his way around the practice field, stopping to observe the linebackers and chat with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. The position room worked on catching passes, simulating reading quarterbacks’ throws and breaking on them for interceptions.
Toward the end of the viewing window, the linemen began working on one-on-one pass rush drills. Freshman Chaz Coleman, a rising star at defensive end, notably bulldozed starting left tackle Drew Shelton to the ground on one rep, earning surprised yells from the onlookers.
The tight ends and wide receivers met up with the quarterbacks, with Drew Allar throwing to Khalil Dinkins, Luke Reynolds, Andrew Rappleyea, Kyron Hudson, Trebor Peña, Devonte Ross, Tyseer Denmark, Liam Clifford and Koby Howard, the presumed two-deep.
Most of the passes were either 6-yard outs or curls, though Ross was used on both a screen pass and a go route. No passes hit the ground throughout the drill, coming days after Franklin expressed dissatisfaction with drops against Florida International.
Backup QB Ethan Grunkemeyer got reps with Anthony Ivey and other practice squad members wearing different jersey numbers.
