At Penn State, James Franklin’s best teams have been the ones with the most returning starters. It makes sense: Veteran players usually play better.
That’s what makes the acquisition of receiver of Western Kentucky wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley so important for the Nittany Lions in 2022 – as well as a few more pick-ups in the transfer portal.
Tinsley, who enrolled in Penn State for the start of the spring 2022 semester last week, replaces – at least statistically – the production lost by the departure of Jahan Dotson to the NFL.
Their numbers in 2021 were quite similar even though we know that Conference USA is not the Big Ten. Still, here’s the comparison:
Dotson, PSU – 91 receptions, 1,182 yards, 12.99 ave., 12 TD receptions
Tinsley, WKY — 87 receptions, 1,402 yards, 16.11 ave., 4 TD receptions
(Remarkably, Tinsley was the No. 2 receiver for the Hilltoppers last season. Jerreth Stearns had 150 catches for 1,902 and yards and 17 TDs.)
Penn State can use some more of the experienced Tinsley Types on its 2022 roster. The addition of one-year “rentals” Arnold Ebiketie and Derrick Tangelo along the defensive line by Franklin in 2021 showed the power of gaining plug-and-play experienced players in the portal. Ebiketie had seven starts and appeared in 20 games at Temple before coming to Penn State, while Tangelo played in a remarkable 45 games – with 27 starts – prior to his one season at Penn State.
Why? Experience matters.
The Nittany Lion squads that went 11-3 in 2017 and 11-2 in 2016 were laden with veteran starters. Especially along the offensive line, where it can take a long time to develop players.
Ads the chart below shows, Franklin’s most-experienced team was the 2017 squad that was ranked No. 2 for two consecutive weeks after jumping out to a 7-0 record. That team had accumulated 359 college football starts before the season even started — 88 along the O-line. That No. 2 ranking is the high-water mark of Franklin’s now nine-year reign at Penn State.
The 2016 Nittany Lions had fewer overall starts entering the season (276, still the second-most in Franklin’s tenure), but it did have the most starts along the offensive line, at 91. That’s critical.
That 2016-17 run of 25-5 was the best stretch of the Franklin Era and game-ready players had a lot to do with it.
Contrast those years with 2012, Penn State’s first season under NCAA sanctions. In his rookie season at Penn State, Bill O’Brien started the year with a squad that had only completed 132 starts – and just 15 along the O-line. Yet, the Nittany Lions finished 8-4.
Now, let’s look at where the Nittany Lions are heading into the 2022 season — and why Franklin & Co are searching for some key veterans in the transfer portal who can contribute immediately.
Penn State returns a roster for 2022 that has had had only 227 career starts, with only 36 starts along the offensive lie, where experience is paramount. That is the lowest number of O-line starts in Franklin’s entire time at Penn State, including 2014, his first year, when he bemoaned the low numbers of scholarshipped O-linemen and their lack of experience. The return of veteran Mike Miranda in 2022 would boost those O-line starts from 36 to 66.
If Miranda does not return, the bulk of the Nittany Lions’ experience along the offensive line will be focused on the pair of Caedan Wallace (19 career starts) and Juice Scruggs (13).
Overall, not counting Tinsley, Penn State’s offense returns 135 starts — 32 of them in the person of QB Sean Clifford. Add in Tinsley’s 23 starts with Western Kentucky, and you boost the previous start level to 158.
Defensively, the Nittany Lions are severely lacking in starting experience, with a combined 92 starts returning.
They are especially inexperienced at linebacker, where they must replace three two-year starters and have only one linebacker with more than three career starts — Curtis Jacobs, with 11.
Penn State also is lacking key experience on special teams, having lost Jordan Stout, a multi-year starter on punts and kickoffs. The situation is much better at field goal/PAT kicker, where they also lose Stout but are fortunate Jake Pinegar returns. In 2021, Pinegar made only 1 of 2 field goal attempts and both PATs he attempted. But…overall, in his Penn State career, Pinegar has made 37 of 51 field attempts and 138 of 143 PAT attempts.
Here’s a look at where Penn State currently has the most and least starting experience on its roster heading into the 2022 season. “Currently” is the key.
CAREER STARTS RETURNING
Here’s a look at Penn State’s preseason roster over the past dozen years, with career starts AT PENN STATE for returning players overall (not including kickers and punters) and along the offensive line. 2022 returning starts does not include Tinsley, who had 23 career starts at WKY. Season listed is for starts heading into that year. Note: PSU played only 9 games in 2020, impacting the total number of available starts for the next few years.
Career Starts O-Line Career
Season Returning Starts Returning Record Head Coach
2011 300 52 9-4 Paterno/Bradley
2012 132 15 8-4 O’Brien
2013 164 36 7-5 O’Brien
2014 216 43 7-6 Franklin
2015 245 51 7-6 Franklin
2016 276 91 11-3 Franklin
2017 359 88 11-2 Franklin
2018 202 82 9-4 Franklin
2019 191 62 11-2 Franklin
2020 228 75 4-5 Franklin
2021 212 47 7-6 Franklin
2022 227 36 — Franklin
QUARTERBACK – Career starts lost: 0. Career starts back: 32 — Sean Clifford. Returning 2021 production: 277 completions (95% of all 2021 QB production), 454 attempts (93%), 3,335 yards (95%), 10 interceptions (100%), 24 TD passes (96%).
RUNNING GAME – Career starts lost: 11 — Noah Cain (9), John Lovett (2). Career starts back: 10 — Keyvone Lee (5), Devyn Ford (5)./ Returning 2021 production: 260 carries (59%), 851 yards (61%), 6 TDs (54%).
RECEIVING GAME – Career starts lost, WR/TE: 46 — Jahan Dotson (38), Daniel George (6), Cam Sullivan-Brown (2). Career starts back, WR/TE: 33 — KeAndre Lambert-Smith (17), Parker Washington (16). Career starts back, WR/TE: 41 — if George and Sullivan-Brown return. Career starts back, counting transfer Mitchell Tinsley: 53. Returning 2021 production: 167 receptions (57%), 2,113 yards (60%), 13 TD receptions (52%). Returning 2021 production, counting Tinsley: 254 receptions (87%), 3,515 yards (101%), 27 TD receptions (108%).
OFFENSIVE LINE – Career starts lost: 72 — Rasheed Walker (31), Mike Miranda (30), Eric Wilson (11). Career starts back, OL: 36 — Caedan Wallace (19), Juice Scruggs (13), Bryce Effner (2), Anthony Whigan (1), Olumuyiwa Fashanu (1). Career starts back, OL: 66 — if Miranda returns.
DEFENSIVE LINE – Career starts lost: 25 — Arnold Ebiketie (12), Derrick Tangelo (12), Fred Hansard (1). Career starts back: 35 — PJ Mustipher (17), Nick Tarburton (8), Coziah Izzard (8), D’von Ellis (1), Vilbert Smith (1). Returning production: 62 tackles (56%), assists (53%), 18 tackles for a loss (43%), 7 sacks (38%).
LINEBACKER – Career starts lost: 61 — Brandon Smith (21), Ellis Brooks (20), Jesse Luketa (20). Career starts back: 14 — Curtis Jacobs (11), Jonathan Sutherland (3). Returning 2021 production: 34 tackles (20%), 19 assists (15%), 2 tackles for a loss (9%), 0 sacks (0%), 1 interception (50%).
SECONDARY – Career starts lost: 50 — Tariq Castro-Fields (29), Jaquan Brisker (21). Career starts back: 43 — Joey Porter Jr. (21), Ji’Ayir Brown (13), Keaton Ellis (6), Daequan Hardy (1), Kalen King (1), Marquis Wilson (1). Returning 2021 production: 143 tackles (67%), 77 assists (54%), 11.5 tackles for a loss (21%), 9 interceptions (82%).
POINTS – Returning 2021 production: 133 points (41%), 21 TDs (54%), 2 PATs (5%), 1 FG (6%).
SPECIAL TEAMS – Returning 2021 production: 3 punt returns (18%), 24 punt return yards (14%), 15 kickoff returns (79%), 299 kickoff return yards (85%).
