Penn State Blue & White Recap (Includes recruiting & game gallery by Paul Burdick)

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Michael Pietrangelo | April 24, 2022

Spring ball in Happy Valley concluded with a 17-13 Blue(defensive) win over White (Offense) at Beaver Stadium. For those who aren’t familiar, The Blue and White Game held at Penn State every spring dates back seventy-one years to 1951 under then newly hired head coach Rip Engle. Unlike many final spring practices of the era where teams would play another school, this game would be an intersquad scrimmage sponsored by the Alumni association to raise money for the general scholarship fund. According to Penn State sports historian Lou Prato, tickets sold back then for a dollar a piece. Word on the street is that students paid half price! The total in attendance that day was about five hundred spectators and the two sides played for a water bucket as their trophy. Fast forward to today, the price of admission is free however parking will cost you about twenty bucks. Attendance was announced at around 62,000 and aired live on the Big Ten Network. Many Alumni and future Nittany lions could be seen throughout the event. Enough about the history and fan fair, let’s dive into the meat and potatoes.

This year unlike years past because of depth issues on the offensive line, the scrimmage was broken down into eight segments. Scoring for the game was interesting especially on the defensive side of the ball. The defense was awarded 7 points for a defensive touchdown, 2 points for a safety, 3 points for a fumble recovery, 3 points for an interception, 2 points for a 3 & out, 2 points for a sack, and 1 point for forcing a punt. When the offense was on the field they received the traditional 6 points for a touchdown, 1 point for an extra point, and 3 points for a field goal. All special teams and 7v7 segments were not scored towards the final total. After the game head coach James Franklin had this to say regarding the day’s events, “I’m appreciative of 60,000 [fans] we had at the game, beautiful day. I’m not sure who got that done for us, but we appreciate that as well. For the most part, we stayed healthy, got a ton of reps, managed a challenging situation with our offensive line based on numbers. I know today wasn’t exactly what the fans or the media wanted, but it was the best thing to do for our program and then still maximize the opportunity that we had.” To be honest I think most in attendance and those watching at home enjoyed the new format, I know I did.

Here’s a recap of scoring from Beaver Stadium…

Offense 7, Defense 0: Receiver Mitchell Tinsley scored the first points of afternoon scrimmage action, reaching the end zone on a 13-yard catch that came via a swing pass from quarterback Sean Clifford.

Offense 7, Defense 4: The Penn State defense forced consecutive three-and-outs from offensive units

Offense 7, Defense 7: Drew Allar’s first pass ends up in the hands of a defender during a seven-on-seven period. Receiver Omari Evans had the toss hit his hands downfield, but it bobbled upward and resulted in an interception for linebacker Bobby Walchak. That interception produced three points for the defense and tying this competition.

Defense 10, Offense 7: The defense forces a turnover on downs and another 3-and-out, which produced two points and one point apiece.

Defense 13, Offense 7: Linebacker Dominic DeLuca nabs his second interception of the day, intercepting a toss from freshman QB Drew Allar, and tacking on another three points to PSU’s defense.

Defense 15, Offense 10: Penn State’s offense gets back on the board with a 49-yard field goal from kicker Sander Sahaydak. The defense responds, producing a pair of points via a sack by defensive end Amin Vanover.

Defense 15, Offense 13: A 44-yard field goal from kicker Jake Pinegar.

Defense: 17, Offense 13: Defensive end Spencer Perry sacks QB Beau Pribula in the end zone.

Defense 17, Offense 13: from inside the opposing five-yard line, QB Beau Pribula found Omari Evans in the back of the end zone, but safety Zakee Wheatley hit Evans hard and came down out of bounds.

My biggest takeaways from the game:

It was apparent that the offense and second year OC Mike Yurcich wants to run the rock and run some more. Keyvone Lee and Devyn Ford looked more confident behind their blockers and seemed poised. Lee was more decisive in his runs and Ford had some huge plays that put the Penn State offense in great position.

Take this as you will but Freshman running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen both looked great. Singleton took his first touch of the day in for a two-point conversion with ease. He powered through the line and followed his block into the endzone. Singleton caught quite a few passes on the day as well. Allen looked mature and a lot faster than advertised. He hit the holes with some power and speed. With more time and practice the combo of Allen and Singleton has the potential to be electrifying for years to come.

The Lines on both sides of the ball are a work in progress. Injuries may cause issues down the road. The defensive side seems to be a little further along than the offense. The defensive line made some nice plays and came up with a few great stops. As the season progresses, I see them coming into their own. New DC Manny Diaz seems to be injecting his personality and creativity into the new defense. Zane Durant was surprisingly disruptive and may have played his way into a good chunk of playing time. The Offense still has a lot of work to do. They showed signs of good things to come. I do believe Offensive Line coach Phil Trautwein is making this unit better each day and we should start seeing progress up front.

The special team’s unit is looking to replace Jordan Stout but let me tell you Jake Pinegar and Sander Sahaydak looked great and connected from long range on multiple occasions. Sahaydak hit one from 49 that impressed the crowd. Gabriel Nwosu can flat out punt! He has great hangtime and gave his unit ample time getting down on coverage. I think Penn State’s special teams and coach Stacy Collins are going to maintain a high standard of play.

At the conclusion of spring practices head coach James franklin seemed happy with how things concluded and had this to say, “We answered some questions this spring, but we still have some questions going into fall camp. There’s a lot of work that still needs to be done between now and fall camp and then before you know it … we will be getting on a plane to go to Purdue to open up national television Thursday night, which will be awesome opening up with a Big Ten game on the road. I’m pleased with our progress. [Defensive coordinator] Manny Diaz being able to get here, being able to watch bowl practice and then get 15 practices of spring ball was very, very important. Year two under [offensive coordinator] Mike Yurcich was very, very important.

While again it’s only spring I was left feeling very optimistic and so should you. We saw some great things today to garner the excitement. Some young guys seemed to be further ahead than expected and some vets looked primed for success moving forward.

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