3 Penn State freshmen vying for early playing time

STATE COLLEGE — Every great team needs young players to step up. If Penn State is to reach its national championship hopes, some freshmen will have to produce.

James Franklin, at Tuesday night’s practice, named three players who are pushing for playing time midway through fall camp: cornerback Daryus Dixson and defensive ends Chaz Coleman and Yvan Kemajou.

Dixson and Kemajou have garnered buzz since enrolling early last winter. Coleman, though, has burst onto the scene quickly after a summer enrollment.

Penn State hasn’t officially made its list of green-light freshmen ready to burn their redshirts, but these three are well on their way.

Here’s why each player is standing out:

CB Daryus Dixson: Dixson (6-foot, 191 pounds) made a big hit during the Blue-White Game this spring, jump-starting his hype train. But he has continued to earn more looks on the depth chart.

His size is on par for the Big Ten already, and he continually has become more of a fluid athlete since arriving.

Dixson was Penn State’s best defensive prospect in the 2025 class. He ranked four stars and the 16th-best cornerback nationally.

DE Chaz Coleman: Coleman (6-4, 240) played quarterback in high school and was a ridiculously athletic basketball player. His football recruitment process started late, and Penn State had to battle to keep him in the class after he committed.

He ended the cycle as a four-star prospect and the nation’s 31st-best edge rusher.

Coleman quickly has added weight and impressed on the field. He’s up roughly 25 pounds in a matter of a few months, Franklin said. He also earned recognition from defensive coordinator Jim Knowles as the “Defender of the Day” a few practices ago.

“His physicality, his explosiveness and his motor have been impressive. Everybody’s talking about him,” Franklin said. “It’s early, but he’s flashed, and there’s a lot of excitement about his abilities already.”

DE Yvan Kemajou: Kemajou (6-3, 250) got a few reps with the first-string defense during the spring game and held his own. In a defensive end room desperate for depth post-Abdul Carter and after a Max Granville injury, Kemajou and Coleman will have plenty of opportunity.

He was a four-star, the seventh-best Maryland prospect and No. 316 nationally.

D-line coach Deion Barnes this spring complimented Kemajou’s physical traits but hedged his praise on a summer’s worth of lifting and scheme installation. Clearly, he has continued to excel.