3 questions that Penn State football will need to answer heading into offseason

Penn State football’s 2021 season wrapped up Saturday with a 24-10 loss in the Outback Bowl to the No. 21 Arkansas Razorbacks. The loss moved Penn State to 7-6 on the season with a 4-5 record in the Big Ten.

The Nittany Lions began the year as well as they could have, winning their first five games, including those over Auburn and Wisconsin. They fell apart after going up 17-3 early in the second quarter against Iowa when redshirt senior starting quarterback Sean Clifford left due to an injury. Clifford didn’t return to the game and the Lions lost 23-20, sending the team into a downward spiral. The senior quarterback returned for the next game — a 9 OT home loss to Illinois — and never looked the same as he and the Nittany Lions lost six of their final eight games.

Now heading into the offseason, Penn State head coach James Franklin and his program will have to fill voids and retool in preparation for the 2022 season.

Let’s take a look at the three most pressing questions prior to the team’s return to spring practice in March.

How will the team address the running game?

This is going to be Penn State’s biggest question until the problem is solved. The Nittany Lions were abhorrent on the ground this season and were unable to gain any traction in most of their games. The fault for their struggles could be placed at the feet of almost everyone involved in the rushing attack. The offensive line struggled to create space for the running backs, who didn’t do much with the space they were given. The idea of running when everyone in the stadium knows you’re going to run is something Franklin harped on throughout the season, but that only set up the team to fail at something it already struggled mightily with.

Penn State has multiple ways to approach changes. First and foremost, it needs to improve in the trenches. The Lions have made the top five for offensive lineman Hunter Nourzad, who is in the transfer portal after playing at Cornell, and could use more powerful linemen like him to make those improvements. The other biggest change will enroll for the spring semester. Five-star running back Nicholas Singleton is the single most impactful back the team has recruited since Saquon Barkley arrived on campus. Still, the program will need to improve upon its offensive line, which didn’t get easier with starting left tackle Rasheed Walker’s decision to leave early for the NFL.

Will they add a transfer portal linebacker?

There isn’t a bigger hole on the defense than the one at linebacker. There’s only one surefire starter currently on the roster in linebacker Curtis Jacobs. The rest of the room lacks experience on the field and that will either force young players like Kobe King and Jamari Buddin into playing time. The best option for the program will be to search in the transfer portal to find players who can come in and make an impact immediately.

That means scouring for veterans who have made an impact at the Power-5 level. Those types of players may not be there now, but more players will enter throughout the spring, after spring and even into the fall. It’s imperative that Franklin and his staff find a way to address the biggest need on the defense. Without another option, King and Buddin will have to go from redshirting as freshmen to playing major snaps as redshirt freshmen — an undesirable position for a program that will need its offense to once again carry the team in 2021 unless there’s major offensive improvement.

Who will step up to replace departing players?

It isn’t just the linebackers who have left a void on the defense. Penn State will have holes at safety — with Jaquan Brisker’s departure, defensive end — with Arnold Ebiketie’s departure at cornerback — with Tariq Castro-Fields’ departure. There are other vacancies at defensive tackle and left tackle, but Brisker, Ebiketie and Castro-Fields could be the three most difficult to replace.

The safety spot has two primary returners who could take those spots this offseason. Keaton Ellis and Jaylen Reed will both have a chance at the starting spot, along with Daequan Hardy, who said prior to the Outback Bowl that he would play more safety in the game and in 2022.

Ebiketie has a clear direct replacement in Adisa Isaac, who missed the 2021 season due to an undisclosed injury. Isaac is the type of talent who may be able to replicate — or even outproduce — what his predecessor did. He’ll have an opportunity to be one of the best players on Penn State’s defense next season, but a young player like Zuriah Fisher could push to fill some of the vacated snaps with a big offseason.

The final spot seems clear as day, but will require some improvement. Kalen King played as a true freshman and took over Castro-Fields’ spot in the Outback Bowl. He looks to be one of the best players in Penn State’s 2021 recruiting class and should have an impact. However, he’ll need to be less mistake-prone as he takes the next step forward as a cornerback.