Penn State football held its 12th practice of the spring Saturday afternoon in Beaver Stadium, with 7,521 in attendance — a mixture of player, coach and staff guests and first-year students.

The practice included warmups and a controlled scrimmage with no score-keeping, and gave reps to a vast majority of the players on the Nittany Lions’ roster.

Here are some notes, observations and takeaways from the practice.

Kalen King shines

The Nittany Lions have been looking for a corner to take the starting job opposite senior Tariq Castro-Fields, and if Saturday is any indication, a true freshman has put himself in that conversation. Freshman cornerback Kalen King, who arrived on campus in January, played as well as anybody on the field during Saturday’s scrimmage. King made several excellent plays in the game — including two interceptions, one of which he ran back for a touchdown — but was also consistently good.

He went up against Cam Sullivan-Brown near the goal line on one play and stuck with the veteran receiver as he ran to the corner of the end zone, forcing quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson to roll out in the opposite direction, essentially eliminating Sullivan-Brown from the play. Those are the type of plays a young corner can easily get burned on, especially by a veteran like Sullivan-Brown, but that wasn’t the case with King.

His teammates and coaches have frequently mentioned him as standout player this spring, with head coach James Franklin even calling him the most advanced true freshman he’s had in his time at Penn State.

The Penn State head coach elaborated on what makes him so advanced Saturday after the practice.

“He is physically ready, he’s a guy that’s come in and is already physically developed from a weight standpoint, a strength standpoint,” Franklin said. “He’s also very mature, him and his twin brother (linebacker Kobe King), are both very mature. They know how to prepare, they know how to compete, they know how to work. … He’s got tremendous confidence in his talent and he’s got ball skills. … He’s always around the ball and he’s got a pretty good understanding of what we’re asking him to do from a scheme perspective.

“What you guys saw today isn’t new. We’ve seen it all spring.”

It’s unclear if King will be able to surpass his older position mates to start as the No. 2 corner opposite Castro-Fields, but he got reps with the first team Saturday and showed why he’s earned so many rave reviews this spring.

Top 2 quarterbacks have ups and downs

Sean Clifford is by far the most experienced quarterback in the position room at Penn State, but he didn’t do much to instill confidence in the position during Saturday’s limited sampling. The redshirt junior is heading into his third season as the team’s starting quarterback but showed many of the same flaws he exhibited during his uneven 2020 campaign.

Clifford struggled with his deep ball in the practice, underthrowing multiple open receivers downfield, but it was his decision-making skills that were most concerning. The quarterback missed open receivers and instead scrambled out of the pocket or into the pass rush. He also threw an interception to King on a pass attempt where he was off balance and jumped while passing the ball. The result was a pass that King easily came down with for the defense.

Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich said he and Clifford have been working on increasing his consistency.

“We’re working on it,” Yurcich said. “I don’t want to give you an evaluation right now because we’re not where we need to be. But the effort is there, concentration is there, the want-to is there. I don’t know where it is, but we’re going to continue to work every day. That’s the biggest thing. Where can I help him improve? How can I coach him better? How can I get through to him faster to where we’re making zero mistakes and he’s on point? We’re chasing that perfect game.”

Clifford’s backup, redshirt freshman Ta’Quan Roberson, had his fair share of struggles but was able to find more consistency in the middle of the practice. Roberson made a mistake early and threw an interception to King on a screen pass that never seemed to develop.

He was able to recover, however, and put together a few positive drives, including one that concluded with a back-shoulder throw to Daniel George in the end zone that was perfectly placed by the quarterback. Roberson didn’t look quite ready to take the helm of a college offense, but he showed flashes that he can get there eventually.

“Both Ta’Quan and (true freshman quarterback Christian Veilleux) showed really good flashes of understanding what we’re trying to do how to operate the offense Mike wants it run,” Franklin said, “and then also the ability to make some plays and have the vision to read a defense and then deliver a throw. Ta’Quan, this spring, has probably had as many of those kind of ‘wow’ throws as anybody.”

Emptying the notebook

• Sophomore Marquis Wilson took the field at wide receiver after playing his first two seasons at cornerback, where he played in 19 games and made two starts. He primarily played with true freshman quarterback Christian Veilleux and the third-team offense.

• Yurcich’s offense displayed several new looks Saturday in the scrimmage that the offense hasn’t shown in recent years. The unit took multiple snaps from under center, although one was dropped by Clifford, and utilized motion on several occasions, including a handoff to Wilson on a jet sweep. The offense also ran a triple option out of the shotgun while maintaining many of the run-pass option plays that previous offensive coordinators have utilized.

• The Nittany Lions have generally had their defensive ends put their hand in the dirt as a down lineman under defensive coordinator Brent Pry, but that wasn’t always the case Saturday. Arnold Ebiketie frequently lined up as a stand-up edge rusher at the end of the line, and redshirt freshman Smith Vilbert did the same opposite him with two defensive tackles in between. That stance could benefit Ebiketie, who was all over the field, using his athleticism and explosion to be disruptive.

• The punting game may be of concern for Penn State this season. Punter Jordan Stout, who also kicks on kickoffs and field goals 50-plus yards out — although he also attempted a field goal from 42 yards Saturday — did not have his best showing during the practice. He mishit one punt and then struggled on another punt without a defense rushing him. Stout struggled somewhat last season and Saturday was a continuation of that.

• Penn State’s running back room is deep but freshman Keyvone Lee had the best day of the group. Lee displayed plenty of the power and aggression that allowed him to run for 438 yards on 89 carries last season. He doesn’t have the long speed or acceleration that teammates Devyn Ford and Caziah Holmes possess, but he plays similarly to Noah Cain — who did not take any reps — and should force his way into the rotation once again this season.

• The wide receivers have clear No. 1 and No. 2 options atop the depth chart with Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington, but the competition for the third spot appears to be between Sullivan-Brown and freshman KeAndre Lambert-Smith. Both showed why they’re in the mix during Saturday’s scrimmage. Sullivan-Brown was able to create separation with refined route-running and made a standout catch on a ball thrown behind him. He had to track the ball on its way, re-adjust and contort his body to make the play and haul in the pass. Lambert-Smith is also an excellent route runner but relies more on his suddenness and acceleration to create that same space.

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