Penn State football's WPIAL players discuss hopes for next season at Fox Chapel event

Penn State redshirt senior tight end Khalil Dinkins felt prepared when the Nittany Lions reached college football’s biggest stage last season.

How Penn State has prepared this summer since reaching the semifinals of the first 12-team College Football Playoff last season hasn’t felt much different to Dinkins.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound North Allegheny graduate believes that familiarity will be important for the Nittany Lions, who will enter this season a top-10 ranking and national title aspirations.

“Ever since I’ve been here, we’ve been going to the Rose Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl,” Dinkins said. “The nice thing about Penn State is that we’re always so used to having a whole bunch of people watch us that even when we’re at a big stage, it doesn’t affect us that much.”

Dinkins was one of a handful of Penn State players with WPIAL ties who attended the Happy Valley United event Wednesday night at Fox Chapel Golf Club. Anthony Speca (Central Catholic), Peter Gonzalez (Central Catholic), Kolin Dinkins (North Allegheny) and Alex Tatsch (Latrobe) also attended the event, which also included Penn State coaches Terry Smith and James Franklin and director of high school relations Bob Palko.

Penn State will open the season Aug. 30 at Beaver Stadium against Nevada. The Nittany Lions will play their first four games at home, including their Sept. 27 Big Ten opener against defending conference champion Oregon.

Dinkins has appeared in 36 games for Penn State. Last season, he finished with a career-high 122 receiving yards on 14 catches. Dinkins served as a complement to Mackey Award-winning tight end Tyler Warren.

The Indianapolis Colts chose Warren in the first round of the NFL Draft.

“With Tyler, I was able to show off my blocking,” Dinkins said. “Hopefully, this year I can show off that I’m more dynamic with pass catching and be able to run after the catch. Hopefully, y’all can see that this year. I’ll still show off my physicality.”

Gonzalez took a redshirt season last year.

The 6-2 wide receiver said he took the opportunity to learn some important lessons.

“I’d say the biggest thing is the mental workload that comes with college football,” Gonzalez said. “Coming from high school to college, it’s a lot different. Just knowing the playbook and your position and all that comes with it, contributing on special teams and so on. So, just really being prepared mentally for all that comes with it and being able to take the good with the bad was the biggest thing I had to adjust to.”

Gonzalez said he likes the opportunity the playoff system provides teams. Penn State finished 13-3 last season, but the expanded playoff meant losses to Ohio State in the regular season and to Oregon in the Big Ten title game didn’t hurt them.

“It gives us a lot more freedom when it comes to the games, playing with less fear, not that we ever had any, but it gives us the freedom to attack every game at 100 percent,” Gonzalez said. “Our goal is to win every game.”