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TABLE TALK: The Upcoming 2025 Penn State Football Season · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

0:27
Speaker 1: Welcome to Table Talk here at the Philadelphia Sports Table
0:31
Speaker 1: podcast show, the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show
0:34
Speaker 1: in the world, twelve years strong. We've got a great
0:38
Speaker 1: show coming your way here on Table Talk. Great interview
0:41
Speaker 1: we have, and we've got our great, great friend he's
0:44
Speaker 1: been coming on for so many years with us from
0:46
Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio of the Lehigh Valley, our good friend,
0:50
Speaker 1: Mike Raymond. Mike, Buddy, thanks so much for jumping on
0:52
Speaker 1: this week.
0:53
Speaker 2: You said twelve years. I've been there since you're one.
0:57
Speaker 1: I know, I know there are a few of you
0:59
Speaker 1: that have been here since year one. Man, definitely appreciate
1:02
Speaker 1: you taking the time. I can't believe the college football
1:05
Speaker 1: season is going to be here before we know it.
1:06
Speaker 1: We're of course going to be getting into this upcoming
1:08
Speaker 1: Penn State season, man, but dude, we're gonna.
1:11
Speaker 3: Get into it. But man, hi high hopes for this
1:13
Speaker 3: Penn State team.
1:14
Speaker 2: Man, It's it's interesting. I'll talk about it later on
1:18
Speaker 2: in the interview, but we had the opportunity just a
1:20
Speaker 2: few weeks ago to talk with Penn State center Nick
1:23
Speaker 2: Dawkins on the Happy Hour Show, and believe it or not,
1:27
Speaker 2: you know, they're the players try to insulate themselves from that.
1:30
Speaker 2: But it's hard, you know, especially when the summer months
1:33
Speaker 2: come around, you're going back home to your hometown. Yeah,
1:35
Speaker 2: you know, you can turn off Twitter, you can turn
1:37
Speaker 2: off social media, you can turn off everything and insulate
1:40
Speaker 2: yourself the best you can. But when you when you
1:43
Speaker 2: hear from family members and friends, you know, it's the
1:46
Speaker 2: expectations are out there that's fair or unfair. They have
1:49
Speaker 2: to deal with.
1:50
Speaker 3: It absolutely well.
1:51
Speaker 1: There's expectations Mike heading into this season for this Penn
1:55
Speaker 1: State quarterback, a quarterback that is projected to be selected
2:00
Speaker 1: in the NFL Draft at some point of course, based
2:03
Speaker 1: on what type of season he has. And I'm talking
2:05
Speaker 1: about mister Drew Aller. Our eyes are going to be
2:08
Speaker 1: on him to see if he's gonna be able to
2:09
Speaker 1: take that next step and help to really, I think,
2:12
Speaker 1: set the tone for a potential Penn State national title.
2:16
Speaker 1: I can't believe I'm actually saying that. I'm going I
2:18
Speaker 1: gotta pinch myself here. Last season he had three three
2:22
Speaker 1: and twenty seven yards passing twenty four touchdowns, eight interceptions.
2:27
Speaker 1: It really is a pivotal year two for Aler, not
2:30
Speaker 1: only because of what is you know, what his play
2:33
Speaker 1: will eventually mean for possible opportunities in the NFL as
2:37
Speaker 1: I mentioned, but also really taking this Penn State offense
2:41
Speaker 1: to that next level. So when you think of Drew
2:44
Speaker 1: Aller ceiling this coming year, what does that look like.
2:48
Speaker 3: To you, Mike?
2:50
Speaker 2: I mean, this is the season, right this is where
2:52
Speaker 2: Drew Aller has the opportunity to be a household name
2:54
Speaker 2: or just another highly touted prospect that couldn't quite put
2:58
Speaker 2: it together. And it's unfair to kind of agorize and
3:00
Speaker 2: boil it down to just that because you had mentioned
3:03
Speaker 2: the touchdown in interception ratio last year thirty three hundred yards,
3:06
Speaker 2: all the all the statistics are there. I think what
3:10
Speaker 2: most Penn State fans are probably going to be looking
3:12
Speaker 2: forward to seeing more of Drew Aller doing that next
3:15
Speaker 2: step stuff where you know, takes command late in games,
3:18
Speaker 2: can can elevate those around him. You know, we saw
3:22
Speaker 2: what he was able to do with Tyler Warren a
3:23
Speaker 2: year ago. He elevated him to the best tight end
3:25
Speaker 2: in the country. Can he do that with a brand
3:28
Speaker 2: new stable of wide receivers? You know through the transfer portal,
3:32
Speaker 2: he has all the experience under his belt. This his
3:34
Speaker 2: year two under Andy Colt Nicky's offensive scheme, the structures
3:38
Speaker 2: in place, you know, whether it be more RPOs, more
3:41
Speaker 2: vertical shots. We know he has that howitzerf for an arm.
3:44
Speaker 2: He can try to stretch the field with some of
3:46
Speaker 2: these new weapons. We saw the speed that they're trying
3:49
Speaker 2: to acquire with with the wide receiver out of Troy.
3:51
Speaker 2: We keep hearing about, but this is his opportunity. Like
3:55
Speaker 2: you said, he has to be a top five quarterback
3:57
Speaker 2: in the country that those are the type of play
4:00
Speaker 2: that elevate your team as a whole to a national
4:02
Speaker 2: championship caliber product.
4:04
Speaker 3: Ye.
4:05
Speaker 2: And if he hits that, Penn State's offense can absolutely
4:07
Speaker 2: be in the national title conversation.
4:09
Speaker 1: He's always been great, I think at reading the field,
4:11
Speaker 1: seeing the field, keeping his eyes down the field, which
4:14
Speaker 1: I think is one of the reasons why that touchdown
4:16
Speaker 1: to interception ratio which you mentioned has been so important
4:20
Speaker 1: to his collegiate career. He really doesn't throw that many interceptions,
4:24
Speaker 1: I mean eight last year, yes, and there were some.
4:27
Speaker 2: A lot of those were in that USC game right
4:29
Speaker 2: when he was trying to come back and win. You know,
4:30
Speaker 2: he was trying to just be a gunslinger. That game
4:32
Speaker 2: and it ultimately paid off. So maybe more of that. Yeah,
4:35
Speaker 2: I don't know if you I don't know if Penn
4:37
Speaker 2: State fans are going to necessarily, you know, sign up
4:39
Speaker 2: for more turnovers for higher upside, but certainly James Franklin
4:44
Speaker 2: it probably wouldn't. But you saw what he could be
4:46
Speaker 2: as a top level competitor in that USC game.
4:49
Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely, Well, let's move on to another aspect of
4:53
Speaker 1: this offense, which I cannot wait to watch. I mean,
4:56
Speaker 1: we are going to see a lot of rushing yards
4:59
Speaker 1: this coming Sea and Mike from Nicholas Singleton and k
5:02
Speaker 1: Tron Allen. They are entering their senior year. Last year,
5:06
Speaker 1: twenty twenty four, they became the first running back duo
5:09
Speaker 1: to each run for over one thousand yards in a season.
5:13
Speaker 1: When it comes to this two headed monster here, this
5:16
Speaker 1: rushing attack, I think we're going to see some special
5:18
Speaker 1: stuff again yet this season from these two running backs.
5:21
Speaker 1: Again keeping our fingers crossed that they both stay healthy.
5:24
Speaker 1: Of course, I mean they have certainly raised the bar
5:27
Speaker 1: in terms of running backs in the collegiate level, especially
5:31
Speaker 1: of course Division one. Do you think they could have
5:34
Speaker 1: an even better season than last year? What are your
5:37
Speaker 1: thoughts here.
5:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think absolutely, especially early on in this season,
5:41
Speaker 2: I think Allen and Singleton are going to be leaned
5:43
Speaker 2: upon to be the focal points of that offense until
5:46
Speaker 2: Drew Raller gets that and builds that rapport with the
5:48
Speaker 2: new wide receivers on the outside. But they're not just
5:50
Speaker 2: explosive runners, They're veteran leaders, and I think that is
5:53
Speaker 2: going to be a huge part of what the team
5:55
Speaker 2: is going to expect out of them. You know, you
5:57
Speaker 2: mentioned the each rushing for one thousand yards over the
6:00
Speaker 2: yards last year. That's fantastic, that's great. I want to
6:02
Speaker 2: give you a trivia question, Jeff. You know who the
6:04
Speaker 2: all time all time leading rusher in Penn State history
6:07
Speaker 2: is not that far back. That far bank people kind
6:13
Speaker 2: of forget about how Evan Royster was able to be
6:16
Speaker 2: a accumulator. I'm just throwing it out there because Singleton
6:22
Speaker 2: and Allen are just about a thousand yards shy of
6:25
Speaker 2: his all time career rushing mark at Penn State. So
6:30
Speaker 2: you know, it's he's kind of in that forgotten era
6:33
Speaker 2: like they were really good but not great that you know,
6:36
Speaker 2: they were a good but not great team, but certainly
6:38
Speaker 2: better than the early two thousands. But you know, Singleton
6:42
Speaker 2: certainly has the vision. He has the breakaway speed. We
6:44
Speaker 2: saw it against Boise State and the what is that
6:46
Speaker 2: was that the Fiesta Bowl, Yes, Fiesta Bowl in the
6:49
Speaker 2: second round game of the College Football Playoff last year.
6:53
Speaker 2: And Alan, of course, his physicality is is his calling cards.
6:55
Speaker 2: So it's how they compliment one another, how they can
7:00
Speaker 2: you know, spell one another if it gets too many
7:02
Speaker 2: carries for one guy in one game. And with that
7:06
Speaker 2: consistent offensive line play, you know, one of the most
7:08
Speaker 2: veteran returning offensive lines in college football. I think it's
7:12
Speaker 2: going to be on that running game to continue to build.
7:15
Speaker 2: And once that running game is able to be such
7:18
Speaker 2: a feared thread of the Penn State offense, that's when
7:21
Speaker 2: stretching the field becomes possible for Drew Aller, like he
7:23
Speaker 2: can start throwing those long balls down the field. Because
7:26
Speaker 2: they're respecting the running games so much, they're bringing so
7:29
Speaker 2: many people into the box to defend it. So I
7:31
Speaker 2: wouldn't be surprised if both guys hit that thousand yard
7:33
Speaker 2: mark this year. Double digit touchdowns. I think somebody has
7:38
Speaker 2: to take the scoring title away from Tyler Warren last year.
7:41
Speaker 2: So why can't it be these two guys who have
7:43
Speaker 2: just been a crucial part And just remember, like these
7:46
Speaker 2: guys had opportunities to play elsewhere at some great Division
7:48
Speaker 2: one programs, but they decided not only to come to
7:51
Speaker 2: Penn State, to stay at Penn State. They respected the
7:54
Speaker 2: prost They didn't need to be the feature back because
7:56
Speaker 2: they know together they are the best running back room
7:58
Speaker 2: in the country. So I'm sure there were knocks of
8:00
Speaker 2: the door, you know inbox messages and here's what we
8:03
Speaker 2: can offer you being the transfer portal. No, they stayed
8:05
Speaker 2: loyal to Penn State, and hats off to them for
8:07
Speaker 2: doing that. And I'm sure a Penn State fans will
8:09
Speaker 2: remember that come you know, their legacy time. You know,
8:12
Speaker 2: like absolutely that speaks Penn State fans like they buy
8:15
Speaker 2: into that kind of stuff.
8:16
Speaker 1: Absolutely, the pressure is going to be on them, But
8:18
Speaker 1: I think the pressure is also going to be on
8:21
Speaker 1: another unit. And look, it's the wide receiver corps. What
8:25
Speaker 1: I want to get into here at this point, because
8:27
Speaker 1: when you look at the offense, I guess not everything
8:29
Speaker 1: is one hundred percent positive necessarily heading into the season
8:32
Speaker 1: with this Penn State offense, I mean, for what seems
8:35
Speaker 1: like Mike just an ongoing theme year after year after year,
8:39
Speaker 1: there are questions about how effective the wide receiver group
8:42
Speaker 1: is going to be. We're hearing those you know, you know,
8:45
Speaker 1: those rumblings over here on the side, you know, are
8:47
Speaker 1: they really going to be effective? Due to transfer portal graduations,
8:52
Speaker 1: Penn State lost three of their starting wideouts from twenty
8:54
Speaker 1: twenty four. Plus you mentioned Tyler Warren, they of course
8:57
Speaker 1: lose him. He was drafted by the Indianapolis and they
9:02
Speaker 1: do have Khalil Dinkins tight end, who I think is
9:05
Speaker 1: going to be a pretty nice threat in the end zone.
9:08
Speaker 1: Not too many people know about him yet, I don't believe,
9:11
Speaker 1: but I think he's going to be a more popular
9:13
Speaker 1: name come the end of this season. But when it
9:15
Speaker 1: does come to the wide receiver corps overall, what is
9:18
Speaker 1: your level of concern really heading into this season?
9:22
Speaker 2: Yeah, legitimate question marks one hundred percent, especially because we
9:25
Speaker 2: saw what the the wide receiver the wide receiver room
9:28
Speaker 2: just kind of wave by, and there was a guy,
9:31
Speaker 2: there was guys that just you thought, we're going to
9:33
Speaker 2: stick around, you know, potentially could Omari Evans was a
9:36
Speaker 2: name that I thought had an opportunity to be an
9:38
Speaker 2: emerging talent. This year, he opted to find another place
9:40
Speaker 2: to play football. And really quickly, I want to just mention,
9:43
Speaker 2: because you brought up tight end and Khalil Dinkins, it's
9:45
Speaker 2: kind of plug and play. Whether it be Khalil Dinkins,
9:47
Speaker 2: whether it be Luke Reynolds wo we saw last year,
9:49
Speaker 2: Andrew Raplier we didn't get to see because he got hurt.
9:52
Speaker 2: That's what I think they'll They'll be just fine at
9:55
Speaker 2: tight end. It won't be the dominant performance like what
9:58
Speaker 2: you're used to with Tyler Warren, but at the same time,
10:00
Speaker 2: you'll be just fine in getting a guy who can
10:03
Speaker 2: do some damage either way. So going back to the
10:06
Speaker 2: wide receivers, though get legitimate question marks, they go to
10:09
Speaker 2: the transfer portal. They get treb Or Pena from Syracuse,
10:12
Speaker 2: which was a late acquisition, and to me, I think
10:15
Speaker 2: is it speaks to what they really believe in what
10:20
Speaker 2: he could bring to this Penn State offense because he
10:23
Speaker 2: was that late addition. He was announced the morning of
10:25
Speaker 2: the Blue White game. If you remember, you know that
10:27
Speaker 2: was already after they got Kyron Hudson from USC in
10:31
Speaker 2: the transfer portal, after they got Devonte Ross from Troy,
10:34
Speaker 2: the all Sun Belt kid, who is, by the way,
10:36
Speaker 2: a really great special teams threat you should be aware of.
10:39
Speaker 2: You know, he's a new wide receiver, kind of undersized,
10:42
Speaker 2: but certainly a dangerous special teams guy, and who had
10:45
Speaker 2: a really successful game. If you go back last year
10:48
Speaker 2: Troy versus Iowa, well pull up that game film. You'll
10:50
Speaker 2: see Devonte Ross all over it. But you know, they
10:53
Speaker 2: kind of compliment each other pretty well. Like I hear,
10:56
Speaker 2: Kyron Hudson's the guy if Allan needs to throw up
10:58
Speaker 2: a fifty to fifty ball. We've seen some contest is
11:00
Speaker 2: some him and some contested highlighting tape. Highlight tapes. Excuse me,
11:04
Speaker 2: I believe the LSU game comes to mind for USC
11:07
Speaker 2: earlier last year. So he's going to be that guy
11:09
Speaker 2: who can just be that fifty to fifty ball guy.
11:11
Speaker 2: Paying is going to be kind of your every down guy,
11:14
Speaker 2: and then the speedster is going to be Devonte Ross.
11:17
Speaker 2: There's some other guys on this on this depth chart,
11:20
Speaker 2: but for the for all intents and purposes, it's going
11:22
Speaker 2: to be three transfer guys that are going to be
11:24
Speaker 2: the starting wide receivers for this crew.
11:27
Speaker 3: You know, man, what that transfer portal has done.
11:30
Speaker 1: You know, I'm not saying I'm saying not not saying
11:32
Speaker 1: from a positive or negative standpoint necessarily, but just how
11:35
Speaker 1: how the dynamics, the team dynamics, and what it actually
11:38
Speaker 1: means for the chemistry too between quarterback and wide receiver.
11:41
Speaker 3: It's it's pretty astonishing where we're at well.
11:44
Speaker 2: And I think also you need to understand Liam Clifford
11:46
Speaker 2: is a name that's the most experienced name they have
11:48
Speaker 2: in the wide receiver room at this point, and that
11:51
Speaker 2: the only guy who has more than ten catches on
11:52
Speaker 2: the team all time. So that's that's how that's usually
11:54
Speaker 2: where they're at from wide receiver right in a Penn
11:56
Speaker 2: State uniform. But I think Aler's early season development could
12:00
Speaker 2: be hampered a little bit if those wide receivers don't
12:03
Speaker 2: kind of come through and pull their own weight. And
12:07
Speaker 2: interestingly enough, what I will notice most about the wide
12:09
Speaker 2: receiver problem last year, it got to a point where
12:13
Speaker 2: Aler wasn't even looking their way like there was. He
12:15
Speaker 2: was looking for Tyler Warren. And if Tyler Warren wasn't open,
12:18
Speaker 2: he was getting a happy feet and he was trying
12:20
Speaker 2: to like a lot of those balls got forced into
12:22
Speaker 2: small holes receivers got you know, came up with them,
12:25
Speaker 2: so it's not like a lot of interceptions. But we
12:28
Speaker 2: didn't see the separation from the defensive back. We know
12:31
Speaker 2: to have a successful passing eight hack, especially a team
12:34
Speaker 2: against teams like Ohio State and certainly against Oregon when
12:37
Speaker 2: they come to town, you got to have separation at
12:38
Speaker 2: the wide receiver's position. I didn't see a lot of
12:41
Speaker 2: that last year, especially against Ohio State. Everyone's like, why
12:43
Speaker 2: isn't he throwing the wall? Why isn't he throwing the ball?
12:45
Speaker 2: You go back and look at the table the film
12:47
Speaker 2: and tell me where he was supposed to throw that ball?
12:49
Speaker 2: Right like he was there was nowhere. They weren't getting separation.
12:52
Speaker 2: So yes, it's a concern. I put it about eight
12:54
Speaker 2: out of ten in terms of urgency. They need to
12:57
Speaker 2: find reliable playmakers early as especially in early Big Ten play,
13:01
Speaker 2: and of course we mentioned Oregon, so it can stall
13:04
Speaker 2: the offense full potential if they don't come in deliver.
13:07
Speaker 1: Great points for sure about this wide receiver core. And
13:10
Speaker 1: we are going to take a quick break, but folks,
13:12
Speaker 1: we'd love to hear from you. Philadelphia Sports Table at
13:16
Speaker 1: gmail dot com. We'd love to hear what you're thinking
13:18
Speaker 1: about this upcoming Penn State season. We'd love to read
13:20
Speaker 1: your email on our regular show and respond to it.
13:24
Speaker 1: Mike can be found on the Twitter slash ACX at
13:27
Speaker 1: Mike Raymond ELV, which is on your screens right now
13:29
Speaker 1: if you are watching on YouTube for our audio listeners
13:33
Speaker 1: again at Mike Raymond LV and Mike are you anywhere
13:36
Speaker 1: on other social media sites too?
13:38
Speaker 2: Because I'm on Instagram but same user name. I kind
13:44
Speaker 2: of I've been tailing tailoring back my it was one
13:47
Speaker 2: of my New Year's resolutions. I was trying not to
13:49
Speaker 2: post as much on social but I'm out there. Yeah,
13:51
Speaker 2: out there. But of course you can check out elvifoxsports
13:54
Speaker 2: dot com for our streaming content and all of our
13:56
Speaker 2: podcasts or our local shows. Elvifoxsports dot com. You can
13:59
Speaker 2: check us out there.
14:00
Speaker 1: Nice, awesome folks. We're gonna take a quick break to
14:02
Speaker 1: pay some bills. We're gonna be back in a bit,
14:04
Speaker 1: a lot more Penn State football talk.
14:07
Speaker 3: Come in your way. We'll be back in just a bit.
14:10
Speaker 3: All right.
14:10
Speaker 1: We are back with Mike Raymond from Fox Sports Radio
14:14
Speaker 1: of the Lehigh Valley, and I want to move over
14:17
Speaker 1: to the defense here, Mike, Uh, want to first talk
14:21
Speaker 1: about the fact that, you know, not having Abdull Carter anymore,
14:26
Speaker 1: that's that's gonna mean something for this Penn State defense.
14:29
Speaker 1: I mean, the defense is losing twelve sacks from him
14:33
Speaker 1: from last season. Plus you know, they're losing a combined
14:35
Speaker 1: fourteen sacks from other players who have graduated and or
14:39
Speaker 1: have have simply moved on in their own right. You know,
14:42
Speaker 1: I know that Danny Dennis Sutton, He's gonna be a
14:45
Speaker 1: major piece of this defensive puzzle moving forward and the
14:49
Speaker 1: pass rush. But I do wonder, you know, how concerned
14:52
Speaker 1: are you for what this Penn State defensive pass rush
14:55
Speaker 1: is going to look like this season? Again, not having
14:58
Speaker 1: Abdull Carter so a force for for years on this team.
15:03
Speaker 1: What are your thoughts here?
15:05
Speaker 2: It's more than just the stat line, like you mentioned, Jeff,
15:07
Speaker 2: you know, twelve sacks is what it is. It's just
15:09
Speaker 2: presence being felt and having to account for him, you know,
15:12
Speaker 2: and pre snap reads and defensive coordinators, what is Appol
15:16
Speaker 2: Carter doing. You're always having the eye on number eleven.
15:19
Speaker 2: So from that standpoint alone, just not having to worry
15:22
Speaker 2: about a guy with the talent level of the number
15:24
Speaker 2: two overall was three number three overall picks for the defense. Right, Yeah,
15:28
Speaker 2: so this is a guy who is the number three
15:30
Speaker 2: overall pick for a reason. So, yeah, you're gonna have
15:33
Speaker 2: to replace the fear factor. But you mentioned Deny Dennis Sutton.
15:38
Speaker 2: Certainly a guy who showed up big as the playoff
15:40
Speaker 2: picture kind of on.
15:41
Speaker 3: Fold clashed him Danny.
15:43
Speaker 2: Yeah, goodness, worries most people did when when he first
15:47
Speaker 2: arrived on campus. But yes, Deny Dennis Sutton certainly can
15:51
Speaker 2: become the alpha of this defense. Uh, he's got the
15:53
Speaker 2: keys now, He's got a new defensive coordinator in Jim
15:56
Speaker 2: Knowles who knows how to bring the pressure from all
15:58
Speaker 2: over the place that was his home as he's come
16:01
Speaker 2: up through the ranks here and obviously just coming off
16:03
Speaker 2: that national championship run with Ohio State. You pay big
16:07
Speaker 2: money for a big name in Jim Knowles, and I expect,
16:09
Speaker 2: you know, more Blix packages. I think in terms of
16:13
Speaker 2: creating presser, I think it's going to be coming from
16:15
Speaker 2: the secondary a lot more than we're you're seeing. I
16:18
Speaker 2: think you have the players out there that can certainly
16:21
Speaker 2: contribute to that. I was really disappointed to hear that
16:24
Speaker 2: Max Granville, the defense of the alignment, went down with
16:27
Speaker 2: a long term injury this offseason. That's not ideal. Coaches
16:30
Speaker 2: loved him, you heard a lot of great things, saw
16:33
Speaker 2: him in a limited role last year, but he was
16:35
Speaker 2: a young guy that were very high on. So that's
16:38
Speaker 2: a little bit more disappointing. You have Zariah Fisher coming
16:41
Speaker 2: off the injury himself. I think they're expecting a lot
16:44
Speaker 2: out of him. And then of course there's pieces that
16:47
Speaker 2: are just going to be new out there. You hear
16:48
Speaker 2: about the transfer of Amari Campbell from North Carolina. He's
16:51
Speaker 2: going to be the kind of guy who's going to
16:53
Speaker 2: replace King the linebacker middle linebacker from last year. He's
16:58
Speaker 2: going to be that run stuffer kind of guy out there.
17:01
Speaker 2: Tony Rojas, you love his athleticism. You got to get
17:04
Speaker 2: creative with him. I know he's showed up in a
17:07
Speaker 2: big way in the win against SMU at Beaver Stadium
17:09
Speaker 2: in the first round of the playoffs. So there are
17:12
Speaker 2: ways to kind of create it. And like I mentioned,
17:14
Speaker 2: the secondary, I'm going to be looking to and there's
17:16
Speaker 2: gonna be some young guys. I keep hearing a lot
17:18
Speaker 2: about this Yvonne Camaju who's coming in as a freshman
17:21
Speaker 2: sixty three two forty five. They got any White who
17:24
Speaker 2: is a transfer from Texas A and M that I
17:27
Speaker 2: don't think is going to have an initial impact, but
17:29
Speaker 2: perhaps could you know, work his way into the rotation.
17:32
Speaker 2: And that's one thing that Penn State Defense has done
17:34
Speaker 2: since James Franklin's have been there, like the if you
17:37
Speaker 2: want to play early, you're going to have an opportunity
17:40
Speaker 2: to be in the rotation. They sub defensive lineman like
17:43
Speaker 2: it's their business like they they go in and out,
17:45
Speaker 2: so you have opportunities to get reps. So even if
17:48
Speaker 2: you don't have a lot of tape tape on you know,
17:51
Speaker 2: your your resume, you could potentially still have a role
17:54
Speaker 2: in this defense. So through the transfer portal, through the
17:56
Speaker 2: defense defensive backfield, and through some young tech and I
18:00
Speaker 2: think they're going to try to plug and play. And
18:02
Speaker 2: I also haven't mentioned Zane Durant yet. Oh yeah, Zane
18:06
Speaker 2: Durant who was becoming a beast. So between Denied then
18:10
Speaker 2: as Sutton and Zane Durant as the veteran core of
18:13
Speaker 2: that front four, I think they'll be Okay, it's not
18:16
Speaker 2: going to be like having out Little Carter, but I
18:18
Speaker 2: think they'll be okay.
18:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, And look, you know, for folks who are watching
18:22
Speaker 1: this on YouTuber, if you're listening to the audio of
18:25
Speaker 1: this show, I mean we have to keep in mind too.
18:27
Speaker 1: If you're a Penn State fan, you know, yes, you
18:29
Speaker 1: lose Abdual Carter. You do lose certain talent to the NFL,
18:32
Speaker 1: whether it's Tyler Warren on the offensive side of the ball.
18:34
Speaker 1: But there's other teams throughout the Big Ten that have
18:37
Speaker 1: lost talent as well, and they because of the transfer
18:40
Speaker 1: portal too. So it's not just Penn State that actually
18:43
Speaker 1: may quote seem to have some again quote holes. It
18:48
Speaker 1: goes around. It's college football. There's gonna be a ton
18:51
Speaker 1: of teams that are going to be trying to develop
18:53
Speaker 1: players as well as part of their depth, just like
18:56
Speaker 1: Penn State is going to. We just have we have
18:58
Speaker 1: some really good talent on this team. But I think
19:01
Speaker 1: that's something we all need to keep in mind too.
19:02
Speaker 2: Mike A hundred percent. Yeah, Just I mean, give it time,
19:05
Speaker 2: it'll get there. And and also just remember like James
19:10
Speaker 2: Franklin and his staff are one of the best recruiting
19:12
Speaker 2: bunch out there and they're going to find guys that
19:15
Speaker 2: are gonna be able to have an early impact and
19:18
Speaker 2: they're gonna put them in good positions to succeed. So
19:20
Speaker 2: that again that's more on the position coaches, but the
19:23
Speaker 2: recruiting has been the same since he's been here.
19:25
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, all right, Well, I wanted to get into
19:27
Speaker 1: some strengths and weaknesses of this Penn State defense heading
19:31
Speaker 1: into the twenty twenty five seasons. So two part question here.
19:34
Speaker 1: Let's start with the let's start with the biggest weakness
19:37
Speaker 1: from your vantage point, what you see with the Penn
19:40
Speaker 1: State defense heading into this season.
19:42
Speaker 3: What's that? What's the biggest weakness for him?
19:44
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I just kind of said it, like
19:45
Speaker 2: in interior defensive line. Interior defensive line is probably the
19:49
Speaker 2: biggest concern. There's been some injuries that have contributed to
19:56
Speaker 2: some thinness at that defensive spot. I know they've got
19:59
Speaker 2: to transfer from Michigan. Oh and wayful, I believe how
20:02
Speaker 2: you say his name? Who is who is a guy
20:04
Speaker 2: again similar to an eye yet an eye white, very young,
20:09
Speaker 2: but it's going to be that bigger body in the
20:11
Speaker 2: middle that they could kind of rely on. Alonso Ford
20:14
Speaker 2: is a name that we keep hearing about who had
20:16
Speaker 2: his injury concerns over his time uh in a Penn
20:19
Speaker 2: State uniform as well. But when healthy can be a
20:21
Speaker 2: very capable, like you know, be average average like defensive lineman.
20:27
Speaker 2: I think I think he could be even more than
20:29
Speaker 2: that if he stays fully healthy and can get the
20:31
Speaker 2: reps that he needs to be one of those impact players. Yeah,
20:35
Speaker 2: but yeah, I think it's in deary defensive line outside
20:37
Speaker 2: of Zane Durant, That's where I look at that. Don't
20:39
Speaker 2: see a lot of proven depth there at this point
20:42
Speaker 2: in the season.
20:43
Speaker 1: Yeah, what about the biggest strength on the defense? What
20:45
Speaker 1: do you think that's going to be When we're like,
20:46
Speaker 1: when a season is all said and done, it's like, yeah,
20:49
Speaker 1: there's definitely going to be the strength What unit or
20:52
Speaker 1: individual even is that for you heading into the season.
20:55
Speaker 2: There's so many freaking names in that secondary tests, so many,
20:59
Speaker 2: so many names that I'm so excited about. Like we
21:01
Speaker 2: know Aj Harris and what he was able to do
21:04
Speaker 2: when he transferred last year. Zion Tracy has made an impact.
21:09
Speaker 2: Zachi Wheatley from a leadership perspective and a big hitter
21:12
Speaker 2: in the backside of that defense rom in the back
21:15
Speaker 2: end there. So I think it's got to be that
21:17
Speaker 2: defensive secondary and what they're able to do. You know,
21:20
Speaker 2: they're going to make life hell for anybody who wants
21:23
Speaker 2: to come over the middle of that defense. They're going
21:25
Speaker 2: to make him pay. And the one one player I
21:27
Speaker 2: want to get his name out there, I don't. I
21:30
Speaker 2: don't most Penn State fans will remember him. But I
21:33
Speaker 2: forgot about this that he had transferred back. It was
21:36
Speaker 2: King Mac. Remember King Mac from from two years ago
21:40
Speaker 2: left last year to play at Alabama has returned to
21:43
Speaker 2: Penn State leadership capabilities with King Mac. I hear he's
21:47
Speaker 2: one of the fastest guys on the team, so athleticism galore.
21:52
Speaker 2: He was a highly recruited guy out of the state
21:54
Speaker 2: of Florida, where some of the best football players are bred.
21:58
Speaker 2: And I think he's just going to ring just another
22:01
Speaker 2: dimension to this Penn State defensive backfield. So yeah, yeah,
22:04
Speaker 2: it's got to be the defensive backfield that I'm the
22:06
Speaker 2: most high on. And I'm hoping Jim Knowles gets a
22:08
Speaker 2: little creative with the defensive blitz schemes, yeah, and getting
22:11
Speaker 2: them coming from the corners in the safeties.
22:13
Speaker 1: Screw Alabama, come back to Penn State. Man, forget Alabama
22:17
Speaker 1: and that program for sure, Right.
22:19
Speaker 2: And you wonder what you can't glean from that, right? Like,
22:22
Speaker 2: I'm sure he can bring some different perspective on what
22:25
Speaker 2: it's like being, you know, preparing on that level in
22:28
Speaker 2: the SEC. Everyone's got to give SEC to Flowers. But no,
22:32
Speaker 2: I think I think legitimately, like what can you take
22:34
Speaker 2: away from that experience that can help Penn State be better?
22:36
Speaker 2: And who knows what they what he could have picked
22:39
Speaker 2: up and brought to this program. But yeah, very excited
22:41
Speaker 2: to have King Mac returning.
22:43
Speaker 1: That's gonna be great. It's gonna be great to see
22:45
Speaker 1: this defensive secondary for sure. But Mike, I'd be remiss
22:49
Speaker 1: if I did not ask you as we start closing
22:51
Speaker 1: out our discussion here, and I know it's a general topic,
22:55
Speaker 1: a very general question, just because there are such high
22:59
Speaker 1: hopes for this Penn State football team this coming season,
23:04
Speaker 1: do you really think that it can be the year
23:06
Speaker 1: that James Franklin is able to take this football program
23:10
Speaker 1: to the national title game?
23:11
Speaker 3: Here is this?
23:13
Speaker 1: It is are we at the pinnacle right now? In
23:17
Speaker 1: terms of what James Franklin's gonna be able to do
23:19
Speaker 1: for this team.
23:19
Speaker 3: What are you thinking?
23:21
Speaker 2: It's like Huey Lewis song, is it?
23:23
Speaker 3: Yeah?
23:23
Speaker 2: Exactly, If this is it, please let me know. Right,
23:26
Speaker 2: that's the lyric. I think it's absolutely within reach, right,
23:29
Speaker 2: like I think the margin is razor him though. Yeah,
23:33
Speaker 2: he's built the roster to compete with the likes of
23:36
Speaker 2: Ohio States and Oregons. Now you have to give them
23:39
Speaker 2: their flowers now that they're in the Big ten Michigans, Like,
23:42
Speaker 2: he has built this roster to be on that level.
23:46
Speaker 2: But now the question is and always has been, you
23:48
Speaker 2: know what's haunting James Franklin in his career is that
23:51
Speaker 2: execution in big moments, you know, calling the right play.
23:55
Speaker 2: I think that is going to be a huge part
23:57
Speaker 2: of whether or not this team is going to be
23:59
Speaker 2: able to successful this year. Ken Aller throw on a
24:02
Speaker 2: third and eight in Columbus. You know, when the receivers
24:05
Speaker 2: win those one on one matchups against playoff level defensive backs,
24:10
Speaker 2: can the defense hold a late lead against the top
24:13
Speaker 2: five team? Those are the questions that we're going to
24:16
Speaker 2: have to answer. And you know, it helps you get
24:18
Speaker 2: a bye week before Ohio State, You get a bye
24:21
Speaker 2: week before Oregon your two biggest games of the year.
24:24
Speaker 2: So the schedule is manageable from that perspective, but you
24:29
Speaker 2: know it's going to be on Aler, It's going to
24:30
Speaker 2: be on the receivers to overperform on the expectations. This
24:34
Speaker 2: is certainly the most complete team Franklin has had. Bottom line.
24:38
Speaker 2: If it's not now, then when I thought maybe last
24:40
Speaker 2: year that they had the better play, like when you
24:42
Speaker 2: have Abdul Carter in the path that they had in
24:45
Speaker 2: that postseason bracket, I was like, it's kind of there
24:48
Speaker 2: for the taking. Ohio State would have been waiting at
24:50
Speaker 2: the end for you to kind of take out, but
24:52
Speaker 2: wouldn't have been poetic for that to happen in that moment.
24:55
Speaker 2: Weren't able to get past Notre Dame. You know, is
24:58
Speaker 2: alur in that interception, which I'm sure he back. I
25:01
Speaker 2: think he has some room to improve, but I think
25:03
Speaker 2: he's right there. You know, it's certainly the best shot
25:06
Speaker 2: that they've had to get to the National title game.
25:08
Speaker 2: I want to I want to throw a hypothetical right
25:09
Speaker 2: back at you real quick check because we had talked
25:11
Speaker 2: about this on the Happy Hour on Fox Sports radioly
25:14
Speaker 2: High Valley. If you were if you were, you are
25:17
Speaker 2: a Penn State fan, so would you sign up? This
25:20
Speaker 2: was Brett McMurphy's potential playoff bracket, which you sign up
25:24
Speaker 2: for a top four seed for Penn State, a win
25:28
Speaker 2: against Alabama in the second round of the posts of
25:33
Speaker 2: the of the postseason bracket, so that you would get
25:35
Speaker 2: the first round by because you're a top four team.
25:37
Speaker 2: You would beat Alabama but then lose in the same
25:40
Speaker 2: round and the national National semi final against eventual national
25:45
Speaker 2: champion Georgia. Would you sign up for that right now?
25:50
Speaker 2: Because it shows improvement. So the James Franklin, you know,
25:54
Speaker 2: detractors who say he can't be win the big game.
25:56
Speaker 2: You're beating Alabama in the postseason and you're only losing
26:00
Speaker 2: to the national champion. So and of course you're a
26:02
Speaker 2: top four seeds, so you probably won the Big Ten title, right,
26:06
Speaker 2: So you probably won the Big Ten title and you
26:08
Speaker 2: probably lost at Ohio State, which you always do. You
26:12
Speaker 2: always lose Ohio State, but probably beat Ohio State because
26:15
Speaker 2: in that scenario, Ohio State was the four seed in
26:17
Speaker 2: the top four. So you probably beat Ohio State in
26:20
Speaker 2: the Big Ten championship. So like a win against Ohio State,
26:24
Speaker 2: probably beat Oregon, beat Alabama, and the only team you
26:27
Speaker 2: lost to is went on win to the national title.
26:29
Speaker 2: Would you sign up for that?
26:30
Speaker 3: I take that. I probably in all honesty, I probably would.
26:33
Speaker 3: I probably would. Yeah, I probably would, because, like I mean.
26:36
Speaker 2: I'll tell James Franklin, we had this conversation exactly exactly.
26:39
Speaker 1: I probably would, because I mean I was telling people
26:42
Speaker 1: last year at the end of the season that if
26:44
Speaker 1: this Penn State football team could simply beat Michigan and
26:48
Speaker 1: Ohio State, they go what two and two and ten whatever,
26:55
Speaker 1: If they just beat those teams, I would be the
26:57
Speaker 1: happiest guy in the world. They could lose to Roy,
27:00
Speaker 1: they could lose to Delaware, they could lose to whoever
27:02
Speaker 1: they're playing up in Happy Valley.
27:04
Speaker 2: But we're out on that line. I'm not signing up
27:06
Speaker 2: for that.
27:07
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, of course kidding, but I would.
27:10
Speaker 1: I would do that, Mike, I really would, because that
27:13
Speaker 1: scenario is definitely improvement. But then I think to myself,
27:16
Speaker 1: you're not gonna have k Tron Allen and Nicholas Singleton
27:19
Speaker 1: the following year.
27:20
Speaker 3: What does They're deep?
27:22
Speaker 2: They're deep? They are, right, Yeah, I.
27:23
Speaker 3: Know, I know.
27:24
Speaker 1: I just the specialness of what this season is bringing
27:28
Speaker 1: to us right now, even in the midst of this
27:31
Speaker 1: conversation here, I it's hard to it's hard to say, Okay,
27:36
Speaker 1: they're not going to get to the Promised Land, you
27:38
Speaker 1: know what I mean. So, but I love the hypothetical,
27:41
Speaker 1: I really do.
27:42
Speaker 2: I take Just like every Penn State season, right, Jeff,
27:44
Speaker 2: we always start with these huge expectations only to be
27:46
Speaker 2: bludgeoned to death by underwhelming, underwhelling results. Yes, well, I'm
27:51
Speaker 2: hoping that this year is different. In twenty twenty five.
27:53
Speaker 2: Twenty five is my favorite number, yeah, and my every
27:56
Speaker 2: every sport I ever played, I was twenty five, So
27:57
Speaker 2: maybe this is the year.
27:58
Speaker 3: There we go, all right, folks.
28:00
Speaker 1: He's Mike Raymond from Fox Sports Radio the Lehigh Valley
28:04
Speaker 1: at Mike Raymond LV on the Twitter, slash x and
28:07
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28:10
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28:24
Speaker 1: Eric and myself are over on Blue Sky as well.
28:27
Speaker 1: Check us out search us out. Mike Buddy, it was
28:29
Speaker 1: great talking to you about this upcoming Penn State season.
28:31
Speaker 3: Come back join us down the road.
28:33
Speaker 1: I'd love to talk to you more about college football,
28:35
Speaker 1: maybe get into some NFL as well.
28:37
Speaker 3: Always great talking to you, my friend.
28:39
Speaker 2: Always willing to come on, Jeff, appreciate you having me.
28:43
Speaker 1: That's gonna do it for us here on Table Talk
28:45
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28:51
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29:05
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29:14
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