Penn State will begin spring football practice next week intent on planting the seeds for 2025 — a season to which the Nittany Lions bring national championship aspirations. After tasting College Football Playoff success in 2024, Penn State football coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lions begin spring with a veteran group that’s all-in on going the distance.
But long before beginning the 2025 season Aug. 30 against Nevada, Penn State has much to assess. With plenty of notable players departing and a new defensive coordinator in the fold, Penn State soon will begin the inner discovery of its 2025 identity while finding new key players. Here are five things that should be on the Nittany Lions’ agenda this spring.
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Fix the wide receivers room
The spring transfer portal opens April 16. After landing two portal receivers in Kyron Hudson and Devonte Ross, Penn State has made no secret of its interest in adding another. Even Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft noted the need.
“We all know we need wide receiver help, so we got to go find one,” Kraft said in late February. “I think we have some really good ones in the building, but everyone knows that process. If you can come and help us win and do great things and bring that and maintain the culture here, then great.”
As the team pushes the reset button on a position that became a weakness in 2024, Franklin will need to start identifying which wideouts will start in 2025. Hudson and Ross are the leading candidates as the room’s veterans, but neither has proven anything at Penn State yet. Assessing their skill sets as they build chemistry with Drew Allar will be key.
Penn State also has to figure out which young receivers will see more snaps next season. Tyseer Denmark and Peter Gonzalez are the leading candidates. Franklin has noted he could add a wide receiver in the spring portal but also plans to do so strategically. The priority will be assessing how his current receiver room works.
“You have to be careful that you [don’t] get intoxicated by the transfer portal and the possibilities of the transfer portal,” Franklin said in February. “We have not lived in the transfer portal, really for any position. We want to be very strategic about who and what we bring in, because we work so hard to create a locker room that we feel really good about culturally.”
Assess the impact true freshmen
Franklin also is strategic about how he uses first-year players, giving them a clear understanding of their roles and chances of playing or redshirting. Those decisions often depend on injuries and Penn State’s positional needs but also are tied to which players are physically and mentally prepared to play Big Ten football.
Last year, that group included offensive lineman Cooper Cousins, tight end Luke Reynolds and cornerback Dejuan Lane. Spring practices are Franklin’s annual opportunity to start planning who will play and who will continue developing. In Penn State’s 2025 recruiting class, tight end Andrew Olesh, linebacker LaVar Arrington II and wide receiver Matt Outten stand out as early contenders. How Franklin and his staff coaches assess the freshmen will be worth monitoring this spring.
Craft a plan for replacing Tyler Warren’s production
Penn State’s biggest offensive loss was tight Tyler Warren, a potential top-10 NFL Draft pick. Warren accounted for almost 34 percent of the team’s receiving yards in 2024 and nearly 7 percent of its rushing production. Replacing him goes beyond identifying Allar’s next TE1. It also will take new developments within the offense to fill the void left by a do-it-all weapon’s departure.
Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, with the many wrinkles he keeps up his sleeve, may have to turn toward the wide receivers and running backs to fulfill various roles Warren played. There’s also the aspect of Warren being the obvious No. 1 weapon in Penn State’s offense. The Nittany Lions have no lead candidate to replace him in 2025, at least in the way Kotelnicki deployed Warren.
Khalil Dinkins and Reynolds will play larger roles at tight end, Andrew Rappleyea returns from injury (though not this spring) and Olesh could carve a place in the offense. Allar also may have to shift his focus to the receivers in the passing game. The coming months will be key in Franklin and Kotelnicki developing a plan on how they’ll replace their dominant offensive weapon.
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Implement Jim Knowles’ philosophies
Jim Knowles will be Penn State’s fourth defensive coordinator in five seasons. Fortunately, Franklin is familiar with defensive change, so Knowles adjusting to Penn State shouldn’t be an issue. But as the 59-year-old continues settling into his job, he will have to identify areas, and personnel, he wants to maintain and those he wants to change from Tom Allen’s 2024 unit.
Knowles will have established talent in Dani Dennis-Sutton, Zane Durant and Zakee Wheatley sprinkled through his depth chart. However, he’ll surely have philosophies and schemes from his impressive Ohio State tenure he wants to implement with the Nittany Lions.
Throughout the spring, an intriguing storyline will be the early changes Knowles makes to a Penn State unit that ranked seventh in total defense in 2024. Kraft and Franklin certainly didn’t dish out Knowles’ record-breaking contract for him to keep things the same. His championship pedigree will become an instant asset to the Nittany Lions’ defense this spring.
Find candidates to replace various starters
As it does every spring, Penn State will begin figuring out its first starting lineup. That task won’t be nearly as difficult this year as it has been in other years, with notable returners at most positions. But the Lions have to replace defensive players like Abdul Carter, Kobe King and Jaylen Reed, plus offensive starters Sal Wormley, Harrison Wallace III and Omari Evans.
Other positions to watch this spring are middle linebacker, defensive end, cornerback and offensive guard. Cousins should be ready for a starting job on the offensive line, but there’s less clarity on the other defensive line. Pass rushers Zuriah Fisher and Max Granville will prove critical in replacing Carter’s dominance.
King’s middle linebacker spot is among the most intriguing anywhere for the Nittany Lions. Could Tony Rojas move from outside, or will Knowles audition someone new? Jalen Kimber’s vacant cornerback spot will get healthy competition.
Penn State begins spring practice March 25, with the Blue-White Game scheduled for April 26 at Beaver Stadium.
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