Penn State Football: Offensive diversity a storyline to watch
What does the Lion position mean? How many different ways will Penn State football get the ball into its playmakers hands?
For the last eight months fans have wondered, what can Tommy Stevens do for this offense? Furthermore, what can Penn State football do with all its weapons?
It’s obvious James Franklin has deep respect for Stevens. His loyalty, athleticism and dedication to the program have made Penn State better.
Now, it’s time to see if all that will pay off for him. Before the introduction of the LION position, he received many reps at different positions. The creation of the position was obviously a way to keep Stevens involved in the offense as Trace McSorley continues to start at QB. Well now we know Stevens is the guy for the future.
I know I’ve talked about this topic ad nauseam, but it’s a cool topic. He’s going to continue to get reps everywhere, but in week one where will he be used the most. I’d venture to say that receiver will be his main spot when he gets on the field. Losing a few big names in the receiving corp last year, means the team needs athletes out wide.
If he’s split out wide, it will force teams to cover he and Juwan Johnson which are both field stretchers because of their height. If teams have to put a safety on either side, that’ll give inside receivers Brandon Polk, DeAndre Thompkins, KJ Hamler and Mac Hippenhammer some open space to work with.All that speed inside mixed with the size outside makes Penn State a deadly offense to try to stop.
The inside receivers have blazing speed, but they haven’t had a chance to show it off with the outside receivers making plays the last few years. Polk, Thompkins, Hamler and Hippenhammer are out-of-this-world fast and will produce more from the inside spot.
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As the offense progresses in McSorley’s third year, the team will create even more mismatches, especially when the offenses factors in running backs Miles Sanders and Mark Allen. Both offer two separate skill sets, giving the offense another element to work with. Sander is driven to prove himself, while Allen will try to bust out after four years of backing up Penn State’s backs.