Penn State Football: The year of the freshman continues

Each season freshmen contribute for programs, but this year Penn State football has an abundance of big-time players in their first years of playing time.

This year has featured some star-studded freshmen in the Penn State football program. In some ways that’s a good thing, showing that the coaches have recruited the right players over the last couple seasons. At the same time, it’s not a great part of the 2018 season, because that means the upperclassmen haven’t stepped up (unfortunately). Still, these guys deserve a shout out for their incredible seasons so far.

Offense

True freshmen and redshirt freshmen have shined all across this group at skill position spots. Starting with the two biggest names, KJ Hamler and Pat Freiermuth lead the young offense. Hamler has stepped up to become the No. 1 wide receiver in this offense. He leads the team in catches (39), yards (624) and is second on the team in touchdown catches with five. He is a burner that can take a slant route to the house and has proved consistent.

Along with Hamler’s incredible progression, Freiermuth has also become a top-tier target in the passing game. In fact, he now leads the team in touchdown catches with six amongst his 22 total catches for 309 yards. Those two would suffice as overachieving receiving threats for first-year players, but add in the recent rise of Jahan Dotson, and this becomes a scary trio for the future. Dotson has caught 11 passes for 157 yards and it’s all come in the last five games, including four for 58 yards against Rutgers.

Defense

On the other end, the Penn State football defense has some special freshmen as well. This list starts with leading tackler and more-than-a-hype-machine linebacker Micah Parsons. The true freshman was talked about ad nauseam in the offseason as an incoming first-year star. He’s backed it up with 65 tackles and 3.5 for loss. He’s provided an athletic thumper at linebacker and can get home with pressure when he does blitz. In his first career start last week, he recorded seven tackles and a strip-sack.

He’s more than deserving of any honors that come his way in the offseason, but he’s not the only youngsters making an impact. Redshirt freshman Ellis Brooks has received quality playing time off the bench and recorded 24 total tackles. Whether it’s as a special teamer or reserve linebacker, he has contributed nicely.

Wrapping up the key freshmen from this season is safety Jonathan Sutherland. The redshirt safety moved into the secondary rotation and has even earned a start this year. Although the defense lost starters Troy Apke and Marcus Allen to the NFL, he’s helped fill that void, recording 33 tackles, two for loss and a forced fumble. Sutherland along with the secondary has held opposing QBs to a 52.9 completion percentage, well below average.

So far, this year has been filled with standout freshmen, a good sign for a team that’s taken a step back. With that said, this young corp on both sides of the ball should help continue the recent success in Happy Valley.