The brief offseason has concluded. There’s no more time for snoozing alarms. Penn State started winter workouts on Tuesday, a grueling multi-week gauntlet that separates hard workers from the bulk of their peers and gives the coaching staff its first taste of the talent at their disposal.
There are 186 days until the Nittany Lions open their season against Nevada. That’s 186 days to get in adequate shape, become fluent in the playbook and establish a unit viable for a national championship. That is, of course, the goal. More so next season than potentially any other in James Franklin’s tenure. The pieces are there, and the road to greatness has begun.
Here are the top storylines that revolve around Penn State at the start of winter workouts, just a month and a half after the conclusion of a run to the College Football Playoff semifinal.
FITTING THE KNOWLES MOLD
The Nittany Lions brought in six transfers since closing the door on the regular season, all the way back on Nov. 30. But no acquisition drew even remotely as many headlines as Jim Knowles, who left Ohio State just a week after winning a national title and replaced Tom Allen as Penn State’s defensive coordinator.
Under Knowles, the Buckeyes veered far from their woes of years past and blossomed into the top statistical defense in the nation this past season. The Nittany Lions haven’t had much defensive concern in five seasons, but adjusting to a new coordinator is never an immediate process.
The winter-workout period will serve as the team’s first opportunity to grow accustomed to Knowles, his coaching style and his system. Knowles typically operates a 4-2-5 defense, a personnel Penn State has grown accustomed to in recent years. That should simplify things for players in their first days and weeks of analyzing their new defensive playbook.
SEARCHING (AGAIN) FOR WR1
The addition of Knowles was a splash that signaled the legitimacy of Franklin’s push for a national championship in 2025. But questions still linger in regard to one position group in particular: wide receiver, in a bid for the top of the sport. This was a unit that failed to register a single catch against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. So, clearly, change is needed.
And reinforcements have already been made. The team’s top two receivers from 2024, Harrison Wallace III and Omari Evans, have transferred out. Troy transfer Devonte Ross and USC transfer Kyron Hudson presumably take their place as starters. But who will take the reins as quarterback Drew Allar’s top target? Penn State will have a better sense over the coming weeks.
The Nittany Lions haven’t had a wide receiver eclipse 800 receiving yards in a season since Jahan Dotson in 2021. Ross led Troy with 1,043 receiving yards this past year and Hudson tallied 462 on a brighter stage. It wouldn’t hurt for Franklin to find another target for Allar, but these are the top two he’ll work with this winter.
ROAD TO RECOVERY FOR INJURED PLAYERS
Over the course of the longest season in program history, Penn State was unsurprisingly plagued with a handful of injuries. The team’s final availability report, released ahead of its first-round playoff matchup with SMU, featured eight players currently on roster: wide receiver Kaden Saunders, running back Cam Wallace, linebacker Keon Wylie, defensive end Zuriah Fisher, defensive linemen Alonzo Ford Jr. and Kaleb Artis and tight end Andrew Rappleyea.
Just about half of these players are vying for a starting spot next season. Wylie could fill the void left by Kobe King at middle linebacker. Fisher could take Abdul Carter’s place at defensive end. Either Ford or Artis could make the jump beside Zane Durant at defensive tackle. And Andrew Rappleyea is expected to compete for Tyler Warren’s vacant tight end position.
Tony Rojas is another player who has recently been banged up. Rojas, who started all 16 games this past season, was present for Penn State men’s basketball’s loss to Ohio State on Jan. 30, and wore a sling over his right arm. Winter workouts will be an opportunity to get Rojas and the rest of the team’s injured players back up to speed.
