Penn State football: Over/unders for Drew Allar, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Abdul Carter?

hello everybody it is Thursday in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania my name is Adam Bitner assistant sports editor for multimedia at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette join for our weekly Penn State football podcast by Joel hos of the daily Collegian and our post cazette intern for the season ahead um Joel we're g to get into some Penn State over unders Drew Aller Nick Singleton KRON Allen the receivers um what do we see for them in the year ahead compared to where they were last year compared to some Benchmark totals um going to talk about that going to talk about p new captains led by Drew Aller what does that mean what will the impact be and maybe a couple other Penn State headlines this week kind of light on the news Joel so that's why we're going to get into the uh you know the prognosticating a little bit here this week and then next week we will be previewing Penn State West Virginia Morgantown yeah I mean we're getting closer to football here um you know we've been we've been getting some more Intel out of Camp as fall Camp kind of wraps up they're starting to get into preparation for West Virginia going against the scout team things like that um all starting to kind of ramp up now and yeah like you mentioned you know we've heard a whole bunch of things this summer team's probably going to look pretty different just with the you know changes at all three coordinator positions um just some roster turnover guys going to the NFL moving positions things like that so just looking forward to to you know a very interesting year I think coming up for Penn State yeah so let's get to those totals before we do just a quick thank you to our sponsor of voodoo breuing company in State College enjoy world renowned craft beer delicious cocktails and our Almost Famous lobster rolls at foodo Brewing State College Pub located right off College Avenue and Route 322 at 2011 Elmwood Street State College uh vbc has something exciting going on every day of the week join us this fall on Mondays for weekly free play cornhole tournaments or test your knowledge with Pub trivia every Tuesday at 6 Wednesdays our game night featuring board games card games and adult games every Thursday your boy dots host Bingo and this is not your Nanz Bingo Saturday we will have your NY lions in college football all day we fin finish off Sundays with our weekly brunch paired with Steelers Eagles and Red Zone coverage can't wait to see you all at the State College Pub of voodoo Brewing um all right Joel let's let's get into some numbers here I'm gonna start with Drew Aller um he passed for 2,631 yards a year ago um I I think people can reasonably expect he might go over that number this this season so I pushed it uh to you know the over under for us to consider to 3,000 pass yards for Drew Aller do you think he's going to go over or under that number in this new and Andy cot Nikki offense um yeah I mean I think that's a pretty good line you set there it'll probably be something close to that um I am pretty bullish on the offense so I'll take the over here um over 3,000 passing yards just because I think and I think it's mainly due to Andy coton Nikki um you know I think Drew uh will be will be pretty similar to what he was last year I don't expect a massive jump honestly um in terms of just skill set and things like that I think more of it will have to do with kind of the scheme and how they're able to get Guys open things like that um get guys in space with yards after the catch things like that and then also just getting the running backs uh involved kind of in the in the passing game as well so I do think he goes over that 3,000 yards again I think it's more about cot Nikki than it is about you know anyone on the offense really stepping up but um I mean you kind of look around the receiving cord it's going to be most mostly the same guys um you know with a few little changes here and there you pretty much swap out Julian Fleming for kandre Lambert Smith you you know tight ends is kind of just next man up you'll probably see a similar production there so I think in in terms of the actual offensive pieces you're looking at a pretty similar offense talent wise I just think the scheme is going to be enough to give him the extra 500 yards or whatever to get over 3,000 yeah I think he's going to go over to I I don't see him throwing for like 5,000 yards or anything and and I think there's probably a a caveat this season that that maybe didn't exist in other Seasons it's is uh there could be a lot of bonus games here right I mean if you slip into a big 10 championship game there's an extra one um if if you win one playoff game and get a second playoff game that's an extra game compared to playing just a bowl game so um you know it's possible these numbers we're talking about could be over 14 15 games um instead of just 12 or 13 so um definitely think you know the more games he plays that that um he's going to get over that I think just in in terms of let's just say pen State plays 13 games again this season I still like that that over just a little bit extra performance in every game is I think easily going to translate to another four or five 600 yards in his total um doesn't have to be massive but yeah I'm I'm gonna pick the over there as well um next question I had for you was over under 25.5 touchdowns um that was 25 was his total year ago so we'd more or less be just going over that um I I think that's an interesting you know question Joel because um you know touchdowns are more circumstantial and I think um they're going to they're going to be somewhat based on you know how explosive is Penn State is he going to get a couple of these 60 70 80 yard touchdown passes um you know by by guys getting schemed open and having more room to show their skills I think that's why i' I'd certainly say over um 25 and a half I'd say I'd probably put the the number that i' I'd Pro prognosticate him at at closer to 30 um and and saying man if the offense is better he should get more opportunities to throw more touchdowns again I don't think we're gonna have a Justin Fields type 50 total touchdowns type season from Drew Aller but I again I think there's just a little more room to the upside from where he was a year ago yeah I think that's another good line um I think it's a little bit interesting because once Penn day does start to get into the Red Zone uh it'll be interesting to see whether they you know rely more heavily on the Run um which is kind kind of what I anticipate just because I feel like they kind of whack those that size in the receiving core um I mean they have the tight ends obviously that they can go to uh down in the Red Zone but in terms of wide receivers and this was I felt like kind of an issue last year they're a bit smaller um just less physical guys who might have trouble getting open in that short short yardage uh situation so um it'll be interesting I feel like they might rely more heavily on the run there but again they've got the tight ends and like you mentioned those explosive plays that coton Nikki is supposed to be bringing in from Kansas um those could also you know run up the numbers on those deep balls so I think I would lean over just slightly but it's very close at this one how about interceptions I threw this one in there I don't think I otherwise would have except for the fact that he only threw two last season um over under two two and a half something like that I'm G to go way over I think they're going to take some more chances and I think that's going to lead to more mistakes and I think that that's probably in the in the big picture going to be a good thing now in certain games is it going to create bad situations possibly but um you know I I I and that's what we've been talking about all offseason is that he's got more confidence and it seems like they're more willing to let him um you know just kind of ball out out there and and you know I'm not going to compare him to Brett Favre or anything but I think there's there's a big difference between where he was last season where they were so risk averse that you only throw two I think two interceptions ultimately is a Bad Thing Joel I everyone talks about it being a good thing I think there if you're being too careful on offense um then then you're limiting you know your ability to go out and beat good teams I think that's what we saw from Drew Aller last season was um just just didn't have the freedom to kind of make plays with with that big arm that he has and and and all of that natural Talent um I mean you can get a system guy to to throw two interceptions in a season in my opinion that's not to you know I think it's it's a good thing that he is not you know taking too many risks but I think there there's got to be a happy medium between where he was a year ago and where um you know you'd like to see him be yeah I mean that's the stat that people love to throw around right the two interceptions probably you know you could argue that touchdown the interception ratio was was all's best stat last year I think it was the second best uh in the country among qualified passers um but yeah I mean um for legal reasons I'm 20 I cannot Sports beted in the state of Pennsylvania um so I wouldn't be able to actually make this play but if there was an offering for over two and a half i' would be hammering that I would be putting my life savings on over two and a half I just think um yeah I agree with you I think it'll be well over that this season um part of it has to do with again the the explosiveness the more big plays the more you're throwing down field just the more likely you are to have turnovers and and that two interceptions I think was a little misleading last year just because there were some turnover worthy throws that I think were kind of dropped um that number could have been maybe five or six last year and and that I mean honestly is just kind of an anomaly to throw two interceptions throughout 13 games of of playing regardless of how careful you are with the ball um so yeah I mean I do think it goes well over I think you know maybe seven eight something like that this season is is realistic yeah and I to be clear I would say seven seven to eight is a healthy Middle Ground I think if you start getting into double digits you know 12 that's that's too many I'm not saying that I want to see him throwing that many but somewhere in between reflects that you're taking more risks and attempting more of the explosiveness and so yeah I think that is a good number to Peg it at um we'll be interested to see if when he hits that number compared to where he was last season um all right Joel let's get into the running backs KRON Allen Nick Singleton um will either one break a thousand yards this season will both of them break a thousand yards this season or will neither of them break a thousand yards this season yeah um that's another good one um I think I would say if I had to pick Nick Singleton goes over a thousand KRON goes under a thousand this year um I know last year was the opposite where you had KRON um beating Nick beating Nick out and then their freshman season it was Nick so they've kind of alternated back and forth a little bit I think Nick jumps back in jumps ahead um because again what we've heard from cot Nikki is the same kind of patterns of explosiveness getting his best players the ball getting them the ball in space things like that and I think that all benefits Nick Singleton just with his his home run hitting ability his ability to to have those those huge chunk runs that we didn't really see last year I think that'll kind of come back this year for him so I think he does surpass 10,00 yards um I think KRON again could get close I mean we've seen over the past couple years they've both been right in that range a little bit under um I think KRON could get close but I just don't think there's you know really enough enough plays enough yardage to go around where you can have both of them reaching that 10,00 yard Mark but I do think Singleton will get it this year yeah I mean we know even with pen when Penn State has a bcow running back getting 2,000 yards on the ground is is a difficult thing to do um you know and how many how many Snaps are those guys going to play um you know not just because of them taking Snaps from each other but because I think there's going to be some pressure on on James Franklin to get some of these other guys some looks later in games that they're well ahead um you know I think most days you you'd like to see both both of those guys be out of the game midway through the third quarter um you know not have to play the fourth quarter and that's I think that's going to bring their numbers down as well so I agree with you I think I think Nick single 10 will be the guy I think he'll get a little bit over that I think KRON Allen won't quite get there um but they'll that they'll still be potent um and and you know a lot for other teams to game plan for and I'm I'm going to predict that you're going to see some other guys in that mix as well at times um on the touchdown front those guys combined for 14 on the ground last season you mentioned that you expect to see more of of um you know those guys in the Red Zone possibly and more you know Red Zone opportunities do you think that translates to more than the 14 touchdowns that we saw from them a year ago oh man um I'll say yes I'll I'll go over um another close one I feel kind of bad taking the over on on pretty much all of these but um I just do feel like the offense will be much improved this year um again I go back to the explosive plays which weren't really there last year I mean if they were able to put up those numbers last year without really having I don't I think they're longest run between the two of them was like 30 30 yards something like that um and so if they're you know able to consistently hit more big plays I think it it'll be you know a lot easier to surpass that number this year um so yeah I mean I think just generally receiving game running game both will go over on touchdown just a lot more scoring for Penn State this year yeah I think you'd like to see something like um you know 20 maybe from them on the on the ground total I don't think that necessarily needs to break down as as a 10 and 10 type thing um and then I think you know the question is should we be including um you know their their touchdowns through the air in this if if they do intend to get the ball out of the back field to them more uh Nick Singleton had two through the air a year ago KRON Allen had one so that was three so that's a total of 17 um are are we looking for a total then somewhere between 20 and 25 for for those guys and including the roles they might have in the passing game yeah I think that's realistic um um I think they had I forget what it was their their freshman year but I think it was something around that um 20 20 to 25 range so yeah I think they could easily get back to that um this year um all things considered just with you know C Nikki again I keep referencing him but I really do think it's going to be kind of a night and day difference I'm just in terms of schi explosiveness things like that um and everything that we've been hearing out of practice just sounds like sounds like the offense is going to look completely different than it did a year ago um they're really going to be to utilize these guys get them you know into the end zone more so yeah I mean 2025 that that feels like a realistic kind of range for me for running back touchdowns for sure let's get into the receivers because we've been talking about well it feels like we're taking all the over here overs here uh I think this might be where we talk about some unders um Penn State's leading receiver last year was kandre Lambert Smith with 673 yards the big Benchmark I think for a productive season in any version of football these days is get to a thousand yards receiving um do you see a 10,00 yard receiver on this roster Joel um I'm going to go I'm gonna go under and I think that there is room for like a Julian Fleming um you know possibly a Trey Wallace to have really good seasons and get close I think the the biggest reason that I'm gonna say under is because I think you this Andy Cotto Nikki offense is going to be about getting as many different people as possible the ball and I think it's going to be hard for any one receiver to stand out in the way that like KJ hamler did or Pat fouth during those that season when those guys got like practically all of the targets I don't think that's the design of this offense and so I think I kind of doubt that that you're gonna have a guy go over a thousand and if he does it's it's going to be like 1100 yards it's not going to be like a massive number in my opinion yeah no I'm definitely with you I I don't think any any receiver hits a thousand yards this season I don't know if any of them get even super close I think the top might be something similar to last year around that kind of 700 range um I mean again you've got some names in that room who have the potential you look at Julian Fleming you know former festar recruit Ohio State everything like that but again after four years at Ohio State his best season was 500 yards um so even if he beats that you know 600 700 he's still not close to that 10,00 range um and then you look at a guy like Harrison Wallace who certainly flashed you know with 100 yard games and Big Spring games things like that um where you've seen the potential there um and and for certain games you know it looks like he's kind of that Bonafide wide receiver one but he just hasn't been able to stay on the field um you know whether it's injury or whether it's just inconsistent play when he is when he is out there he just hasn't been able to really put it all together you know week after week on a consistent basis and so I think that kind of continues to play him this season um not that I'm you know predicting an injury for him but just kind of based on his history of inconsistency I'm not sure if he'll be able to really you know be out there long enough to even eclipse at 1,00 yard Mark um and then none of the other guys to me are really proven enough to to really be in that conversation I mean you know guys like Omari Evans Liam Clifford who have you know a couple hundred yards this season I don't I don't think they're GNA be able to take a big enough step to reach a thousand yards but I think if you're Penn State fan you'd like them to take some step and this is where I think this this next question might be a little more interesting Joel um over under 2.5 Penn State receivers going over 500 yards for the season last year kand Keandre Lambert Smith was their only guy who went over 500 um Tyler Warren was number two at 422 you had Theo Johnson at 341 uh Nick Singleton at 308 Dante cus at 246 Harrison Wallace at 228 um I think that's that's the the the crazier one to me Joel because I think you can make a case for Julian Fleming like you just mentioned I think if Trey Wallace doesn't take that step um that's not an encouraging sign I think you could say you'd like to see Tyler Warren get there as as a senior considering he was pretty close last season so that's three guys right there um I I don't know I this is the toughest one for me I I think it should be over but I think I might just say under until I'm proven otherwise yeah um that's tough I think I tend to lean the over um I think you know Fleming and Wallace are kind of the two locks for that if if they are going to hit the over I think you need those guys for sure and then I think tight end is is kind of the position that makes or breaks it um like you mentioned Tyler Warren but even some of the younger guys behind him um you know could could really shine this year it kind of depends how much they want to you know use those guys how much they're going to be in two tight end sets and things like that but but I think they're even a couple names uh even Beyond Tyler Warren in that room that have the potential to have kind of a breakout year and hit that 500 yard Mark so yeah I mean I think for wide receivers you can kind of pencil in two um in in pencil not pen but I think you can kind of put in two for the wide receivers and then it kind of comes down to the tight ends if they can have one of them kind of Step Up this year again Tyler Warren obviously would be the favorite to do that but they do have some names behind him that I think could also reach that Mark is there a third receiver you think is is anywhere close to the conversation we've heard obviously a lot of good things about Liam Liam Clifford again uh this summer um and you know there's a lot of Youth there I think there's a lot of Hope about you know like Kaden Saunders for example um do you think any of those guys are going to get close close um I could see it just because I mean obviously someone has to start at that slot position whether it's Clifford or Saunders and if you're if you're starting there for 12 13 Even potentially more games um I feel like you you you know at some point should be close to that 500 yard Mark I mean um if you're on the field for that many games you're you're obviously going to be getting some chances uh to rack up some yardage and and you know 500 yards across whatever 13 games isn't doesn't come out to that many per game um so I think it's definitely doable for whoever it is that ends up in that slot position I think the only thing that could hurt them is if they decide to switch out who starts at that position so if they're going you know Liam Clifford one game and then they switch over to Kaden Saunders and then you know maybe someone else gives it a shot then you're kind of splitting the Reps and then I think it's a lot harder uh for anyone to hit that 500 mark But if they kind of stick with one guy throughout the season then I think it's a lot more likely that whoever starts in the slide is going to hit 500 yards to wrap things up on defense obviously the big headline for that you you know beyond the coordinator change is Abdul Carter moving um you know to the edge do you think he's going to get over under nine and a half that was the number I sent set on Sachs um I think that's that's a really interesting one because Micah Parsons in his last season at Penn State I'm looking at it right now had five sacks and that you know Penn State's Penn State's system these days does not really lend itself to racking up massive totals for any one guy this is not like the Steelers defense with with TJ I think a lot of times Penn State's happy to just get some pressure and and I think that's where a guy like chop Robinson shined in this defense despite the fact that you know his getting home numbers were never great he was constantly generating pressure if you looked at the PFF grades every week and that's why he was able to go in the first round of the draft so um Joel do you think that that Abdul Carter just balls out and is that guy and and has the ability to make plays to the extent that he's going to get over that n and a half number that I think you know I think people look at 10 as kind of The Benchmark of are you kind of a monster or not um or do you think that that the way Penn State plays defense is going to hold him back at all yeah that's an interesting question because you saw under Manny Diaz he likeed to bring kind of a lot of defensive backs and and get really creative with the blitzes but but the defensive end is not necessarily putting up those monster numbers so it'll be interesting to see how much Tom Allen kind of does that I doubt he'll be as aggressive as Diaz was with sending guys so maybe less opportunities there but I really just think I'm really high on what Abdul Carter can do this season I mean you made that switch you know from linebacker to defensive end for a reason even at linebacker I think you had like four and a half sacks um so now moving to a position where you're actually you're you're a full-time you know uh rusher basically it's just way more opportunities for him to get into the back field um and I mean he's just you just look at him uh you know at at practice and and anytime we get to talk to him at media the confidence he has just the way he goes about it just the sheer size everything like that I I it just I I just feel like you know he's he's going to be probably Penn State's best player this season um and again it you know that number nine and a half pretty high and like we mentioned it's it's been you know there's some guys who have come through Penn State recently like uh chop and Micah who weren't able to surpass that but um I just think with with the skill set he has he's more likely than not to to pass that number I'm GNA go slightly under I think he's gonna have a good year I I just you know I'll believe Penn State's is going to have a monster like that when when I see it and and when I say monster I just mean like you know in terms of getting home I think he's obviously a freak in terms of the whole game and all the things he can do and I think he's I think he's gonna have a great year I just is that going to translate to that stat I'm not sure yet so it'll be interesting to see uh once we get started next week with the game in Morgantown um couple more notes before we wrap up here Joel pen announced their captains this week it was Drew all and Nick Dawkins on offense Kevin Winston Jr and Kobe King on defense Riley Thompson and Dom Duca on special teams um any of those picks stand out to you more more than others um and anything that we can read into them in terms of you know how this team's going to work this season um yeah I would probably have to go with Drew there um I mean you could say that it was expected but you know he wasn't a team captain last year and Penn State typically isn't one of those teams where it's you know the starting quarterback is always the captain every year uh they haven't really you know operated like that it's always been kind of you know if you deserve it you'll get it but it's not kind of a guaranteed type of thing so to to give drew the the team captain nod this year which again is voted on by the players so um they it there's definitely kind of a consensus among the group that you know he's stepped up as as more of a vocal leader and that's something that he's talked about um throughout the offseason something the coaches have talked about um and again he's always going to be kind of more of an introverted guy I don't think that's ever really going to change but um just I think he's grown more comfortable in his leadership abilities this season which you know we'll see how that pans out on the field but could be a really good sign for Penn State and dler in his progression kind of stepping more into that leadership role less of kind of The Quiet younger guy first year starter um now with with just more experience more confidence everything like that in in a new scheme that should allow him to to put up better numbers bigger numbers this year um so yeah I mean Drew kind of stands out to me the rest of them I would say we pretty much expected um on the defense I was a little bit surprised like I mean Kobe King I think is obviously a good pick Kevin won a good pick but um I was just a little bit surprised that guys like Jaylen Reed or Devon J Thomas weren't picked but I guess there were just kind of a lot of of names in that group and and we kind of heard from Franklin earlier at Penn State media day where where he didn't announce the captains he was asked if if he knew who they would be and he said he didn't know yet um because the year before last season he announced that Penn State media day who the captains would be this year he didn't because he said they they felt like there weren't you know a clear clear-cut group of guys and they were still kind of deciding kind of torn between a few people which kind of was a little bit questionable because it was like no one's really standing out as as a leader to you you know at this point in the offseason you know maybe a month out from from week one which was almost a little bit concerning that no one had kind of stood out to him but I think part of that could just be that there were so many names specifically on defense that were kind of In Contention there and then I I if I had to guess I think it was pretty close in terms of voting between uh those guys but um but yeah I mean the main went to me Drew everyone else kind of expected um you know Dom seconde Captain so it was kind of expected that he would he would run it back and everything like that but yeah Drew is a big one for me couple other guys generating some Buzz this week coaches talking about them um Tamir Robinson was one toari Nelson who made a position switch is the other H what did you hear about those guys and and you know what impacts you know could they potentially have on on the season ahead yeah um to me Robinson's an interesting one um just because we didn't see too much of him last year and I think we're kind of expecting to see more of him he came in with with Tony Roos and they were kind of uh kind of a dynamic duo there we heard the the TNT nickname for for Tony and Tamir and then we got to see Tony Roos kind of light it up on the field when he got in and garbage time with some really impressive play we didn't really see uh as much from Tamir um but yeah we've heard that he's kind of been developing well over this offseason so he's another guy who was highly rated recruit who who could factor in this year at linebacker there's a lot of moving pieces uh you know with Abdul switching sort of to defensive end he'll be kind of going back and forth um according to the staff and then you lose Kavon Keys who [Music] was um and just just kind of some moving pieces around that linebacker room kind of clear the way I would say for Tamir um and then like you mentioned toari Nelson making the move from from safety to linebacker as kind of another body add some more depth to that linebacker room and and Franklin mentioned that um linebacker they thought was getting pretty thin um in terms of depth before that so that's part of why they wanted to make the move and then also just the size that he was putting on um getting up to like 220 pounds now um after arriving on campus at I think 203 so he just kind of outgrew the safety role and they did kind of need some more help at linebacker so that's kind of I think why those moves were made but yeah I mean look for those guys to play a role this season just with kind of some of the guys departing from the linebacker room um those guys can definitely they have a a shot to move up the depth chart maybe make their way into the two deep yep it'll be fascinating to watch well Joel that's all we got for this week next week the season will be here um I'm looking forward to breaking down this this big game to to start the season big noon Saturday down in Morgantown West Virginia close to our most of our our listeners here in Pittsburgh so um Joel looking forward to it I will uh talk to you again next week everyone else please make sure you subscribe um we got a lot more Steelers content coming your way this week ahead of the preseason game against the Lions Northshore Drive on Friday um we'll have some stuff postgame Saturday so make sure you're subscribed if you like this video please pop a like on the like button so it helps us out in the YouTube algorithm we always appreciate that U and that's my Spiel talk to you guys again next week thank you for checking out this content from Post Gazette sports if you watch this video on YouTube please like the video and subscribe to our channel for all of the sports coverage the Post Gazette has to offer 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