WHO ARE the Penn State Nittany Lions? | WVU Football vs. PSU Football

this video is brought to you by bet us Sportsbook and casino it's finally here it's pen State week and you've heard from me from in several different videos now it's time to hear from somebody on the pen State side and in this video which is brought to you in part by bet Us online sports book and casino we're bringing on Alec Whitaker with booze bets and ball Alec how are you doing I'm good how are you doing well doing well I appreciate you in the show of course yeah uh I will say one of the nice things about these home and Home Series is you get to meet a lot of people from the other fan bases because it's not just a one-off game you know you're right thinking about them the following year then too so uh getting to meet you and Paul over the last year has been fun and I know I same thing with some Auburn people the years before so I mean these series I know the athletic departments like them because they get a lot of money from them but I think it's it's pretty good for fan bases too especially ones that you know we never really saw Auburn and I know West Virginia really hasn't been a thing in my lifetime so right have series like this is definitely great yeah they the last time they played I think before last year I think it was 92 I was I was 12 years old and I don't remember it to be honest with you so I wasn't I wasn't um you know I wasn't following college football as closely back then as I do now so I don't remember it so but so yeah we're very excited we haven't this is the biggest home opener we've had in quite some time we had LSU come to morgant toown back in 2012 I believe it was or 2011 somewhere in there but it wasn't first game of the season so it's it's a little different it's just a different feel because you know we've been waiting all offseason for this day to get here right uh and it's finally here now um before we get into Talking Football man I gotta ask you and I kind of talked all fair booze bets and ball so you talk a about more than football on your show kind of let the audience know uh what you guys are doing over there at boo and ball yeah so there's four of us with uh the show Nate and I who he does a lot of analytic stuff it's kind of his background he'll bring up a bunch of stats and stuff so him and I pretty much cover the the ball section of it football um and then Tyler uh loves the used to love I guess we're moved on now the the Penn State bar scene so he was uh kind of the booze expert for us and then we have uh Nelly who loves to bet uh so he always comes on usually something a little goofy some parlay that's one for 25 but uh we have fun just mixing it up not just focusing strictly on the game every week yeah that's cool man now is that on YouTube and and podcast as well or where find you could find it uh on podcast platforms under that name um okay on YouTube it's on my YouTube channel which is Whitaker media I do some other stuff I do baseball stuff um got couple friends of mine just started a bedding show that I let them put on there so we have a lot of different different things going on on there a awesome man awesome since 1931 the attorneys at Catz caner Stone Street and Buckner have been the voice for victims who have suffered Serious injury or death they have a fierce passion for truth and Justice and a sincere compassion for those who have been wronged by others whether you have been in a car accident or fighting with an insurance company or you were a loved one has suffered Serious injury or death due to medical negligence we will ensure your voice is heard loud and clear cats caner Stone Street and Buckner will ensure there is justice for all West Virginia because we are your lawyer your voice visit us at your laery yourvoice decom what's have you guys picked out your drink of the week yet yeah so we uh we usually we recording the show on Wednesday so we'll talk about it uh on Tuesday but we haven't had anything picked out yet that I know but I know you mentioned moonshine with West Virginia so we we might have to go with that uh definitely excited to try that coming down I I think that'll uh that'll be a good pick yeah I uh there's there's different obviously you can get different flavors of moonshine right but the best kind is the just straight up that some somebody made in the mountains illegally and that you just get in a mason jar with no label on it that's that's the best kind man it'll make you twitch when you drink it and you may have to crawl home but it'll be a good experience my wife says I'm not even allowed to drink it in the Moonshine anymore so well you know this this is the only time I that we know we're going to be down in West Virginia for a Penn State game so definitely got to go all out try everything I feel like yeah and we don't burn couches anymore at least not in in in Morgantown but so but we can still drink moonshine all right so we haven't lost all of our craziness yet they can't take everything away from us man that's all right so let's Dive Right into to uh to football and by the way you can find Alec I have his Twitter handle for those of you who are watching on screen for those are listening it's PSU orrong on on X Twitter whatever you call it today and I've got his you know podcast name there and his YouTube channel name scrolling along the bottom booze bets and ball on podcast and Wier media on YouTube so Alec man let's Dive Right In uh I want to hear from from the Penn State perspective a and be honest are you worried at all about the game and B uh if you are worried about it what is your biggest concern going into it from you know as far as what West Virginia brings to the table Yeah so I think I mentioned this when I I talked to Paul earlier in the summer but uh last year a lot of the nerves going into the West Virginia game for Penn State wasn't so much losing to West Virginia it was more how is Drew Aller gonna look kind of this team had a lot of expectations it was more nervousness of the team living up to those expectations this year to me it's a little different I'm like there's actually nervousness about the game being in doubt um obviously I think being on the road is first you know starters uh you're always going to feel more comfortable at home especially in college football with the way environments are in that in the sport um but I think you know West Virginia finished the year strong last year there's really no denying that um Garrick green found himself I think Neil Brown kind of went from Hot Seat to maybe possible extension if he has another year or two like that so you know there kind of seems like a lot of things turned around for West Virginia after um losing to Penn State which I mean that's a hard first game on the road like to still go on and have a good year not let that really I think is uh you know definitely commendable and I just think that Penn State has a lot of moving Parts there are a lot of a lot of the core Pieces come back when Penn State fans will talk about core pieces it's mostly the 2022 recruiting class which would be uh Aller Nick Singleton KRON Allen Drew Shelton who will start at left tackle uh in place of Olu fisho this year and then it's uh on defense Zane Durant the defensive tackle and then the defense FS Abdul Carter Deni Dennis suon and then safety KJ Winston that's kind of the core they talk about now these guys are in year three which is kind of you know when you start thinking about prime years so to say in college football um so they have those guys back but I mean it's two new coordinators uh losing both offensive tackles uh pretty much the safety room's about the same it's more or less a total remake in the cornerback room which I think is something that they brought in some nice transfers and they had some nice younger pieces but you know week one how's that going to go right away something to worry about and then honestly like receiver um they brought in Julian Fleming I don't I don't think he's all of a sudden gonna become a number one that catches 70 balls for a thousand yards and 10 touchdowns or something like that um so I don't think they still have that game record at offens at receiver you know like I I was at the game last year when Penn State played Ohio State and both those teams were equally in a dog match but when Ohio State kind of found themselves in a tough spot they had Marvin Harrison Jr to go to and make a play for them and it was a difference in the game and I just you know kind of looking at Penn State's receiver room I don't think they have that guy right now uh maybe one of these younger guys becomes that but as right now I don't see it especially week one so I just think I actually think if this game was maybe week four five I feel a lot better but because it's first game trying to figure some things out on the offensive line and in the secondary and two new coordinators and West Virginia is obviously highly motivated and was really hot to end last season like I think my worry last year was maybe like a a two this year I'd say closer to a seven seven and a half maybe um I still think Penn State wins but I'm definitely more on you know it's not going to be last year we're from the third quarter on you were just kind of looking to see how the the team was doing how guys were looking I think it's you're gonna be fighting for your life a little more yeah yeah you brought up a couple points there I wanted to wanted to ask you about I I've been I've done a couple videos the last two days I dug really deep in and I don't know how you feel about Pro Football Focus but I dug really deep into the Pro Football Focus numbers for each team and and what it showed me was and I not again I know Penn State has a lot more four and five star guys I know they're putting more guys in the NFL so I'm not trying to say West Virginia's equal from a talent perspective but from a Pro Football Focus score they are equal pretty pretty much equal from looking at last year's numbers and I found that very intriguing I did not expect to see that but the reason that is is because West Virginia the guys who they lost last year primarily in the portal versus the guys they brought in from the portal huge improvement from a PFF grade so I'm hoping that translates to the game now we know it it doesn't always do that right PFF is not a end all Beall it's not the gospel but it is a it is a metric you can use to try to you know at least have get an idea of what how the guys play but one of the things I noticed with with Penn State was obviously we know about ALU fashanu but you know they could be T even with even at the PFF numbers they could be taking a step back a little bit on that off offensive front West Virginia's got a similar concern we're losing Zack Frasier Doug Nester are you confident that the guys that are replacing fashanu and the other two starter former starters are going to be able to keep that offensive line playing at the same level or do you think there'll be a step back this year I think there'll be a step back um I but that's realistic honestly because I think fanu and Kaden Wallace the right tackle allow to combine two back last year I think uh so you know even if you you can still have above average tackle play and I still don't think it's that good numbers wise uh I think it was kind of nice that you know not for foran's health at the time but he missed some time at the end of the 2022 season and Drew Shelton got to play the remaining part of the season I think it was four the last four games of the season in the Rose bow and then last year once Penn State fell out of the playoff picture uh Fen Fano started to go on uh pitch counts so to say so Shelton was getting reps again so I feel good about him at left tackle um and obviously he's he's going up against Abdul Carter every day in practice now which I think is going to help him a lot I don't think he's gonna be a top 11 pick like f was right away uh right tackle is a little more concerning they brought in Nolan Ruchi a former five star a guy who kind of spurned Penn State out of high school originally uh he's competing with Anthony Don who's a only a red shirt freshman so it's kind of an older guy who hasn't had a lot of experience versus a younger guy with a lot of upside so there's not a lot of experience at right tackle really so it's interesting if they're going to go with the more Steady Hand in Ruchi or the guy with the higher ceiling in danco it sounds like they both might play against West Virginia they're both kind of doing a couple things differently well right now one's better in pass Pro one's better in run blocking right now so I might depend on the situation the game if Penn State has to throw a lot more I'm pretty sure Dono is the one that's doing better in pass Pro might have them mixed up but you know something like that might alter it the interior I think will be okay um Nick Dawkins is a fifth year guy he hasn't played a lot but he's been around a long time so he understands the offense the guys on the team trust him he's voted a captain so I I feel okay there with him coming in uh the guards are the same but yeah I think early on they might have struggle with some cohesion problems but I think you know the up my upside for them at the end of the year is that they could be pretty good obviously that does not matter for you guys because it's week one and done uh so like my Outlook on the offensive line for the whole season is a lot more comfortable than it is in week one makes sense and and and we're the same I mean you know we lost Zack Frasier we lost Doug Nester Um Zack Fraser being a second round pick going to he's going to be starting for the Pittsburgh Steelers in week one so and Nester last I heard he was on the Vikings roster I'm not sure if he's made it or not but I I haven't kept track of that like I like I would like to but similar situation replacing Frasier is gonna be Brandon Yates who's who played guard Right Guard last year okay he's a solid player you know he's a six-year guy I think fifth or sixth year guy played a lot of snaps now he's not Zack Frasier uh but he is he has played a lot of snaps and is very experienced so they trust him up there you know just like you mentioned about Hawkins um is it Hawkins did I say that right Dawkins I'm sorry it's it's actually it's a Daryl Dawkins son oh it is that's cool yeah I didn't know that interesting um the other piece of that oh before I get to you mentioned Abdul Carter yeah I want to talk about that real quick and then I'll get to the coaches they're obviously moving him from linebacker to dend right because of his pass rushing ability I would assume are they do you know whether or not they're going to be playing him on the right side versus the left or they're going to be moving him around what is your what is your take on that because I'm I'm interested in seeing him and Wyatt milum go at it because Wyatt milum has yet to allow a sack in two seasons at left tackle so I'd love to see that match up I think I have it down here uh they they have him listed on the right side but I I don't think that's in stone with him uh Penn State I know at least Manny Diaz did obviously we're going to Tom Allen here so I don't know how different his packages are but um especially in passing situations Manny Diaz like to put deny Dennis suon because he's a bigger guy put him inside and then he bring on uh Adisa Isaac and chop Robinson on the outside obviously those two guys are gone so I I think they're gonna try some different packages too with Carter now maybe bring him up the middle if they can um I know I was talking Fanon tangwell former Penn State offensive lineman and he brought up the possibility ofe Beeman going to end in some situation and then having kind of Carter come up the middle and do some different things move Carter around so I I think because they're they're four deep at defensive tackling guys they like I think you know two of the smaller guys bean and Zayn Durant have the flexibility to go outside a little bit um so that'll help them put the best four guys on the field you know for the situation but I also think gives them flexibility to move Carter around which I don't think they'll be stagnant with them yeah and and that's what I kind of suspected a guy like that you want him to you know you want to move him around put him at different Miss try to find a good mismatch for him and and and you know I'm not saying he can't beat white mile on occasion but why line him up against the guy who's you know arguably one of the best defensive tackles I mean offensive tackles in in football yeah when you can put him over against somebody else who may not be as experienced may not be as talented you know test test those guys out and that's what I I suspect that they'll do that some uh maybe try to test out you know you know I mentioned Brandon Yates or they might try to test Brandon Yates out or some of these guys who don't haven't started as much or maybe are playing different positions try to put that pressure on him like that that's that's kind of what I Envision but yeah but I can't that's going to be interesting to to see where they line him up and and those mismatches that they're trying to that each side is trying to exploit during this game there gonna be some it's gonna be like a chess match um you mentioned Tom Allen obviously coming over from Indiana former head coach at Indiana uh what's the feeling around the programing among the fans about him coming in to replace Manny I know Manny Diaz did was going doing a good job there in my as an outsider I thought he was anyway what's the opinion about Tom Allen yeah I think it's more of a steady hand approach uh Manny Diaz was kind of had that uh crazy approach where he uh was it he called them chaos plays or uh he just was obsessed with sacks and turnovers he didn't really give up or care how many yards he gave up he just he thought the ne you know the negative plays would outweigh giving up some yards and you know for the most part it did work uh I I don't know if Tom Allen is that aggressive I think we'll see I think you know he got high praises for being a pretty good linebacker uh developer at Indiana which obviously does not have near the linebacker talent that Penn State does so I think there's a lot of excitement about that I think there's just a lot of excitement overall about what he did at times Within Indiana defense that wasn't talented and rarely had offensive help so I I I I don't think there's as as much excitement as there is with Andy K Nicki and I think part of that is just because you definitely view uh AK as an update or as an upgrade whereas Manny Diaz you know in our eyes was a top two top three defensive coordinator in football so even though Tom Allen might be pretty good you're just kind of hoping for you know even Keel there just because it's very hard to upgrade for Manny Diaz and maybe eventually Tom Allen gets to that point but right off the bat it's really not expected to be that so I think it's just hoping the defense is what it has been and then uh cotal Nikki takes the offense to another level interesting yeah and and C Nikki's obviously West Virginia fans we have firstand knowledge of him from his days at Kansas uh I was at the game in Morgantown in 22 when they beat us in overtime and man his he had our poor defense so confused the entire game man they didn't know where to line up uh and some of that's on West Virginia side you know not having the guys prepared and probably not having according to the coaching staff they were uh you know they basically over coached them in a sense and they were making things way too complicated so last year they simplified everything and just focused on the fundamentals basically but um making sure guys were in the right spots and all that more so than scheme and and all that right and and and it worked a little bit defense still wasn't great but it was better but Andy coton Nikki man I've seen him even even against other Big 12 teams he he's very good at using odd formations motions uh you know Gadget plays whatever it takes man he and he'll dial up some stuff that and he'll have I've seen you know really good coaches look just bumfuzzled out there because they're not like what is he doing so we're glad to get him out of the Big 12 I'll tell you that yeah you got deal with him one last time right but but I'm not looking forward to facing him you know week one the only thing that brings me some hope is number one our coaching staff has seen him enough times now they even coached against him when he was at Buffalo when they were at Troy so they are they are familiar with him of course that goes both ways he's familiar with him as well right true but uh so so hopefully they won't be taken by surprise this time like they were in 22 so that gives me a little bit of Hope but just overall uh you kind of touched on it there but just what is the overall feeling about cotal Nikki amongst the PSU fan base yeah I I think it's they know the receiving Talent isn't topof the line what we've kind of been used to under Franklin because I mean Franklin for the first eight or so years of his tenure here Penn State had good receivers it was Chris Godwin deshun Hamilton and then it was Jawan Johnson and then it was Jan Dodson uh KJ hamler Parker Washington like guys that are playing on Sundays um so it you know just kind of seeing the fall off there was a little discouraging but I think the hope is that codal Nikki can do a little more with less and I know you brought up the movement and scheming and the motion all that and I think the plan is that he can maybe move these guy you know get these guys open if they can't do it themselves put them in a position to get open um I I think that's more or less the plan with the receivers at least early on until they can figure out three guys that are definitely gonna start you know kind of a a circle of trust I kind of look at the Penn State receiver room uh like a bullpen in baseball we're GNA try this out for a little bit see who the guys we trust are and then you know when the playoffs come around who are the guys we're going to put into the big spots I I kind of see a situation like that happening with the pen State receivers but I think he's going to rely on the running backs and the tight ends I know he did wonders with Jared Patterson up in Buffalo the numbers they put up in the rushing game and I know look the competition's not the same but Jared Patterson was a good run back I don't think he's as talented as Nick Singleton and KRON Allen so I'm excited to see what he could do with them I think he's gonna find ways to put Bo perb on the field because he was so big with the Dual threat quarterback game uh with Jaylen Daniels Down in uh Kansas so I I do think he's gonna find packages for him and honestly after they fired Mike yuch towards the end of last season um the staff that did take over which was just kind of a mismash of uh assistants helping out they did find packages for Pula especially around the goal line and short yard situations so I would expect that to continue right so I think the nice thing is they have versatility um in their offensive game maybe it's not as much talent as the years past but I think just because they have two running backs they love they really think they're at least three or four deep at tight end so I think and they feel like they're too deep at quarterback and two guys that do totally different things so I I think they feel like that versatility can maybe make up for a lack of Talent on you know at least the offens line early on and then at Receiver right yeah uh and you know he's going to have but he will have more talent to work with probably and this is not a shot at Kansas at all I mean but you know Penn State's recruiting at a different level than Kansas is so he you know it'll be interesting to see this will be I heard on another show I think earlier today actually this will be the most Talent he's probably ever had to work with in his entire career so it'll be it'll be really interesting to see how he does hopefully he doesn't do really well with it week one but it'll be interesting to see how well he does with it you know throughout the season because I he may not need to do all that stuff you know all the motions and and Gadget plays he may not need to do that at Penn State because he has more talent to work with especially at the running back spot now I shouldn't say that Kansas did have Devon Neil he's pretty darn good too but but you see my point just across the board in the end he's got more talent to work with and you know uh and I'll also be interested to see you know Drew allers not the same quarterback as Jaylen Daniels is so it'll be interesting to see how he calls plays for Drew versus Jaylen you know all those things are things I'm looking forward to seeing in this game Michael Vic at bet us.com catch an incredible 125% sign up bonus on your first three deposits plus 10% gamblers Insurance bet us my online Sportsbook and [Music] casino what are the thoughts what are the thoughts about how he'll handle Drew Aller uh so at least from kind of what I've heard is they do want to rely on these running backs and tight ends early in the season especially this West Virginia game and then uh they have Bowling Green and Ken State the two games following so then I think it goes into we can figure out the passing game in those two games and then they have UCLA who wasn't too good on defense and uh Illinois who's a little better on defense but not going to give you much of a problem offensively which you know in turn makes him a little worse on defense um so I think what they feel like is let's do what we can to get out of West Virginia with a win and then we'll figure out the passing game over the next four weeks so I I don't think you're GNA see a crazy barrage I know I didn't think that last year uh when pen State played West Virginia and Drew Aller had probably his best game in college so yeah uh you know that kind of stuff you know whenever you could talk about something for three months and it just doesn't happen so yeah see there yeah and I mean he played really well I'm not take anything away from him but man West Virginia had there was a couple guys who started in that game that barely played the rest of the season right because their performance was so bad uh West Virginia didn't have the right Personnel for that for that game in my and I I don't know if they had the right Personnel on the roster a year ago and they still played with Penn State you know up until what third quarter early fourth quarter so uh I think there were plays there to be made but I just west vir just did not have the the jimmies and Joe's as they say to to match up with P State a year ago on both sides of the ball and this year although hopefully this year at least on paper it should be a much more competitive game and closer game because West Virginia did make those moves in the portal that I mentioned earlier yeah so I think though that Cal nck is gonna find ways just make um Aller more comfortable early on I and I've mentioned this before I think physically physical wise and talent wise uh Aller is as pretty much as much as you could asked for I think that's why his recruiting ranking was as high as it was it just comes down to you know mental stuff and him being comfortable and I think at times last year when he was uncomfortable his footwork got bad and that's when he was missing guys um when he's standing when he's in the pocket moving around you know moving up uh and throwing with confidence is when he was good and I I think K is just going to try to find ways to build his confidence early you know easy passes get him in a Groove because with him last year it was either he was kind of really red hot in games or it was really bad there wasn't a lot of in between with him like he tore up Maryland too he had three or four really big games and then Michigan Ohio State and then uh for parts of the Illinois game he really struggled so it was either really good or really bad and I think they're just trying to maybe find a way to bring him to a more even Keel State um where he can be kind of a JJ McCarthy type you know make the plays when we need them but we're not asking you to be the 2019 LSU offense and I think you know there was a lot of hype going on last year that people thought for some reason they'd be the 2019 LSU offense just because of all the hype round Aller so I think it's kind of now getting to the point where it's let's reel this in rely on our talent at uh running back and receiver and Drew you just make the third down plays and you know the Red Zone throws that we need and we're not asking you to go for 350 every game and three touchdowns yeah yeah L want L on what you're good at right that's that's the key uh and West Virginia you know I see a lot of similarities in these two teams uh as far as I think the way they'll approach the game you know they both have two really good running backs yep uh speaking of which I want to get your thoughts on Jim White because Jean white didn't play for us a year ago when we played you guys he wasn't you know he was a true freshman wasn't ready yet he they said he his practice happenss weren't good he you know he hadn't really gotten I don't think he had gotten comfortable with the blocking aspect of it yet and all that uh but man when he came on he came on hard and strong so what are your thoughts from the pen State perspective on on having to face Jem white yeah so I I did watch a little bit of him as the season went on I obviously I like to keep track of the team uh Penn State plays in the out conference schedule because there was the outside possibility that Penn State Ohio State michig Auburn 11- one tie so you know Beating A N A 9- win West Virginia team would have helped Penn State in that situation uh so I did keep tabs later in the year but yeah he definitely came on strong and you know I I don't want I don't really compare people to sequan Barkley but Barkley like the first few weeks of his freshman career was like not in a Groove not in a Groove and then like the light kind of Switched about the fourth or fifth game uh so you know that happens for guys and then obviously Barkley had two massive years after that so you know that could happen for white I think it's something Penn State has to account for now because it's obviously I saw it's pretty going to be pretty humid and hot down here at the at the game I think like upper to mid 80s so yep uh you know both these teams have two running backs that they can rely on to wear down a defensive line not just one guy so the running backs stay fresh while you're trying to run down a defensive line so I think you know it is an added element for West Virginia that a year ago they were uh relying more on Donaldson now that they have a second guy to kind of go 5050 with them it makes him more dangerous and obviously white uh showed a lot of nice things towards the end of the year so I just think in a you know the situation where these guys aren't used to playing a full 60 really yet and it's going to be a hot humid day both teams trying to wear down the other team uh it definitely helps West Virginia because pens would have had that Advantage going into this game having two guys they really like uh if White had not broken out the way he did at the end of last year so I think that it does even the playing field there yeah yeah I we're very excited I mean we're hoping he doesn't have what they call sophomore slump in year or two right which CJ Donson kind of had a little bit last year but uh he he still had a decent year he still ran for over 700 yards uh but he he was he also battled injury quite a bit last season was banged up most of the year in his defense but this year he's full you know he's fully healthy for the first time probably since about halfway through his freshman season uh he was playing with a banged up shoulder so you got we have a healthy CJ Donaldson we have Jim White who's healthy uh speaking of Health uh and I want to touch on uh injuries real quick and by the way this segment is brought to you by our sponsor cats caner Stone straight and Butner your personal injury and medical myo practice attorneys in West Virginia and Virginia check them out at your log your your voice.com all right but are there any injuries that we that on the Penn State side of things that uh you know West Virginia fans need to know about um I think the only major one that Franklin brought up was Kaden Saunders who was kind of vying for receiving snaps and he was Penn State's primary punt returner before dayquon Hardy went crazy dayquon Hardy became the uh punt returner I think the fifth or sixth game last year and he still was first team all big 10 at punt returner uh just went crazy in the second half of the season I think he returned two for touchdowns oh gosh so that role was going to go back to Saunders because Hardy's uh off he got drafted in the NFL actually so that role was going to go back to him uh but Franklin said he's a little uncertain for this week so I had to actually look because I don't know who could possibly be behind him but it sounds like quid and Martin the the two freshman running back that is kind of a versatile guy um there was some talk about hey we're really good at running back should we just try him at receiver because he's a little bigger guy I think he's close to 61 but as of right now they're keeping him at running back I think he's a guy who might get back there uh cam Wallace another backup running back might as well I don't think Omari Evans is another one too he's kind of one of the faster receivers but I think if Saunders is banged up and it was mentioned that Harrison Wallace another receiver dealt with some injuries uh during Camp so if they're a little banged up at receiver and they're already kind of thin there I don't know if they'll risk another receiver back Martin probably uh turning in the punt and the kick return duties without Saunders so that's as far as I know that's the only that's the only uh major or even key injury I know of they kind of got lucky there about the past four years or so they've lost someone to a season ending injury um going way back to 2017 they lost John Reed one of their best corners in that kind of cost him in the Ohio State game later in the year then he tore his ACL in Camp um they lost Smith filbert a defensive lineman to an ACL injury in Camp last year and then Landon tangle had to medically retire so this year though they kind of avoided that which was good they did avoid the longterm Camp injury from a key player yeah West Virginia knock on wood has for the most part this year um they did have one of their D lineman Corey McIntyre who was expected to be a pretty heavy contributor this year he went down he's going to be out for a chunk of the season they don't know if it will be the whole season or just a portion of it but they were expecting him to probably play make it into the two deep not sure he would started but he definitely would have been would would have played uh but other than that I mean I think they're pretty much going to be healthy there's a couple of guys who got banged up in Camp that coach Brown's not really saying much about right I I think both of these coaches are kind of keep thing trying to keep things close to the vest a little bit Yeah Franklin's always been that way yeah he'll say Neil Brown won't Neil Brown's he'll he'll tell you he's he's look I'm fine with the depth chart he actually is a proponent that every team should release dep chart before every game and an injury report just like the NFL does because gambling is so prevalent right now in college football speaking of gambling shout out to my other sponsor bet us sports book and casino uh take advantage of their 125% offer on your first three deposits up to $2,000 check out the link in mypt description box but um because gambling's so prevalent now you know he thinks every team should put out one but if the opposing coach doesn't do it he won't do it he he's just you know little gamesmanship there I personally I don't I think it's kind of silly these coaches of they watch hours and hours and hours of film they know who's going to play you know what I mean right they're prepared for everybody anyway but I understand it you know there's a lot of money and a lot of lot on the line in these games so but back back to my topic at hand is uh those are the only only ones that have been mentioned uh you know we did have a safety Anthony Wilson who missed some practices that was banged up but he the thought is he'll be back he's expected to be a starter he was a starter last year and then um trying to oh one of our receivers I think tray and Ray missed a couple a couple practices too he was banged up but how how long those injuries you know are they going to miss games I doubt it but again we don't know that for 100% certainty because the media has not been able to be practice the last couple of weeks and uh and they in his press conference today they didn't even ask him about injuries I don't think so I'm sure they Tau him it was off the table before they walked in the room but uh anyway that's uh you know so injuries it looks like both teams for the most part have most of their key guys for this game which is good I mean I think that's good uh one player for the Penn State fans who may be listening one player that they can be on the lookout for on the defensive side is Josiah Trotter he's a retre freshman linebacker that we got M that was real very heavily recruited his brother was at Clemson a lot of people thought he would go to Clemson but he he wanted to carve his own path uh you know make his own way so he came to West Virginia obviously pen State fans are probably very familiar with his dad Jeremiah Trotter from the Philadelphia Eagles former Eagles Legend but uh we're expecting big things out of him he missed all the last season with a knee injury so and and Coach Brown said he likely would have started last year as a true freshman that's how talented he is we're expecting big things out of him too so that's and then Trey lean who missed most of the season with an injury he's going to be back and those two guys will probably probably start uh at the at the linebacker spot um we have another guy on our roster that played at pen State phor M MBA yeah do you remember him a little bit Yeah the name the name's definitely familiar yeah I think he was a third string D tackle uh early on at Penn State and then he transferred over to West Virginia uh probably going to start and nose if not he'll be the backup there had a pretty good solid year last year especially in the run run blocking I mean run stopping side uh very very big body but you know West Virginia plays that three down front and I think he's more of a three down front guy I'm not sure he was a great fit at Penn State so hopefully he'll he'll have more success with us um gotta I'm gonna switch gears a second ask you about we're gonna talk recruiting for a minute all right I'm a little mad I'm a little mad at Penn State right now okay there's a young man who lives in my hometown named Daniel jinnings okay that is a 2026 Penn State commit defensive end Edge rusher he chose pit State over West Virginia obviously I'm going to root for the young man because he's a he's a HomeTown kid uh but what what are do you I don't know how close you follow recruiting Alex I don't want to put on the spot here but do you know anything about Jennings and have you heard anything around the program or around the fan base about you know the excitement level about adding him and what they think he brings to the team yeah I kind of I haven't been up on recruiting as I used to be uh because I used to I used to work for website kind of covering it for them and I don't do that anymore so I've been a little back on it but I do know uh the recruitment you're talking about and I know they definitely were excited to get them out of West Virginia at the time um we'll see he he's kind of what they've been doing at defensive end and I say this as Deni Dennis suon who you'll see on Saturday is 65 like 260 something but they kind of like smaller defensive ends guys that are in that 62 63 range they like the twitchier guys yep um that can just get around the line not worried about really power there they they like pass rush specialist types um had success with them chop Robinson last year was only 63 you know in the 240s um shaton before him was even smaller than that I think and he averaged a six sacks a year for three years with Penn State so they do like the smaller guy so I I I definitely think he fits that bill for them um Deion Barn has done a really great job of recruiting the defensive line as a young coach um just in his second year now he he's gonna be one of the best defensive line recruiters I think in the country um because he has Connections in Philly used to coach there the high school ranks so he's very connected with all the high schools in the Philly area which is definitely going to help him long term so uh I I wouldn't be mad about losing someone of Deion Barnes because he's definitely an up incomer in uh the recruiting game and as a defensive line coach um but yeah I I do know Jennings is the highest yeah the highest rated defensive player in the class right now I know they're excited about that class it's that class is so far away but they like what they got early so far lot a lot of things can change I mean two years the only thing you know as a West Virginia fan I'm hoping that they stay on him and are able to flip him but I guess the only thing that West you know we don't get a lot of West Virginia is a very small state there's not a lot of power four level talent in this state anyway so when they when there are guys that are that good you know we expect West Virginia to get them right or at least right majority of them and they do for the most part I mean Wyatt milum Zack Frasier um you know there's a b Ste gallager I guess yeah the Steel's brothers were both West Virginia guys I mean so so they do get the majority of them you know but this one but you know this one was a little personal to me because he he goes to school with my my my daughter gotta you know he's he's a local kid but uh but I do wish him the best I I hope he if he does end up going to St staying at Penn State and keeping his commitment and going there I hope he hope he has a great career and ends up playing in the league one day you know yeah it just it just sucks that we weren't able to get him yeah I mean I obviously hope he stays at Penn State and has a great career but uh if this offseason has taught Penn State fans anything it's that kind of losing someone right away in a recruitment isn't as bad anymore with the transfer portal um right when Penn State lost Nolan Ruchi and Julian Fleming back-to-back number one player in Pennsylvania recruiting classes uh you know there was a lot of there was a lot of hate towards James Franklin and a lot of what are we doing here losing two five stars in our backyard uh and now they're both both on the roster this year so you just you never know how it's going to work out I think the transfer portal and all that has kind of uh lesson blows in recruiting one because I I you can replace holes that you had in recruiting through that you know it's pretty much like free agency um you can either develop or sign sign someone is kind of the way it's going I just think that those relationships are important because if two years later a kid's on the second or third string and he thinks he should be first or second uh and you still have some kind of relationship or you have because obviously a lot of the stuff is called back channeling I guess where it's not official at first still having connections that you could reach out to and be like hey is he happy here you know is there any thought that maybe he'd be open to coming back so I I do think even uh if you don't get someone right away out a out of high school that they're not really over anymore until they end up in the NFL right yep so uh you mentioned rodne Gallagher's name a minute ago yeah did Penn State fans expect to get Gallagher or did they kind of feel all along that he was probably going to West Virginia um I think at the beginning they did we pen St fans were pretty confident about him the Jan doson comp came around and that got excited he started talking about how Penn State was GNA try to make him like Jan doson and then it became a little more clear towards the middle of his recruitment that he was trending towards West Virginia MH um but then I know towards the end of his recruitment Neil Brown was kind of on the hot seed a little bit right and he came back to Penn State for a visitor to and was just kind of like I want to make sure I'm comfortable here in case there was a yep you know an A change at West Virginia so then you know there was some hope again but then uh Brown kind of red the ship there at the end of that season stayed and obviously has gotten a lot better so I there was optimism at times with that one um I'm not going to I know people like to say when a kid doesn't go to the school oh we didn't really need him or want him anyway I think Penn State definitely would have taken him with the yeah current situation of the receiving room so I I do think that is a blow for sure our fans are the opposite they say well we we should have got him man even when even when they didn't really recruit a kid hard yeah our our fans are and I'm guilty of it too but we we have a tendency to be super super uh pessimistic but anyway um yeah that was interesting and I don't know if you've heard this or not but I don't know how much you follow West but you know they've got him playing both sides of the ball some I think I did hear that yeah so I don't I don't I don't expect to see them put him on defense in this game I wouldn't think but they have been pretty impressed with what he can do they said he you know he's actually done really good Neil Brown made a comment at one of the pressers and I I personally think he was doing this to motivate the other guys right but he made a comment that right now he was the best man defender on the team so but I thought that was you know I know he's a great athlete he had some basketball looks too I'm pretty sure I think he was raid as a three star in basketball actually which he was that's impressive I yeah that makes me think of uh the dude that went to Gonzaga sugs he was like a a Four Star Quarterback but a five star point guard or whatever like yeah that's pretty crazy to be that good in two sports but yeah you remember do you remember dece McBride I'm sorry do you remember dece McBride that played point I remember the name yeah he was also a highly recruited basketball player as well point guard I mean I mean I'm sorry highly recruited football player he played quarterback for his high school but anyway I didn't mean to cut you off yeah no I was just gonna say I know I think early on when Penn State was recruiting Gallagher there was actually an argument between which side of the ball was going to get him and then uh the offense did win out on the end and they were strictly recruiting him offensively after that I do remember that kind of being a thing now that you brought that up uh kind of early on in his recruitment yeah CU he played quarterback in high school and he's not really a natural quarterback they just wanted the ball in his hands as much as possible but um he there's also some of the fan bases you know there's a theory out there amongst the fan base that they're trying so hard to keep Rodney because he's going to be every offseason he's going to have people courting him to try to get him to leave that they're trying their best to find ways to get him on the field as much as possible yeah makes sense maybe that's the maybe that's the case uh but either way you know I don't think they would put him over there if they didn't think he could do it so and he even he even changed his number to 24 so that he could play defense if needed I don't so I thought I thought that was interesting because we already have a two on he was two before and we already have a number two on defense Albert bur is number two so by changing numbers it allows him to play right either side of the ball without having to change numbers so yeah I always forget about that in college the amount of double numbers it's funny yeah yeah can be confusing but uh anyway well listen man uh I really appreciate you coming on one more time let the folks know where they can find you on your work yeah so uh the podcast booze bets and ball uh it does say a pen football podcast we did clarify that uh if you look it up on any podcast platform but the YouTube stuff under Whitaker media you can find me there uh the Twitter uh the the podcast Twitter is at the number three and then the letter B uh or pod PSU and then uh obviously PSU strong too the stuff I do there sometimes getting back into it kind of took the summer off but I gotta yeah it's always great uh talk to you guys I love coming on getting to no other fan bases obviously it's a lot of fun looking forward to coming down to West Virginia this weekend so yeah I'm excited for it and I I think the nice thing is that with the playoff at 12 teams you know your season's not over if you lose this game for both teams week one it's a it's a hard challenge for both teams week one right out of the shoot uh so I think it's very nice obviously one fan base is going to leave happier than the other but the other one's not devastated already looking at 2025 yeah and that's one thing I hope our for you fans listening to this if West Virginia loses this game it is not the end of the world now if we get blown out of if we get blown out and lose by 30 or 40 points then we can have a different conversation but if it's if it's a close game and West drops the game man we still have a big 12 whole Big 12 Conference schedule to play and we have our biggest rival who I'm not going to mention the team up I 79 that game still on the on the docket too um so losing to Penn State although it would be great to Win It losing the game is not going to derail the season so great Point Alec and and now Penn State though I'm I'm glad you brought that up and I was going to let you go but it's okay I could do this all night when you look at pen state schedule personally I think they got a pretty good schedule I think they have a really legit chance to win the Big 10 this year or at least get a playoff spot because they don't play Michigan y uh which that's a whole another conversation they're a dumpster fire right now but they don't play Oregon and they get Ohio State at home now they do have to travel to USC I think Penn State I think Penn State can beat USC on the road but to me that favorable lines up pretty well for for for you guys for Penn State to make a run in Big 10 and at least get in the playoffs but losing to West Virginia though with that strength of schedule would you think that would hurt him at all I think a a little I I think though if West Virginia went on to have a year similar to last year where they W you know be somewhere between eight to 10 games and yeah you know if you win eight to 10 year or at least nine to 10 year ranked I think that would help week one on the road um they'd have to theyd probably have to sweep the rest of the road games though and that includes at USC and at wiconsin uh and then Ohio State I think you know I'm I'm past the point of picking Penn State to win to beat Ohio State until I really should believe it and I don't right now um right so I I think those are your two losses and Ohio State goes on to be 12-1 13-0 what whatever happens between them and Oregon because do play each other this year um you know I I think that 10 two is good enough to get in right I do too so I but I think you know that's kind of the path I think it has to be a loss to USC on the road and then USC stays ranked or a loss to West Virginia on the road and West Virginia goes on to have a year similar to last year I I think that one of those two along with a loss and a somewhat close loss to Ohio State uh is the two two lost path to get in I I would say that's what it is I mean it's interesting to me though because last time Penn State won the Big 10 uh was 2016 that year they also had two new coordinators and they dropped an out- of conference game early so I you know I see some similarities maybe to this year if Penn State was to lose to West Virginia this week yeah see and the reason I say that I I think it's a bigger I think Penn State has more to lose in this game than West Virginia does because to me the only way West Virginia is likely going to get into the playoff anyway is if they win the Big 12 because the Big 12 is likely only going to get because it's they're going just gonna beat each other up probably in the Big 12 this year there's so much parody in that conference and I'm not sure the strength of schedule because of the big 12's you know we don't really have any blue bloods in our conference I'm not sure you know I'm not sure a nine and three team from the big 12's going or even a 10- two team potentially may not get in unless they win it you know because of you know because of you guys and Ohio State and Alabama Georgia they're all going to have higher strength of schedules at least uh in theory yeah you would you would think so by the end of the season so I I think West Virginia because they still have a whole big 12 schedule to play and you know winning the Big 12 at the end of the day is the ultimate goal anyway right I think I think you know West Virginia losing this game to me not really that big a deal like I said now if it's a blowout and West Virginia just looks horrible that's that's different but if they're competitive I want to see them be more comp competitive than year ago I want to see competitive all four quarters and don't let their second string drive down the field and punch it in the end zone at the end of the game that was but anyway um that's that's my view on it but I you know again it's all a matter of at the end of the day we don't know how these schedules are going to shake out we don't know how good these teams are going to be you know that these teams are playing so it's all just crapshoot but anyway well man listen this time I actually am going to let you go I really appreciate you coming on the show and uh well I can't wait to do this again yeah good luck rest of season yeah you guys too I look forward to seeing everyone down there should be a fun week yeah maybe we'll uh be get lucky and run into each other man yeah we'll try we'll definitely try now the noon start doesn't help stuff like that but got a lot of time to do everything not even have time to tailgate for me yeah not a fan I did want to experience it a little more in depth but it is what it is with big noon we've been dealing with it for a few years now yeah well Alec thanks again man you got it everybody everybody be sure to Q Country Roads and have a top shelf day