The Penn State Nittany Lions have all the pieces in place for an ascent up the Big Ten ladder in 2015. However, there are still plenty of questions to be answered before we pencil them into the conference title game. Here are three things we've learned about them so far in fall camp:
Christian Hackenberg looks dominant
Hackenberg when through some major growing pains as a sophomore, but he’s got the pure talent to turn in a Heisman-worthy season in his junior campaign. If the offensive line can solidify itself and a receiver or two can emerge as legit top-tier threats, Hackenberg’s dominant 350-yard performance in this past postseason’s Pinstripe Bowl will only be the tip of his awesomeness iceberg.
He's shown the potential that has him in contention to the be No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft so far in camp, but now that just has to translate to the regular season.
Offensive line still has a lot to prove
Head coach James Franklin has repeatedly said that the offensive line is progressing, but there’s still plenty of work to be done after Penn State starters gave up five sacks in the spring game against a defense primarily made up of second- and third-stringers. Left tackle transfer Paris Palmer is still a big question mark and PSU’s four returning starters have plenty to prove when it comes to protecting Christian Hackenberg.
Defensive line impressing
Phil Savage from the Senior Bowl was at Penn State last week watching practice and evaluating the players, and came away very impressed by PSU's defensive line:
"The strength of the PSU defense is upfront where it has a trio of interior linemen that can play winning Big Ten football. Anthony Zettel, Austin Johnson and Tarow Barney can stack the run and rush the passer from the inside. Zettel is “undersized” at 274lbs, but he is versatile and has some similar traits to former Iowa and current Tennessee Titans’ DL Karl Klug."
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