As expected, a third Penn State true freshman has been given the green light to burn his redshirt.
Days after confirming that Penn State tight end Andrew Rappleyea is out with a “long-term injury,” coach James Franklin confirmed that true freshman Luke Reynolds has joined OL Cooper Cousins and S Dejuan Lane on Penn State’s green light list.
In the team’s win over Bowling Green Saturday, Sept. 7, Reynolds was Penn State’s No. 2 tight end behind Tyler Warren.
With Rappleyea out, Reynolds played 21 snaps to eight for Khalil Dinkins. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Reynolds is the team’s No. 2 tight end since Dinkins was coming off an injury and Franklin suggested earlier that week that he could be on a snap count. But in any case, it seems that Reynolds will be a fixture in Penn State’s offense going forward.
“Luke is doing really well,” Franklin said Monday. “He’s one of these guys. He showed up on campus, and he was very driven and motivated to play. That is both mentally and physically. He was willing to do the things necessary to play—attack the weight room, attack the summer workouts, attack
the playbook.”
For Franklin, Reynolds has a solid blend of substance and style.
“He has the ability to make plays in the passing game,” Franklin said. “Where he is somewhat unusual in 2024 for a tight end is he will also stick his nose in there. For some of these guys that have never really done that at the high
school level, that’s a challenge. Especially when you are asking them to block (defensive end) Smith Vilbert, who is 280 pounds, or whatever he may be. He has shown a willingness, an aggressiveness with that as well. I’ve been a real big fan of Luke and his approach.”
Despite his youth, Luke Reynolds is ready.
“You know, we’ve got a ton of guys that I think could play as true freshmen,” Franklin said, “but the guys that have played I think are showing that they’re willing to make the type of sacrifices and commitments to actually do it. Some guys are either not physically ready to play or emotionally ready to play or mentally ready to play. He’s a guy that’s shown through hard work and development that he is ready to play kind of in all three.”
