For many, the only way this season can be a success for Penn State is if it wins a national title, and a prominent opposing player is among the many.
“I think they’re probably ‘natty or bust’ this year,” Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles told Mark Wogenrich of Sports Illustrated at Big Ten Media Days last week. “That’s how they’re feeling.”
Styles’ reasoning matches up with why a lot of people think Penn State is championship material.
“They’ve got a lot of guys who came back for their last year: “Drew (Allar) the two running backs (Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen), got a few guys on defense that are in their last year as well, so I know they’re going to be a great team,” he said.
WHACKY OFFENSE
Andy Kotelnicki is back for his second season running the Penn State offense, and this is a big reason why the expectations are what they are.
Although Styles and Ohio State did quite well against this scheme last season— holding it to six points and no touchdowns— Styles is still impressed.
The thing with the (Penn State) offense last year was, it gave you so many different pictures and different looks,” Styles said. “You had the tight end with the Wildcat and stuff like that. So you’ve got to just prepare for a lot. And you also knew it’s going be a physical matchup. They’re going to run the ball right at you and they’re going to take some shots down field with Drew (Allar). But I think the biggest thing with them, though, is there’s so much different stuff you have to prepare for, and I think they do that on purpose to kind of get you off your game a little bit.”
Styles also knows a little bit about Penn State’s new defensive coordinator.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Jim Knowles helped Styles become a national champion last season, leading an Ohio State unit that may have been the best in the country.
Now, Knowles is at Penn State, and thus will be coaching against the Buckeyes in Columbus Nov. 1.
“Coach Knowles is a great coach,” Styles said. “I’d say he’s a very smart, intuitive thinker. [He has] so many great ideas with the way he thinks about different ways to play defense, whether it’s disguises or different blitzes and stuff like that. He’s like a perfectionist, but he understands you’re not going to be perfect, if that makes sense. So we just strive to be perfect, but he knows we’re going to come up short of that. But he does a great job, and I think he’s going to do a great job at Penn State as well.”
FATMAN RETURNS
Senior running back Kaytron Allen during carries the football during Penn State’s spring game.
Along with players such as Allar, Singleton and Vega Ioane, Penn State has a horse of an RB coming back in Kaytron Allen.
Michigan State linebacker Jordan Hall played with Allen at IMG Academy, and thus has kept an eye on his Nov. 15 opponent.
