A lot of Penn State players— 40, to be exact— are transfers.
But one player who is returning from last year’s team is pegged by ESPN as a breakout candidate.
That player is Yvan Kemajou.
Kemajou burned his redshirt as a true freshman last year, and due to five-for-five, will go down as one of the last PSU players to do so.
Now, he’s back for an encore, and ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg feels it could be a good one.
WHAT ESPN WROTE
“Penn State’s roster turned over significantly during the coaching change from James Franklin to Matt Campbell, but the defense held on to Kemajou, who capitalized on his opportunities during the second half of last season,” wrote Rittenberg. “Kemajou gives the new staff a budding pass rusher who flashed during Big Ten play, finding his way into opposing backfields. Despite limited play, he finished fourth on the team in tackles for loss.”
A WORD FROM THE BOSS
The article also featured a comment from first-year Penn State coach Matt Campbell.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“I don’t know if anybody could have played any more impressively as a young freshman, what he did against the Ohio States of the world, the Indianas of the world,” Campbell said. “Some of the plays he made were really impressive, and I think the sky’s the limit for him.”
In 11 games, Kemajou posted 13 tackles, five tackles for loss, a pass breakup and 1.5 sacks.
With 238 snaps per Pro Football Focus, Kemajou played the third most out of Penn State’s defensive ends, and the two that played more than him, Dani Dennis-Sutton(eligibility) and Zuriah Fisher(transfer portal) won’t be playing for Penn State next season.
Kemajou continued to impress during spring practice, and told reporters that he feels more experienced on the field than he is.
“It’s almost like I’m a senior now,” Kemajou said after Penn State’s Blue-White practice. “It’s interesting being around a group of iguys where we’re all leading each other and helping each other.”
Kemajou will be competing for a starting spot with fellow returner Max Granville, who is entering his third season. Granville lost what would have been his redshirt freshman year due to injury.
