Christian Hackenberg will be the focal point of Penn State's offense. (Rich Barnes USA TODAY Sports)
LOCATION: State College, Pa.
COACH: James Franklin — At Penn State, 1st year; overall: 24-15, 3 years
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: John Donovan
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Bob Shoop
LAST LEAGUE TITLE: 2008, co-champions
LAST BOWL: 2011, TicketCity
RETURNING STARTERS: 13; 5 offense, 7 defense, kicker
PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Christian Hackenberg, RB Zach Zwinak, RB Bill Belton, OT Donovan Smith, DE C.J. Olaniyan, LB Mike Hull, CB Jordan Lucas, S Adrian Amos
PRIMARY STRENGTHS: Hackenberg is an already-seasoned quarterback who will have veteran running backs and tight ends at his disposal. Defensively, C.J. Olaniyan leads a front four that has talent and experience. Lucas is a rising star at cornerback and Amos can play several positions well.
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS: The team has to adjust to its third coaching staff in four years. Even though the offense has talent, much depends on an offensive line that was decimated by injuries in the spring. On defense, the linebacker position again has depth issues. The kicking game needs consistency.
OFFENSE
James Franklin knew Penn State would have depth issues when he was hired, but he didn’t know how thin the offensive line was.
Guard Miles Dieffenbach suffered a knee injury in the spring and reportedly will be out for the season. Tackle Andrew Nelson missed part of spring practice with a leg injury. Center Wendy Laurent sustained a leg injury during the Blue-White Game.
“I’m not sure if I’ve ever been in a situation where you don’t even have a scholarship two-deep,” Franklin said.
Derek Dowrey and Brian Gaia were moved from defensive tackle to guard. Tackle Donovan Smith, the only returning starter, probably will be joined by Dowrey, Gaia, Nelson and center Angelo Mangiro.
Penn State has plenty of talent and depth elsewhere on offense, leading with rising star Christian Hackenberg, chosen the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after he passed for 2,955 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Zach Zwinak and Bill Belton return in the backfield, along with Akeel Lynch. Zwinak rushed for 1,989 yards the past two seasons; Belton gained 1,036 all-purpose yards last year; Lynch averaged 6.0 yards a carry.
Geno Lewis, who caught 18 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns last year, Matt Zanellato, Richy Anderson and DeAndre Thompkins will try to fill the big shoes of departed receiver Allen Robinson.
Tight ends Jesse James, Kyle Carter and Adam Breneman combined for 58 catches for 741 yards and seven touchdowns last year.
DEFENSE
Penn State’s defense has a lot of room for improvement under new coordinator Bob Shoop, whose positive attitude seemed to rub off on his players in his first spring.
Seven starters return, led by linebacker Mike Hull, end C.J. Olaniyan and safety Adrian Amos.
Olaniyan will be joined by Deion Barnes, whose numbers dropped o last year after he was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2012. Anthony Zettel moves inside to tackle, where he will join Austin Johnson.
Hull moves to the middle in the 4-3 scheme and probably will be flanked by Brandon Bell and Nyeem Wartman.
Three starters return in the secondary, not including safety Ryan Keiser, who emerged late in the season in the lineup.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Nittany Lions finished no better than 10th in the Big Ten last season in net punting, kickoff coverage, kickoff returns and field goal percentage. Sam Ficken returns for his third season as placekicker.
He made seven of his first eight field goal attempts last year before slumping and finishing the season 15 for 23. Redshirt freshman Chris Gulla is the leading candidate to succeed Alex Butterworth as Penn State’s punter.
OVERVIEW
Penn State has playmakers, but it remains thin on the offensive line and at linebacker. Expect the defense to be better, especially in the secondary. Winning seven games again is the minimum expectation; a little more would be considered a successful first season for Franklin.
TOP NEWCOMER
WR DeAndre Thompkins: The four-star recruit from North Carolina chose Penn State over Clemson, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Tennessee and West Virginia. Speed is his calling card; he returned three kickoffs for TDs as a senior and has been timed at 4.41 seconds for 40 yards.
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