The Nittany Lions returned to the practice field inside Holuba Hall on a rainy Wednesday afternoon in State College one day before Thanksgiving and three days before their final regular season game.
Penn State offered the small group of media members still in town a brief glimpse into practice before hitting the road to take on Rutgers in a battle for bowl eligibility.
The backs are back
Prior to kicking off against Nebraska last Saturday, the team’s pregame availability report included a long list of running backs. Corey Smith, Quinton Martin Jr, Tikey Hayes and Jabree Coleman were all listed as out, hurting depth behind Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton.
Speculation also swirled about some combination of that group opting out for the remainder of the season or intending to enter the transfer portal. But on Wednesday, those worries were assuaged as Smith and Martin both appeared and were active participants in all drills.
Wide receiver Liam Clifford spent time with the group, practicing handoffs to the backs. He’s appeared behind center against Ohio State and Nebraska for a few snaps.
The Nittany Lions are still searching for someone to emerge as a clear RB3, who will become the starter after Allen and Singleton depart for the NFL this offseason. Smith, Martin and Cam Wallace are the leading candidates to step into that role.
Coleman’s comeback
Freshman defensive end Chaz Coleman, who’s been unavailable during practice viewing windows and games across the last three weeks, returned to action.
Coleman has proven to be an instant-impact player throughout limited playing time, particularly for his skill set as a pass rusher. The Nittany Lion burned his redshirt while appearing in the first eight games, but hadn’t been seen since Penn State’s loss to Ohio State, sparking discussion about his potential transfer portal entrance.
Smith called him “day-to-day” leading up to the Nittany Lions’ game against Michigan State and hasn’t provided a more recent update.
Elevated energy
Despite dreary conditions outside, Penn State kept the energy up throughout practice, blasting music and high effort.
Wide receivers coach Marques Hagan got involved, simulating a defensive back and covering a group composed of the wide receiver and tight end two-deep as they ran through routes for quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer. Andy Kotelnicki, Danny O’Brien and Ty Howle remained engaged and offered feedback between reps. Interim head coach Terry Smith made his rounds and also stopped in to give Kyron Hudson some advice, seemingly about being sharper out of his breaks.
Assistant wide receivers coach Mark Dupuis, working with the remaining wide receivers and tight ends on ball security drills, kept up the energy. Running between stations, he yelled “good reps wide receivers, good reps tight ends,” getting cheers back from the group.
As interim head coach Terry Smith has stated, “no one will ever question a Terry Smith team that they don’t play hard.” That’s held true throughout games and practices under his watch.
