Penn State remained in the win column and kept its bowl hopes alive with a 37-10 drubbing of Nebraska in Beaver Stadium last Saturday.
The Nittany Lions continued to make tweaks to player usage as the regular season winds to a close, incorporating more younger players who could be vital pieces to next year’s squad, should they stick around in Happy Valley.
Here are Penn State’s full offensive and defensive snap counts from the win, per PFF.
*Season total in parentheses
Quarterbacks
Ethan Grunkemeyer: 51 (340)
Drew Allar: 0 (349)
Jaxon Smolik: 0 (12)
There were no surprises on Saturday, with Grunkemeyer manning the quarterback role for nearly all of the game (Liam Clifford had two snaps behind center while Grunkemeyer lined up out wide). He’s on pace to surpass Allar in total snaps at Rutgers next Saturday. Freshman Bekkem Kritza, the only other scholarship quarterback available against the Cornhuskers, didn’t see any action despite the lopsided nature of the contest and has yet to see a snap this season.
Wide receivers
Devonte Ross: 32 (336)
Trebor Peña: 31 (456)
Kyron Hudson: 28 (491)
Koby Howard: 17 (103)
Liam Clifford: 4 (102)
Tyseer Denmark: 0 (26)
Aaron Enterline: 0 (7)
Ross led the room in playing time for the first time all season, as Hudson is usually atop the board. The Nittany Lions primarily kept the ball on the ground, so it was a slow night for the unit that totaled just seven catches. Peña led with four grabs for 47 yards.
Running backs
Kaytron Allen: 40 (396)
Nick Singleton: 19 (334)
Cam Wallace: 0 (15)
Corey Smith: 0 (11)
Allen built off his career game two weeks ago against Michigan State with another strong performance, breaking the program record for career rushing yards. Singleton also made history, tying Saquon Barkley’s records for rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns with two on the night. Corey Smith, Quinton Martin Jr., Jabree Wallace-Coleman and Tikey Hayes were all listed as out on the pregame availability report.
Tight ends
Khalil Dinkins: 40 (453)
Andrew Rappleyea: 35 (294)
Luke Reynolds: 15 (376)
Joey Schlaffer: 0 (7)
Dinkins and Rappleyea, viewed as the best blocking tight ends on the roster, saw plenty of playing time in a run-heavy offensive attack. Rappleyea caught his first career touchdown, while Reynolds got involved on special teams with a 26-yard run on a fake punt.
Offensive linemen
Nick Dawkins: 51 (665)
Drew Shelton: 51 (663)
Anthony Donkoh: 51 (561)
Vega Ioane: 51 (556)
Nolan Rucci: 51 (553)
TJ Shanahan Jr.: 0 (337)
Cooper Cousins: 0 (98)
Garrett Sexton: 0 (30)
Dom Rulli: 0 (30)
Eagan Boyer: 0 (6)
Owen Aliciene: 0 (22)
J’Ven Williams: 0 (2)
Chimdy Onoh: 0 (2)
Alex Birchmeier: 0 (2)
Ian Harvie: 0 (1)
Penn State kept it simple with the same five-man rotation throughout the game, which worked effectively as the team rushed for 5.9 yards per carry and continued to take strides in the ground game. Rucci had the highest PFF grade of the group at 74.8.
Defensive linemen
Dani Dennis-Sutton: 48 (525)
Zuriah Fisher: 40 (393)
Ty Blanding: 33 (151)
Xavier Gilliam: 32 (348)
Zane Durant: 27 (439)
Yvan Kemajou: 23 (173)
Alonzo Ford Jr. 22 (278)
Jaylen Harvey: 17 (140)
Enai White: 8 (47)
Cortez Harris: 5 (18)
Mylachi Williams: 4 (32)
D’Andre Cook: 3 (9)
Liam Andrews: 3 (17)
Sam Siafa: 3 (9)
Chaz Coleman: 0 (143)
Owen Wafle: 0 (78)
Randy Adirika: 0 (19)
Bobby Mears: 0 (11)
The Nittany Lions continued to utilize a heavy rotation of players along the defensive line, with Harris, Cook and Siafa seeing their first playing time against a Big Ten foe. Coleman continues to be listed as “out” on the pregame availability report despite interim head coach Terry Smith calling him day-to-day leading into the Michigan State game.
Linebackers
Amare Campbell: 69 (635)
Dom DeLuca: 42 (449)
Keon Wylie: 25 (178)
Alex Tatsch: 19 (87)
Tony Rojas: 0 (176)
Anthony Speca: 0 (47)
DaKaari Nelson: 0 (2)
Cam Smith: 0 (1)
Campbell was the only defender to play every snap against the Cornhuskers, while DeLuca and Wylie continued to see ample time. Tatsch got involved in the game as early as the second drive and nearly set a career high in snaps.
Defensive backs
Zakee Wheatley: 61 (590)
A.J. Harris: 47 (457)
Daryus Dixson: 46 (224)
King Mack: 45 (413)
Audavion Collins: 37 (444)
Zion Tracy: 34 (326)
Dejuan Lane: 24 (201)
Kenny Woseley Jr.: 19 (214)
Joshua Johnson: 8 (8)
Vaboue Toure: 8 (59)
Elliot Washington II: 7 (253)
Antoine Belgrave-Shorter: 0 (144)
Jahmir Joseph: 0 (48)
Kolin Dinkins: 0 (37)
Tyler Armstead: 0 (12)
Harris returned to his starting role after missing last week’s game with injury, though freshman Dixson — who started in his place — retained a starting role opposite him. Freshman Johnson saw his first college action and Toure saw his first snaps since nonconference play. Mack was the highest graded defensive back at 75.7, though Wheatley still has a slight edge on the season at 81.1 overall.
