Rarely, if ever, did they mention the kid’s name on TV. And that’s about the best possible scenario for an offensive lineman such as Drew Shelton.
The first time the true freshman played any long stretch of significant time in college came Saturday on the road, amid wicked winds, his team in desperate need of a bounce-back.
All he was asked to do was protect his quarterbacks’ blind sides for an entire afternoon.
And figure it all out on the fly.
Sixty football minutes later, Shelton had aced his first big test − just the latest and maybe most important signal of not just where Penn State is now but where it should be headed.
“Not only did he play, he played well,” head coach James Franklin said of Shelton after Penn State’s emphatic 45-14 victory in Indiana.
If ever simple words didn’t do a situation justice ….
Shelton is just the latest prized rookie authenticating his grand possibilities sooner and maybe even better than expected. It’s become a trend like at Penn State like we haven’t seen in years.
The best running backs? True freshmen.
The most dynamic linebacker? A freshman.
Most gifted defensive end? Another freshman.
And the most talked about if not most important (and maybe most talented, too) is a freshman. That would be quarterback Drew Allar, who got to play his most minutes in a game yet this season.
From receivers to linemen, linebackers to running backs to, yes, that quarterback.
Because while Allar may be the specific kind of future all-star to finally help put Penn State over the top in its quest to become elite, the overall future success of this program is more about everyone else around him.
Consider that Penn State owns the best combination freshmen running backs in the nation. And Kaytron Allen is steadily building into one of the best in the Big Ten and beyond, no matter of age. Like not only how he patiently powered through the heart of the line vs. Indiana … but how he also carved up an open field with a seemingly harmless screen pass.
Have a smile, PSU fans:The best Penn State personality? The punter. Check out what he just did …
The best part? He and fellow rookie runner Nick Singleton have only been on campus since January. They’re still checking off first-time college boxes.
Shelton is a big-time find, too. He should help pave the way for those two tailbacks next year after expected first-round NFL Draft pick Olu Fashanu leaves.
Things appear just as promising on defense, too.
Abdul Carter is in the running for national freshman of the year honors as he impersonates former Lions Micah Parsons − even a year sooner than Parsons did.
Fellow linebacker Kobe King just enjoyed his biggest day yet against Indiana, leading the Lions in tackles and stops behind scrimmage. He should be the team’s main man in the middle next fall.
The defensive line features rookie tackle Zane Durant, a steady contributor all fall, and edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton, already showing flashes of the game-wrecker he was recruited to be.
“You’re going in with the mentality that you’ve got to create more depth (with freshmen), but it obviously helps when you’ve got a guy like Dani,” Franklin said. “He does not look like a freshman. He’s 265 pounds. He’s also one of the fastest guys in our program. The (testing) numbers he’s putting up are ridiculous. And he’s productive, and he’s smart, and he’s disciplined, and he’s mature. We’ve got a bunch of guys like that.”
The Lions do, which certainly does mean something now − but much more later.
Beating the likes of Indiana and Maryland, Rutgers and Michigan State to finish a 10-2 regular season won’t really impress considering the means. The Lions still would have lost their two most important games. They won’t win the Big Ten East, yet again.
They still remain shut out of the playoffs.
But if they run the rest of November with ever-increasing performances by their youngest? Do that and take down a decent bowl opponent with, say, Allar firing passes like the one he rifled to fellow frosh Tre Wallace at Indiana?
Well, that has a different feel.
The hype and expectations for bigger and brighter things ahead will be full-go. And that would mean a lot to a fan base in a sport where most of the year is about waiting and anticipating.
But first things first.
You already knew about the running backs before this rebound trip to Bloomington. And fans certainly thought they knew more about that quarterback.
But only this entire contingent of rookies can make Allar as successful as many hope he will be.
Such a big moment, then, for linemen as Shelton, who, like game officials, are usually doing their best work when no one really notices.
Same for Dennis-Sutton, who must be able to develop into the pass rushing star the Lions have sorely missed this fall.
It’s that kind of promise that provides some intrigue into another November that can’t possibly end the way most supporters expect it to.
The best thing possible, really, in a nearly empty stadium in Indiana in November. Same in a couple of weeks at Rutgers.
And that is at least something.
Something leading to just maybe what everyone really wants, if they can wait a little longer still.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on Twitter @YDRPennState.
