Five things to watch in Penn State’s season opener against Idaho

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Penn State begins its 2019 season Saturday at Beaver Stadium against Idaho, its first game against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent since 2011, and the Vandals’ second game in program history versus a Big Ten opponent.

Here are five things to watch:

Redshirt sophomore Sean Clifford will take the field as a starter for the Nittany Lions for the first time in his career. He doesn’t lack for confidence in his abilities, and the fact that he was voted a captain is proof of his leadership qualities on a young team.

But after spring practice, summer workouts and preseason camp, the people on the other side of the line now are a lot more hostile than what he’s seen. The folks rushing Clifford now can hit him and sack him and try to strip the football loose.

Head coach James Franklin mentioned at his Wednesday availability that quarterbacks tend to hitch a lot in practice knowing that they’re not going to get hit. He said he put his team in game-like situations to prepare them for what’s coming.

“It’s getting guys to understand, and it’s always kind of the evolution for them,” he said. “Are you taking game-like reps? Are you doing things in practice, that if you did that in the game, it’s going to be a sack, it’s going to be a sack-fumble, it’s going to be a sack and the ball goes up and it’s an interception? It’s the fine line.”

Another area of concern coming out of the preseason, where Franklin said “there’s very little tackling going on,” is actually hitting and wrapping up the opponent in a real game. The first game or two, the tackling can be really shoddy.

“Sometimes it’s hard to watch early on because there’s so many missed tackles,” Franklin said. “We’ve got to go out and do it. We’ve got to go out and execute.”

Franklin said some early-season tackling issues can be disguised. For his team, it’s effort running to the football and the athleticism of his players.

Conversely, on the Idaho side, head coach Paul Petrino said his team “tackled a lot in fall camp.

“In the first game, it’s very important how well you tackle,” he said. “We should tackle well.”

Lions sophomore Ricky Slade, the primary backup last year to Miles Sanders, will get the start at running back, but Franklin has said the other three backs – redshirt sophomore Journey Brown, and true freshmen Noah Cain and Devyn Ford – will be in the rotation.

Idaho features two run stuffers in the middle of its line – 6-foot-3, 353-pound junior Jonah Kim and 6-4, 347-pound redshirt sophomore Noah Elliss. The Nittany Lions’ offensive line will have its hands full.

The Lions must prepare for two quarterbacks, 6-foot, 208-pound senior Mason Petrino – son of the head coach – and 6-4, 285-pound junior Colton Richardson. Paul Petrino said earlier in the week he had not decided if the quarterbacks would be rotated on a series-by-series or quarter-by-quarter basis.

Whoever plays, the Penn State pass rush, which led the nation in sacks per game last season, will have to be alert. Both quarterbacks can move out of the pocket, and Richardson reportedly has a howitzer for an arm.

Redshirt sophomore Jordan Stout, a transfer from Virginia Tech, will be Penn State’s new kickoff specialist. Stout ranked fourth in the nation last season by blasting 60 of his 71 kickoffs into the end zone, a touchback rate of 84.5%. Stout is also the backup to sophomore Jake Pinegar on field goals and extra points.