A Penn State-Ohio State comparison at wideout, a few Nittany Lions 2021 projections, more

PennLive’s Penn State text subscriber mailbag is back after a one-week vacation. Exciting times! James Franklin’s Nittany Lions continue to work their way through spring practice sessions and the Blue and White, despite significant personnel losses, are determined to make amends for last year’s 4-5 season.

It’s a big weekend, right? Easter is on-deck, it’s Final Four Saturday and there is a pretty good chance Gonzaga can emerge from a COVID-19 basketball season with a perfect mark.

Our Penn State football questions and comments continue. Remember, if you want to be a part of our weekly SubText mailbag and submit a question, in addition to getting other Penn State updates sent directly to your phone, our PennLive Sports Insider page has more details.

Let’s start with one subscriber’s prediction for a number of key Lions this year.

Allow me to set the bar low until the Lions show their true colors: Sean Clifford’s ceiling under Yurcich — that he doesn’t duck as he did last year from an attacking OSU defense. Noah Cain — good health is the goal. Theo Johnson — a breakout year. Brenton Strange has shown more thus far so let’s hope Theo gets plenty of playing time. And PJ Mustipher — this is his year to dominate.

Clifford’s offseason work with Mike Yurcich, Penn State’s first-year offensive coordinator, will be crucial to the Lions’ 2021 plans. Now entering his third year as the Lions’ starter, it would be fair to say that Clifford took a small step back in 2020. He was forced to throw early and often during Penn State’s 0-5 start and he briefly lost his job to backup Will Levis (Iowa), who is now at Kentucky. As for the reference to Clifford’s work in the Lions’ 35-23 loss in Week 2, Clifford was under duress from the early stages of the game as the Buckeyes jumped out to a 21-3 lead. Ohio State registered five sacks and added a quarterback hit. There can be no questioning Clifford’s toughness after watching him run and throw the last two years but Yurcich can certainly fine-tune the quarterback’s mechanics. If Clifford can limit turnovers and get the ball out quicker, the Lions’ offense should perform much better. I agree that if Noah Cain is healthy, he brings a different dimension to the offense. He’s dealt with lower-leg injuries the last two years but he is a powerful inside runner who can close out games. Penn State has two talented tight ends in Strange and Johnson, and it will be interesting to see if Johnson can make a bigger impact in the passing game. Mustipher, now in his fourth year, has the skill to be one of the Big Ten’s best defensive tackles. The 6-4 vet has added roughly 25 pounds to his frame (326).

Who ends up being the better college receiver, Parker Washington or Julian Fleming?

Let’s make a distinction between “more productive” and “better”. Washington held a huge edge on Fleming in production in 2020. The first-year players, though, found themselves in different positions. Washington, a terrific find by James Franklin and his staff, started on a Penn State offense that, to be fair, lacked wideout depth. Fleming, a five-star from Southern Columbia who was one of the top players in the 2020 class, was buried on the Buckeyes’ depth chart behind first-team All-Big Ten picks Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson. Both Olave and Wilson are back. The 6-2, 205-pound Fleming, who caught seven passes last season, needs an opportunity to show what he can do but he may be limited again this year. Washington, who produced 489 receiving yards and six scores in 2020, should be even better in his second year. Here’s a question to consider — what would Fleming’s 2021 season look like if he played for Penn State, and what would Washington’s 2021 look like if he wore Buckeye colors?

Is there any change in attendance for Blue-White game?

As of now, there is no change. And the PSU program is not having a traditional Blue-White game. A small crowd will be permitted to watch the Lions’ 15th and final spring practice inside Beaver Stadium on April 17. Per a PSU release issued on March 17, “the final spring practice will follow all state and federal guidelines for gatherings and be limited to University Park first-year students, the families and guests of student-athletes, coaches and staff. To provide an opportunity for the broader Penn State community to participate, Athletics will announce plans for a virtual spring practice event, including for Penn State students and the general public, in the coming weeks.”