What to Watch For in Week 1
Three things to watch for in Penn State's season opener vs. Nevada
It’ll be 233 days since Penn State’s last contest when the Nittany Lions face off against Nevada in the season opener on Saturday.
Penn State enters 2025 as the No. 2 team in the nation - its highest preseason ranking since 1997 - and position battles have begun to be settled as Ethan Grunkemeyer was named the backup quarterback for Week 1. Here’s three other things to watch on Saturday:
New year, new receivers
Year two of the Andy Kotelnicki offense will feature three new transfer receivers who are poised to be integral pieces of Penn State’s passing game.
USC transfer Kyron Hudson, Syracuse transfer Trebor Peña and Troy transfer Devonte Ross all bring something different to the offensive scheme and should line up at X, the slot and Z spots, respectively.
Head coach James Franklin said on Monday that Ross - who finished 2024 20th nationally with 1,043 receiving yards and a Sun Belt leading 11 touchdowns - was dealing with “bumps and bruises” this summer. Ross has begun to stack strong days in practice and will rotate reps with Liam Clifford against Nevada.