Penn State offensive lineman JB Nelson receives vote of confidence from his coach

Aug. 24—Penn State football coach James Franklin expressed confidence Wednesday night in offensive lineman JB Nelson, who might wind up starting in the Sept. 2 opener against West Virginia.

Landon Tengwall is the incumbent starter at left guard, but he has "bumps and bruises," Franklin said last week, and was not seen during a 20-minute practice session open to the media Wednesday night.

The 6-5, 332-pound Nelson played at Lackawanna College in 2020-21 before transferring to Penn State last year, when he played in four games as a reserve. He has been used at guard and tackle during training camp.

"We went into this year feeling like JB was going to factor in, either as a starter or as somebody who would get starter-type reps," Franklin said. "He's built on that. His habits are a lot better in terms of how he practices and how he approaches meetings.

"You can make the argument that he may be our most physical lineman. I know our defensive linemen have a ton of respect for him."

Nelson was a three-year starter at Mount Lebanon High School in suburban Pittsburgh and led his team to the WPIAL Class 6A semifinals as a senior in 2019.

DeLuca earns No. 0: Former walk-on linebacker Dominic DeLuca has been given the No. 0 jersey in honor of his game-changing ability and inspiration to his teammates.

DeLuca, a third-year sophomore linebacker, had 29 tackles in 13 games last season, two tackles for loss, a pass breakup, two quarterback hurries and a blocked punt.

He said in early August that he had his sights set on wearing No. 0, which Jonathan Sutherland had worn for the Lions.

"Oh, yeah, that is in my plans," DeLuca said. "I do want to get that. I think I can learn and excel and earn that."

Competition kicks in: Franklin said bringing in transfer Alex Felkins from Columbia has impacted kicker Sander Sahaydak, the former Liberty High School standout in his third year at Penn State.

Felkins made 36 field goals in three seasons at Columbia, including 11-of-16 last season when he made all 28 of his PAT attempts. Sahaydak made 1-of-2 field goals last year, his only career attempts, and his only extra point try.

"I do think getting some veterans and creating competition has been really good for us," Franklin said. "I think Sander's development because of the competition has been dramatic. I don't know if that happens without the competition."

Franklin said he was not ready to name starters at kicker or punter.

Cephas update: Wide receiver Dante Cephas, who transferred from Kent State, is continuing to fight for a starting position, even though he was a two-time all-conference pick with the Golden Flashes.

Veterans KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Harrison Wallace III appear to be Penn State's top receivers. Sophomore Omari Evans seems like the top candidate to be the third wideout, which would leave Cephas as a reserve to begin the season.

"We've had some really good conversations," Franklin said. "He realizes that this has been different, the adjustment, especially with the DBs and the man-to-man coverage that we play. It's just different.

"I'm not saying that he's not a big-time, big-time player, but there's a difference between getting up one or two times a season to coming out here every day with the competitiveness you need to be successful."

Leading by example: Penn State announced last week that offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, tight end Theo Johnson, wide receiver Malick Meiga, defensive end Adisa Isaac, linebacker Dominic DeLuca and safety Keaton Ellis have been elected captains.

Franklin said Wednesday night that this group might be quieter than last year's captains and will lead in their own way.

"We probably have a decent number of them who are more lead-by-example guys than verbal like we had last year," Franklin said. "I think it's a really good group. When they do speak, everybody listens. I wouldn't say they're outgoing guys in the first place.

"We talked about the leadership looking different this year than it did last year. That doesn't mean it can't be just as good or even better."