5 players to watch when Iowa football hosts Penn State

IOWA CITY — Trying to piece together this Penn State team would’ve been simple just three weeks ago. The Nittany Lions were one of the best programs in the country and a national championship contender.

Since then, Penn State hasn’t won a conference game and lost its head coach. Now, it heads to Iowa with more questions than answers at the national level.

Penn State Director of Athletics Pat Kraft held a news conference Monday afternoon to discuss firing James Franklin, the fallout of the decision and introduce Terry Smith as the program’s interim head coach. Smith has been a longtime assistant for Franklin, and played at Penn State from 1987-1991.

“Terry is a proud Penn Stater,” Kraft said. “He helped build this program as both a player and coach, and he understands what it means to wear the blue and white. I am confident and I can tell you he will pour his heart and soul into this role and our players, and fans deserve nothing less.”

Smith said he’s focusing on what he can do as interim head coach in a game week to prepare for the Hawkeyes, and nothing else.

“We have to get our grittiness back, our toughness, our swag,” Smith said, “and most importantly, we have to go have fun, enjoy playing the game of football.”

Here are a few Nittany Lions to look for on the field Saturday night.

QB Ethan Grunkemeyer

Expected to make his first collegiate start, redshirt freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer is stepping into a leadership position after star QB Drew Allar suffered a season-ending ankle injury against Northwestern.

Grunkemeyer has made five appearances in a Penn State uniform, including Saturday’s loss to the Wildcats. This season, he’s 8-for-11 for 105 passing yards and one passing and rushing touchdown. His longest pass this season was 26 yards.

All of his season-highs this season have come against nonconference opponents, against either Nevada in Week 1 or Villanova in Week 3. Grunkemeyer was a three-star recruit out of high school in Lewis Center, Ohio, and was invited to the Under Armour All-American Game as a senior in high school.

LB Amare Campbell

Tied for sixth in the Big Ten for total tackles (50), junior Amare Cooper is Penn State’s best linebacker through these first six games. He spent two seasons at North Carolina, record 90 tackles with the Tar Heels, and is well on pace to surpass that with the Nittany Lions.

Plus, Campbell’s recorded 5.5 tackles for loss with two sacks and 31 tackles this season have been solo, and he’s the only player for Penn State to surpass 40 tackles this season.

RB Kaytron Allen

As the leading running back for the Nittany Lions, Kaytron Allen is expected to have a lot of carries against Iowa on Saturday. He’s recorded 467 rushing yards this season with seven touchdowns.

The sophomore stands at 5-foot-11 and 219 pounds and is tied for 15th in program history for rushing touchdowns (24).

He also hasn’t lost any yards this season — averaging 77.8 yards per game. Last season, Allen was the first freshman in Big Ten history to have 700 or more rushing yards in a single season, along with his teammate Nicholas Singleton. He also finished 13th in program history for single season rushing attempts (220)

WR Devonte Ross

In his first season in the Big Ten, Devonte Ross leads the Nittany Lions with 240 receiving yards and three touchdowns. However, he hasn’t scored since the double overtime loss to Oregon on Sept. 27.

Ross recorded more than 1,000 receiving yards at Troy last season, including 11 touchdowns in 12 games. This season, he’s averaging 15 yards per catch, including a 67-yard grab against Northwestern.

S Zakee Wheatley

Though he doesn’t had an interception this season, redshirt senior safety Zakee Wheatley had three picks last season as an All-Big Ten honorable mention. Instead, he’s recorded 39 tackles and a fumble recovery through six games.

He’s second in tackles behind Campbell. Since the start of conference play, Wheatley’s had at least nine tackles a game, including at least five solo tackles. He recorded his first tackle-for-loss of the season against UCLA, but hasn’t had a pass break up recorded since Week 2.

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