After delaying their NFL dreams, No. 2 Penn State’s stars are chasing an elusive national title

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The longer Penn State quarterback Drew Allar weighed his options, the more he thought how sweet it would be to bring a national championship to Happy Valley.

After No. 2 Penn State’s down-to-the-wire loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinal last season, the allure of unfinished business outweighed professional prospects for the rocket-armed senior who’ll lead one of college football’s deepest and most experienced teams.

“I know how much better I want to be as a player and leave my mark on Penn State and obviously accomplish the thing that we came close to last year but came up short in,” Allar said.

He’ll be joined by 15 returning starters who won a program-best 13 games last season. Star running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, and standout defensive linemen Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant also opted to delay their NFL careers to chase the program’s first NCAA championship since 1986.

Now in his 12th season, coach James Franklin understands the expectations of a fanbase weary of playing second-fiddle to Ohio State or Michigan year after year.

“We were a few points and a few drives away from playing for the National Championship and people were pissed,” Franklin said. “That’s what you sign up for when you come to Penn State, and so those expectations are always really high.”

That’s why Franklin signed Jim Knowles away from Ohio State after the veteran defensive coordinator helped lead the Buckeyes to last season’s championship over Oregon, the team that edged Penn State in the Big Ten finale.

“When you look at all of our personnel, not just the players, but the staff and players, it’s the best combination that we’ve had in my 12 years here,” Franklin said. “The depth, the experience, the talent is impressive.”

In the trenches

The Nittany Lions are big and deep along the offensive and defensive lines.

Sixth-year center Nick Dawkins will be flanked by guards Olaivavega Ioane and Drew Shelton while Anthony Donkoh and Nolan Rucci bookend as tackles. The group combined for 60 starts, helped generate 202 rushing yards per game and mostly kept Allar upright last season.

Meanwhile, Dennis-Sutton and Durant combined for 24 of the defense’s 119 tackles for loss and 11 1/2 of its 44 sacks.

Through the air

Second-year offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki wants to get more receivers involved.

Penn State’s leading wideout caught just 46 passes a year ago while star tight end Tyler Warren accounted for 106 catches. With Warren playing on Sundays now, Kotelnicki is looking for transfers Kyron Hudson (USC), Devonte Ross (Troy) and Trebor Peña (Syracuse) to help veteran Liam Clifford on the outside.

Ross caught 129 balls for 1,618 yards and 14 touchdowns in three years for the Trojans. Peña had 84 of his 109 career catches for the Orange last fall and led the team with nine touchdowns.

“It’s going to be really important coming out of the first three games that we feel like we really know what we have with those three guys and how we can use them,” Franklin said.

Linebacker U

With star linebacker Abdul Carter now a New York Giant, all eyes will be on junior Tony Rojas to lead Linebacker U’s linebacker corps early.

Knowles can’t wait to watch him, especially considering Rojas sat out spring practice after having shoulder surgery. Yes, he was banged up for most of his coming out season where he tied for the team lead with three interceptions, was fifth in total tackles and added a sack.

“Very impressed,” Knowles said. “He seems to have developed physically in the offseason. He’s picked things up quickly which is tough to do when you don’t get the reps on field.”

The schedule

The Nittany Lions have home games against Nevada (Aug. 30), Florida International (Sept. 6) and Villanova (Sept. 13) to start. They’re idle before hosting Oregon on Sept. 27 in a rematch of last season’s Big Ten championship game. Northwestern (Oct. 11), Indiana (Nov. 8) and Nebraska (Nov. 22) all visit Beaver Stadium while trips to UCLA (Oct. 4), Iowa (Oct. 18), Ohio State (Nov. 1), Michigan State (Nov. 15) and Rutgers (Nov. 29) await.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football