The Penn State football community was hopeful to hear if James Franklin would announce who the starting quarterback would be this fall on Wednesday night, but that announcement will have to wait. However, what the team did announce on social media last night was the Camp Kings of fall camp. Award to the top performers on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
Top Performers of Penn State Football Fall Camp announced
The top performers of fall camp are the players who showed the most consistency from a practice-to-practice standpoint. On the offensive side of the ball, the award is for the touchdown kings which was awarded to QB Drew Allar and WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith. Both players are poised to have big years for the Nittany Lions in 2023. Presumably, Drew Allar will take over as the starting quarterback for Penn State while KeAndre Lambert-Smith will likely be the No. 1 wide receiver on the offensive side of the ball.
Drew Allar entered his sophomore season at Penn State in 2023 and saw action in 10 games last season. He was able to sit behind Sean Clifford last season and that will hopefully guide him to success in 2023. He recently spoke about the bond and competition with Beau Pribula for the starting QB job. Meanwhile, KeAndre Lambert-Smith who has been a starter at Penn State since the 2020 season has never gotten the chance to be the main target at Penn State. There will be a lot of pressure on the junior WR who has accounted for over 1,000 career receivers yards during his time with the Nittany Lions.
The Takeaway Kings
Defensively, it was cornerback Daequan Hardy and true freshman linebacker Tony Rojas who were awarded the Takeaway Kings as the most consistent defenders during the Penn State football fall camp. Hardy has been with the program since the 2019 season and Manny Diaz will likely use him again as the nickel cornerback this season. With his coverage skills and ability to blitz off the edge, it’s the perfect spot for the redshirt senior. Last but not least, Tony Rojas has received more positive recognition as a true freshman. The former four-star recruit was a massive standout for his performance in the Blue-White game this past April and will be hard to keep off the field this fall. He has earned recognition amongst the top defenders on the Penn State football team and the respect of James Franklin in such a short amount of time.
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