Following a disappointing season, Penn State football has finally started spring practice with hopes of a bounce-back campaign in the fall.

It didn’t take long for James Franklin to build up his team and coaching personnel after the season. After bringing in a new class of recruits and hiring new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Yurcich and co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter, the team is ready to get to work in practice.

As spring practice rolls on, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about Penn State football. Here a few of our favorites:

Penn State Is Returning Some Great Talent

It’s no secret that the Nittany Lions will be returning some of their best players from last season.

Despite losing All-American tight end Pat Freiermuth on the offensive side of the ball, Brenton Strange did a fine job replacing Freiermuth at the end of last season. Jahan Dotson, arguably Penn State’s best playmaker, will also come back to Happy Valley in the fall. Dotson is undoubtedly Penn State’s best receiver, and he’s arguably one of the best in the Big Ten.

Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who turned many heads in their freshman seasons, will also headline Penn State’s wide receiving core.

Penn State’s running back room, which was stretched thin toward the end of last season, will be back as one of the deepest in the Big Ten. Freshman running backs Caziah Holmes and Keyvone Lee showed flashes of greatness in their first season with the Nittany Lions, while Devyn Ford carried a heavy workload. And let’s not forget about Noah Cain, who missed pretty much all of last season with an injury.

On the defensive side of the ball, linebackers Brandon Smith and Ellis Brooks are returning after gaining valuable playing experience last season. Joey Porter Jr. and fifth-year senior Tariq Castro-Fields will lead the talented cornerback room for the Nittany Lions, with Jaquan Brisker returning at safety for the Nittany Lions.

Plus, Jordan Stout and Jake Pinegar will headline Penn State’s special teams once again.

Mike Yurcich’s Offense Will Develop Penn State’s Quarterbacks

Before coming to Penn State, Mike Yurcich made a name for himself with Oklahoma State and Texas. Over the course of his FBS career, Yurcich’s offenses have averaged 6.49 yards per play and 14.03 yards per completion.

Yurcich helped develop Mason Rudolph at Oklahoma State and was the quarterbacks coach at Ohio State in 2019 during Justin Fields’ breakout year. It’s no secret that he knows how to get the most out of his quarterbacks, and Season Clifford will benefit the most after not playing to his full potential last season.

Looking past Sean Clifford, Mike Yurcich will be very influential in developing freshman Christian Veilleux and redshirt freshman Ta’Quan Roberson. Veilleux has shown a lot of promise as a recruit and an early enrollee after impressing players and coaches in workouts. It’s very hard for a team to be successful without good talent under center, but Yurcich’s presence provides some strong optimism for the quarterback position.

James Franklin Had A Successful Offseason In The Transfer Portal

James Franklin didn’t waste any time adding new talent to his roster through the transfer portal this offseason.

On the offensive side of the ball, fifth-year running back John Lovett transferred to Penn State after a solid four seasons at Baylor. He rushed for 1,803 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per attempt in his Baylor career. Lovett also started all five games he played last year but missed three due to injury.

Winston Eubanks is also a notable incoming transfer for the Nittany Lions at wide receiver. After redshirting his freshman year at Shippensburg University, he totaled 148 receptions worth 2,853 yards and 28 touchdowns the next three years.

On the defensive side of the ball, Penn State added defensive linemen Arnold Ebiketie and Derrick Tangelo from Temple and Duke, respectively. Both Ebiketie and Tangelo have benefitted from a new training program during spring practice. South Carolina transfer Johnny Dixon will help Penn State at cornerback as well. Dixon appeared in all 10 games of his 2020 season and racked up 34 tackles.

(Hopefully) Being Closer To Normalcy

There is hope for Beaver Stadium to host fans after Sandy Barbour announced that Penn State is “pushing really hard” to get fans back in the stands this fall.

The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on schools across the nation, and it completely shook up the college football landscape in 2020. Playing football without fans is hard enough as it is, but also not having a proper practice schedule last spring and an uncertain offseason certainly didn’t do Penn State any favors.

Sports teams around the country have had a jump in their step after welcoming fans back into venues. No matter how many fans end up in Beaver Stadium in the fall, they’ll surely help bring back Penn State’s signature home-field advantage.