Penn State football played in front of fans at Beaver Stadium for the first time in more than a year Saturday afternoon, and boy, was it fun.

The Nittany Lions essentially ran a practice for more than 7,000 of those in attendance, and there wasn’t as much of the normal pomp and circumstance that comes with the annual spring game. However, there were still several standout performances from several position groups.

From the strong play of young stars and a few veterans, and battles in key position groups, there’s plenty to digest from Penn State’s 12th spring practice of the season. Here are some of our top takeaways:

Kalen King Is The Real Deal

True freshman cornerback Kalen King was the undoubted star of the show at Penn State’s practice Saturday afternoon. The Detroit native opened things up with fireworks from the start when he scored the game’s first touchdown by picking off Ta’Quan Roberson and going untouched the other way.

The first touchdown of the day? Give that to true freshman defensive back Kalen King.

Welcome to college football, kid. pic.twitter.com/PGwM2sFDQI

— Onward State (@OnwardState) April 17, 2021

From there, King forced several other incompletions and was Johnny-on-the-spot yet again in the practice’s final minutes.

Sean Clifford took a deep end zone shot to Parker Washington, but the 5’11” defensive back went up and got it for his second pick of the day.

James Franklin had a lot to say about the early enrollee this past week. He described him on Wednesday as “probably the most advanced freshman” he’s seen at Penn State, noting that the football truly just “likes him.”

“He is physically ready. He’s a guy that’s come in and is already physically developed from a weight standpoint and a strength standpoint,” Franklin said. “On top of that, he’s got ball skills…I know this sounds strange, and it sounds funny, but some guys like him. The ball just likes them.”

As if that description isn’t exciting enough for a player who has gotten just a handful of practices at the college level, defensive coordinator Brent Pry compared his instinctual ability to that of star linebacker Micah Parsons.

By the looks of his play during Blue-White, King is already getting a substantial number of reps with the first-team defense. Another solid option at defensive back for the Nittany Lions would be a fantastic addition, as Joey Porter Jr. already proved last season that he is a serviceable defender, while Tariq Castro-Fields and Keaton Ellis both boast a wealth of experience between them.

Young Quarterbacks Are Making Progress

The talk about Penn State’s quarterback room has been the same all offseason. Sean Clifford didn’t play his best football in 2020, and the only other two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster have minimal to no real experience at the college level.

While this narrative has been repeated plenty, we finally got a chance to actually see those players in action Saturday afternoon.

Clifford made a few highlight plays, including a 45-yard touchdown connection to Brenton Strange, while Ta’Quan Roberson rushed for and threw for a score. Early enrollee Christian Veilleux, on the other hand, finished with two touchdown passes on screenplays.

Franklin has always made it clear that he wants to have an unquestioned backup quarterback behind his starter. With that in mind, constant opportunities and reps for Veilleux and Roberson are a must.

“Both Ta’Quan and Christian both showed some really good flashes of understanding what we’re trying to do, how to operate the offense the way Mike [Yurcich] wants it run,” Franklin said. “Then also, the ability to make some plays and have the vision to read a defense and then deliver a throw.”

Franklin added, however, that it’s likely Roberson who has made the most “wow” throws in practice thus far. While he’s stood out and it seems to be Clifford’s job to lose at the moment, it’s also worth noting that Veilleux was the only quarterback to not throw an interception on the day. That obviously doesn’t mean he’s necessarily ready to play live college football tomorrow, but he’s showing clear signs of development after just a few weeks with the team.

With two inexperienced quarterbacks learning the ropes behind him, Clifford remains the leader of the room, and all signs point to a nice development with offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.

“[Sean] prepares like a pro,” Yurcich said. “I really like his preparation. I like his passion. He brings a lot of emotion. It’s impressive to see him care so much about wanting to get better, wanting to win, competing every day. Everything’s important to him.”

Promising Play From Running Backs

There’s no shortage of depth at the running back position for the Nittany Lions, and it was on almost full display Saturday. We didn’t see anything from Noah Cain, who’s returning from injury and has gotten some reps this spring, but Devyn Ford, Caziah Holmes, and Keyvone Lee all got substantial touches.

Lee certainly impressed, especially considering he’s coming off of a season in which he led all rushers with 438 yards and four touchdowns.

“Keyvone is your typical 237-pound power back in the Big Ten that is always running north and south…He’s the guy that you look at the end of the game and you think he played pretty good, but he’s got 115 yards and two touchdowns,” Franklin said. “He’s always falling forward. A run that he’s supposed to get four yards, he gets six. I think he’s doing a better job of understanding who he is.”

While it was a practice setting, there was full-on tackling of the running backs, and Lee did a great job on multiple carries busting through the line and picking up some serious yards for the offense. His freshman counterpart Holmes wasn’t too shabby himself, while Ford flashed on multiple occasions.

Franklin already mentioned last week that the coaching staff still needs more consistency out of the older Ford, but the sophomore seemed to be a prominent figure in the group with Cain not getting any reps.

Overall, the run game is an area the coaching staff wants to have plenty of work in once spring ball wraps up. Of all the traits that come with a successful running attack, Franklin added that the group’s explosiveness will be a point of emphasis moving forward.

“We got a bunch of backs that we think can provide [explosiveness]. That’s part of the breaks either breaking tackles or making people miss,” Franklin said. “That is the O-line and tight ends creating space for those explosive plays, and then it’s also through scheme.”

Transfers Producing On Defense

Penn State had a busy few months in the transfer portal, and several of them are already making a name for themselves on the defensive end.

Arnold Ebiketie, who joined the Nittany Lions by way of transfer after four seasons at Temple, had his name announced on multiple occasions during practice. The 6’3″, 244-pound defensive end has already been described as a mature, complete player, and he put that on full display Saturday.

“Sometimes when you step outside and sign a guy that transferred, you just wonder why it didn’t work out at [the other school]. But these guys have been great additions,” defensive coordinator Brent Pry said. “’AK’ is very athletic. He’s got great takeoff and rush ability. He’s got some things that remind me of Shaka [Toney] a little bit, some other guys we’ve had.”

While Ebiketie made several big tackles, Johnny Dixon has been a prominent force in the secondary thus far. After two year at South Carolina, Dixon made the jump to Happy Valley in December. His previous experience in the SEC has been a welcomed addition to an already deep cornerback room.

“Dixon’s a playmaker…I’m excited that he’s here,” Pry said. “I think he’s only gonna get better as he learns our system. He’s got a ton of versatility, so he’s gonna play a lot of football for us.”

Alongside King, Dixon has provided a nice boost to the secondary. With even more depth there, that’s allowed former cornerback Marquis Wilson to try out wide receiver this spring.

“With Kalen King’s development and Johnny Dixon coming in, we feel like we’ve got pretty good depth at the corner position,” Franklin said. “So, it allowed us some flexibility that factored into it.”