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Penn State Football Announces New Jersey Numbers For 2022 Season

It’s the season of jersey changes, folks.

Almost all of Penn State football’s Class of 2022 has been officially welcomed into the fold, and summer practices are well underway. As a result, there are a handful of new jersey numbers for next year’s squad.

Three returning members of the team had number changes announced on social media, while another’s official roster spot indicated a potential shift for him.

Additionally, ten summer enrollees’ jersey numbers were announced Friday morning. With there already being two announcements earlier this year, nearly the entire Class of 2022 can now show off their new threads.

Here is your full guide to Penn State’s newest jersey numbers:

Changes

Nick Dawkins, Offensive Lineman — No. 66 to No. 53

A sophomore offensive lineman, Dawkins will make the shift from No. 66 to No. 53 after Rasheed Walker was drafted, obviously vacating his former number.

In May, Dawkins tweeted a picture of him wearing the new number, with the caption, “Keeping it in the family.” Darryl, Dawkins’ father, wore the No. 53 when he played in the NBA.

KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Wide Receiver — No. 13 to No. 1

Lambert-Smith will make the switch from double digits to single, as he puts on the No. 1 jersey. Last season, the number belonged to safety Jaquan Brisker. Flashy Denver Broncos wideout KJ Hamler previously wore the jersey at Penn State, too.

Mason Stahl, Wide Receiver — No. 20 to No. 17*

This one is a bit tricky. Last season, Stahl was officially listed as No. 17 on the team’s roster. However, Stahl wore No. 20 throughout the season. He is once again officially listed as No. 17, so we’ll take it at face value, but this switch may not end up being a switch at all.

Stahl is no longer being listed as a quarterback on the team’s page. Penn State now views him as a wide receiver. Last year, Stahl notably made an appearance at quarterback against Rutgers in relief of Christian Veilleux. The positional change is not entirely surprising, as he has long been considered one of the best athletes on the roster and even covered kickoffs for the Nittany Lions’ home opener against Ball State.

Christian Veilleux, Quarterback — No. 9 to No. 11

Christian Veilleux is now Christian Vei11eux.

At the 2022 Blue-White Game, both Veilleux and Class of 2022 quarterback Beau Pribula wore the No. 9. It was mildly confusing, to say the least, given their slight two-inch and two-pound size difference. That overlap has been permanently put to bed, as Veilleux will now don the No. 11. The most recent offensive player to wear No. 11 was Daniel George, who transferred following last season.

Class of 2022

Drew Allar, Quarterback — No. 15

There’s already a certain Penn State quarterback wearing the No. 14, so despite it being his high school number, Allar will pivot to the No. 15. Allar is currently set to be the only No. 15 on the roster after safety Enzo Jennings entered the transfer portal last season.

Kaytron Allen, Running Back — No 13

Allen, a four-star running back, will continue wearing his number from high school. Additionally, he will share the No. 13 with another fellow member of the Class of 2022, safety Cristian Driver.

Kaleb Artis, Defensive Lineman –No. 58

The Fresh Meadows, New York, native will share the No. 58 with redshirt freshman offensive lineman Landon Tengwall.

Alex Bacchetta, Punter — No. 97

Penn State’s newest punter will not break the pattern. Wearing No. 97, Bacchetta is the third of three punters on Penn State’s roster wearing numbers in the 90s. Bacchetta will also share his jersey number with impact defensive lineman PJ Mustipher.

Abdul Carter, Linebacker — No. 11

Man, these are some big shoes to fill. Carter becomes the next in a long line of famed No. 11 linebackers. College football hall of famer LaVar Arrington and Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons are two of the most prominent Nittany Lions to previously don the number.

Jerry Cross, Tight End — No. 88

Currently, Cross is the only player on Penn State’s roster to wear No. 88. The last Nittany Lion to wear No. 88 was wide receiver Norval Black, who departed the team in December 2021 without logging a game appearance.

Dani Dennis-Sutton, Defensive Lineman — No. 33

Five-star defensive lineman Dennis-Sutton will continue wearing his high school number at Penn State. Though last season the No. 33 was worn by defensive lineman Bryce Mostella, he no longer appears on Penn State’s official roster, so for now, Dennis-Sutton remains its sole wearer.

Cristian Driver, Cornerback — No. 13

Son of star Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver, Cristian Driver is the second member of the Class of 2022 to be assigned No. 13. Last season, wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith also wore the number, but he recently announced a switch to No. 1.

Zane Durant, Defensive Lineman — No. 28

Durant is set to join Adisa Isaac as the only Penn State defensive lineman with jersey numbers in the 20s. The Orlando, Florida, native will share the number with junior running back Devyn Ford.

Omari Evans, Wide Receiver — No. 18

Three-star wide receiver Evans will join redshirt freshman defensive lineman Davon Townley Jr. with the No. 18 next season. 2018 was the last season No. 18 was worn by an offensive player.

Mehki Flowers, Safety — No. 10

Flowers isn’t the only Class of 2022 signee who will wear the No. 10 jersey next season. On the other side of the ball, running back Nicholas Singleton will share the number.

Anthony Ivey, Wide Receiver — No. 12

Though Ivey is currently the only No. 12 on Penn State’s roster, last season the number was worn by linebacker Brandon Smith. Ivey will be the first Nittany Lion to wear the No. 12 on offense since 2019 when it was worn by Mac Hippenhammer.

Tyler Johnson, Wide Receiver — No. 8

Johnson’s No. 8 will also be worn by junior cornerback Marquis Wilson. The last *official* wide receiver to wear No. 8 at Penn State was John Dunmore in 2019. Notably, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Allen Robinson wore the No. 8 during his legendary career in Happy Valley.

Maleek McNeil, Offensive Lineman — No. 73

Three-star offensive lineman Maleek McNeil will return to his high school number, as he was assigned No. 73. Last season, the jersey was worn by longtime offensive line fixture Mike Miranda.

Cam Miller, Cornerback — No. 5

Miller will share the No. 5 with fellow new Nittany Lion Mitchell Tinsley. Last season, Tariq Castro-Fields was Penn State’s No. 5 on the defensive side of the ball.

Tyrece Mills, Defensive Back — No. 14

Another transfer from Lackawanna College, Mills will share No. 14 with starting quarterback Sean Clifford. Mills may be the next strong defensive contributor from Penn State’s historic pipeline with Lackawanna College.

JB Nelson, Offensive Lineman — No. 55

Nelson will share his jersey number with sophomore defensive lineman Fatorma Mulbah. Last season, fellow Lackawanna transfer Anthony Whigan wore No. 55 on the offensive line before transferring to Akron.

Hunter Nourzad, Offensive Line — No. 64

After transferring from Colgate, Nourzad will represent the Nittany Lions with the No. 64. This will be the first time in four seasons a Penn State football player has worn the No. 64 jersey. Offensive lineman Zach Simpson in 2018 was the most recent case.

Beau Pribula, Quarterback — No. 9

Penn State will have a new No. 9 under center next season. After sharing the number with Christian Veilleux at the 2022 Blue-White Game, Pribula now only shares the number with cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

Chop Robinson, Defensive Lineman — No. 44

Demeioun “Chop” Robinson will share the No. 44 with tight end Tyler Warren after transferring to Penn State from Maryland. Robinson is expected to make an immediate impact on the defensive line.

Kaden Saunders, Wide Receiver — No. 7

Four-star wide receiver Saunders and safety Jaylen Reed will both wear the No. 7 during the 2022 season. The last Penn State football player to wear No. 7 on offense was current Kentucky starting quarterback Will Levis.

Drew Shelton, Offensive Lineman — No. 66

Shelton is set to be the only Nittany Lion in the No. 66 next season. Last season, offensive lineman Nick Dawkins wore the number.

Nicholas Singleton, Running Back — No. 10

The 2021 Gatorade National Player of the Year, Nicholas Singleton, will continue wearing his high school No. 10. Last season, running back John Lovett was the number’s representative.

Mitchell Tinsley, Wide Receiver — No. 5

The No. 14 to No. 5 connection will stay alive this year. Tinsley, a transfer from Western Kentucky, will instantly replace the most recent No. 5, which was Jahan Dotson. Coming off a season with 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns, Clifford will hope Tinsley can come close to replacing Dotson’s elite production.

KJ Winston, Defensive Back — No. 21

Winston is set to be the only Nittany Lion donning the No. 21 jersey next season. Last year, the number was worn by running back Noah Cain and safety Tyler Rudolph, who both transferred away from the team.

Keon Wylie, Linebacker — No. 32

Wylie, a recent player to appear in the 2022 All-American Bowl, will be the sole member of the team with the No. 32. Safety Dylan Farronato wore the number last season for the Nittany Lions.


As linebacker Ken Talley and offensive lineman Vega Ioane have yet to move on to campus, they do not currently have jersey numbers assigned. We’ll update this post with their numbers when they become available.

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About the Author

Sam Fremin

Sam is a senior from Ashburn, Virginia, majoring in journalism and political science & minoring in German and creative writing. He is a Dallas Cowboys fan who relishes the misery of Eagles fans. All hate messages can be sent to [email protected] or @SamFremin on Twitter.

He may or may not read every single comment he gets.

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