Penn State football: 5 breakout players to watch in 2020

Penn State football has a good shot at making the playoff this season, but which Nittany Lions will make their names known in 2020?

The Penn State Nittany Lions are coming off a pretty impressive 2019 campaign that saw them finish with 11-wins and with a victory in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. Sounds like business as usual for the Nittany Lions but last season was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Penn State with key departures from the following year, including that of quarterback, Trace McSorely.

Now, since the resurgence of this storied program, the talk before, during, and after the season has always leaned towards the offense. However, 2019 saw one of the best defenses in the nation come out of State College and that was thanks in part to some veteran play but also the play of some breakout performers. The offense on the other hand performed at a high level for most the season but did see some mistakes and poor play at the hand of inexperience.

Who will lead the Penn State Nittany Lions this season?

But for both sides of the ball, names that were just on paper were made known by teams across the nation. And with 2020 set to be another great year for the Nittany Lions, expect nothing less from what they achieved a year ago. As a matter of fact, with the names about to be mentioned, your expectations should much higher for the Nittany Lions this season.

Here are five breakout players for the Penn Stae Nittany Lions in 2020.

Last year, Nittany Lions’ fans were introduced to the “Lawn Boyz”, and while the older generation of the Penn State faithful were not thrilled with this declaration, it was a hit for many, including those outside of the Penn State fanbase.

This new nickname for the backfield of Penn State was created because they went with a running back by committee for a good part of the 2019 season. However, one running back separated himself from the back and has started to gain discussions as one of the best backs in the nation. This man is, Journey Brown.

Journey Brown began to make his name known on the backend of Penn State’s schedule a year ago finishing the year with 890 yards and 12 touchdowns on just 129 attempts. Brown’s stellar season was capped off by a dominating performance in the Cotton Bowl, where Brown rushed for 202 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, earning himself offensive MVP of the Cotton Bowl.

Penn State has been recruiting pretty well in the backfield and has had the likes of Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders representing them well in the NFL. Journey Brown has a different style compared to his predecessors but is looking to have just as much success in his senior campaign, and eventually make his way into being selected in the first or second round in the 2021 NFL Draft.