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Penn State tight end Khalil Dinkins returned to practice this week, but his status for Saturday’s home opener against Bowling Green was uncertain.
The 6-4, 252-pound Dinkins missed most of preseason camp and the season-opening 34-12 win at West Virginia with an undisclosed injury. He was expected to be the No. 2 tight end behind Tyler Warren after he caught five passes for 57 yards and two touchdowns last season.
“He’s missed a ton of time both mentally and physically, so we gotta knock the rust off him,” Nittany Lions coach James Franklin said after practice Wednesday night. “If he’s ready, then he can be a weapon for us. But if he’s not physically ready or mentally ready, then we feel like we have some guys that we think can fill that role, like Luke (Reynolds), Joey (Schlaffer) and others.”
After being redshirted last year, Schlaffer saw the first game action of his career at West Virginia. The former Exeter standout was on the field for one offensive snap and was the intended receiver on a 2-point conversion pass from Beau Pribula that fell incomplete in the second quarter.
Andrew Rappleyea, one of Schlaffer’s classmates, was Penn State’s No. 2 tight end against the Mountaineers. He said that he’s noticed a change in the 6-5 Schlaffer, who’s now listed at 240 pounds.
“Joey is starting to develop a sense of grittiness and a want to put somebody in the ground,” Rappleyea said. “I think that Joey realizes he’s gonna really have to start physically becoming more of a presence in the run game if he wants to be where he wants to be.
“I think that realization is definitely helping his game.”
The 6-4, 250-pound Rappleyea was on the field for 26 of Penn State’s 60 offensive snaps at West Virginia, but no pass was thrown his way.
“Rap played very well,” Franklin said. “We have a ton of…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/penn-state-tight-end-khalil-034600847.html
Author : Reading Eagle, Pa.
Publish date : 2024-09-06 03:46:00
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