Ohio State 20, Penn State 12
There was the potential for a great draft matchup with the top wide receiver, Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., and potentially top cornerback prospect, Penn State’s Kalen King, for the 2024 NFL Draft going head-to-head. Overall, this game went poorly for King and Harrison showed why he is a future No. 1 receiver in the NFL.
On the opening drive the Buckeyes were moving Harrison around and King was not following him. At the end of the first quarter Harrison had a good sized cushion from King to make a completion on a slant but the pass was inaccurate to fall incomplete. In the second quarter King had a holding on Harrison as he was all over the star receiver, and the holding penalty negated a strip-sack that was returned for a touchdown. It was a horrible and costly penalty from King. A few plays later King was all over Harrison again to draw another penalty, but Harrison fought through the contact to make a catch and set up a first-and-goal.
In the third quarter Harrison got open on a slant versus King, and followed it up a little later versus zone coverage by taking a shallow cross across the field and up the sideline for a gain of 27. To put the game away for the Buckeyes, Harrison scored running a crossing route against zone coverage. A Penn State defender got bumped and that let Harrison get wide open and he darted into the end zone. Harrison totaled 11 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown taking on Penn State.
Even great players can have bad games, and Harrison had that a week ago when he dropped three passes against Purdue. However this game showed that Harrison is a legit top-five pick and an elite prospect. He has mismatch size with the speed to get open and attack defense vertically. Harrison has real burst out of his breaks and runs fabulous routes. Many big receivers don’t have Harrison’s agility and smooth route-running, but he is a rare specimen that obviously inherited great route-running from his Hall of Fame father. This tape will help Harrison to be a high first-rounder next April.
Conversely, this was an ugly tape for King and will hurt his draft grade. Team sources have said that King’s tape has not been impressive this season and his play is noticeably down from what he did in 2022. King was grabbing Harrison and looked panicked to try running with the star receiver. King gave up receptions, allowed separation, drew penalties, and looked overwhelmed. This tape will hurt King’s draft grade and his hopes of being a first-round pick.
Another Penn State first-rounder who’s stock could have been hurt significantly in this game was defensive end Chop Robinson. The difference is Robinson played well but in the first half he left the game when his leg collapsed on him while fighting off a block. Robinson was carted into the locker room and it looked like it could be a serious knee injury. Hopefully tests reveal that is not serious like a torn ACL or Achilles. An injury like that might push Robinson to day two if he decides to enter the 2024 NFL Draft.
There was another great matchup of future pro talent on the other side of the ball with Penn State left tackle Olu Fashanu taking on Ohio State pass rushers J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer. If you looked on the stat sheet only, you would think Fashanu got the better of them as neither one produced huge numbers. However the tape tells a difference story as Fashanu was not impressive. He didn’t get abused or dominated, but Fashanu was fortunate he didn’t give up multiple sacks.
In the second quarter Fashanu almost gave up a sack as Fashanu last his balance and fell to the turf trying to push Sawyer to the inside. That let his rusher go free and almost get a sack. In the fourth quarter Fashanu had a good pass protection play stopping a rush from Tuimoloau to the inside and then spinning off to keep defensive tackle Michael Hall from getting to the quarterback. The next play though, Tuimoloau bulled Fashanu into quarterback Drew Allar and that caused a deflected pass for a fourth down incompletion. At the end of the fourth quarter, Tuimoloau bull rushed through Fashanu again to join a teammate for a sack.
Overall, this tape illustrates that Fashanu is a solid player but he is not a top-10 talent. Many in the media have hyped them there, but multiple team sources have told me they do not have Fashanu graded that high. Team sources viewed him more as a mid to late first-rounder. They feel Fashabu is similar to a Russell Okung in an adequate offensive tackle but not an elite player. They do not see Fashanu as a prospect on the level of a Penei Sewell. Team sources feel that Fashanu is not violent, has some stiffness, and does not get a real surge or push as a blocker. This tape will help to verify the view of pro evaluators and serves to disprove the top-10 media hype.
Tuimoloau had .5 sack with a pass batted. He can be a strong and physical rusher, but Tuimoloau has some stiffness as a rusher and is not a pure speed demon. In the 2024 NFL Draft, Tuimoloau looks like a day-two talent.