Cooper Cousins keeps a nightly routine. Hours after practice has concluded and most Penn State players and coaches have gone home, Cousins practices pass sets on the field. By himself. Headphones in, knees bent, arms stretched in front of him, Cousins takes rep after rep under the stars.
James Franklin has peered out of his office window with perplexity as Cousins does his thing in the pitch darkness. True freshmen rarely see time on the offensive line, but Cousins is making a case that Franklin may not be able to pass on.
“It’s kind of weird, to be honest with you,” Franklin joked of Cousins’ routine. “But he is as driven and as committed as any young player that I’ve ever been around, and specifically on the O-line. Because it’s hard to play those grown man positions — O-line and D-line — as a true freshman. But he’s gonna be hard to keep off the field.”
Cousins hardly leaves the facility, and Franklin isn’t the only one who’s noticed. Drew Shelton, the expected starter at left tackle, was winding down in his room at 11 p.m. when he received a text. It was from Cousins, and it included a picture of a whiteboard within the team’s offensive line room and a question. Cousins, of course, wanted the answer from Shelton.
Shelton told him to go home.
“He was not happy at all,” Shelton said. “He wanted to stay as long as he could.”
The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Cousins primarily took snaps at center alongside projected starter Nick Dawkins throughout the spring. But he also presents himself as an option at either guard spot behind Sal Wormley and Vega Ioane. Franklin is working with some comfortable depth on the line, and Cousins should fit his way into the mix despite his young age.
“A lot of guys say they want to play as a true freshman. But they’re not willing to do necessarily what it takes,” Franklin said. “And the guy is either in class or in the building and asking a ton of questions. He’s super aggressive. He’s not intimidated or afraid of anybody.”
At wide receiver, Tyseer Denmark may also have what it takes to see the field this fall.
Denmark, who joined the Nittany Lions as a three-star prospect this offseason, has caught the eyes of Franklin. Ahead of a year with mounting pressure on the team’s wide receivers to succeed, Denmark could be a name to watch closely.
“Tyseer’s really flashed and done some really nice things,” Franklin said. “This is very, very different, so there’s still an adjustment period going on, but there’s a pretty significant buzz in the program about him. … Tyseer is probably the guy that right now is the closest maybe to helping us.”
Harrison Wallace III and Julian Fleming likely have their starting roles solidified, but competition for playing time alongside them is still active. Kaden Saunders, who is a candidate to earn the No. 3 receiver role, has seen Denmark stand out throughout the summer and in training camp.
“He’s been on top of all his installs and stuff. You can tell he cares a lot about the game and he wants to do anything to help the team,” Saunders said. “He has that mindset to him that nobody can guard him, so that helps a lot being a receiver too. And just getting reps in practice is helping his confidence.”
