Penn State’s football program has been in the news quite a bit over the past few days after the firing of head coach James Franklin.

But there are several more games to be played in the season which could greatly affect members of the Nittany Lions draft stock.

A lot of members of Penn State would’ve actually been in the draft last season, but after just falling short of the College Football National Championships, they returned to Happy Valley.

ESPN’s Draft guru, Mel Kiper just released his draft Big Board, and six Nittany Lions made their way onto the list.

Quarterback, Drew Allar

It’s a shame to say for the youngster that Allar’s draft stock has probably dipped this season.

For someone coming into this season as a projected top-five pick, Allar has now dipped into ninth out of all quarterbacks in this draft class.

Penn State suffered three consecutive losses in the past three weeks. A close one to Oregon at home, and after that loss, the winds were taken out of the sails. The Nittany Lions then lost to UCLA and fell to Northwestern.

To add insult to injury, Allar is now out for the remainder of the season.

What’s so interesting about Allar is his inability to stay consistent. He can throw one of the prettiest balls you have ever seen, and then shortly after will make a silly mistake and turn the ball over. 

Running Back, Nick Singleton

One of the more freakish athletes in this draft, Kiper has Singleton listed as the sixth ranked running back.

Singleton does need to be careful though, as he can get in his own way.

Last season after starting the season with 408 rushing yards in the first four games, he suffered a knee injury, but continued to play through it. Obviously, Franklin opted not to give him a large chunk of carries and handed the ball to Kaytron Allen, but Singleton could’ve risked a bigger injury had something not went the right way.

Either way, Singleton is a straight dog that if drafted to the right team, will certainly be able to see the field and garner multiple carries in the NFL.

Running Back, Kaytron Allen

As a backfield, Allen and Singleton have provided some of the best one-two punches in college football.

Kiper currently has Allen as the eighth best running back in the country, but currently, the numbers he’s putting up are astronomical.

In 70 carries, he’s already rushed for 470 yards, which amounts to 6.7 yards per carry. 

The one thing that he does need to do more of is participating in the passing game. He’s more than a capable receiver, but is hardly a threat with just four receiving touchdowns in his four year career. 

He’ll hope to build from last season, where he ran for over 1,100 yards and seven total touchdowns.

Interior Offensive Lineman, Olaivavega Ioane

This isn’t a very deep interior offensive line class, but Ioane may have the highest floor out of everyone.

He currently ranks atop all interior linemen in Kiper’s Big Board and is comfortable playing both sides if asked upon.

Overall, he’s just a massive individual standing at 6-foot-4, 328 pounds with an unflappable ability to pancake defenders.

Currently, Pro Football Sports Network’s college division has given Ioane an 89.0 grade,  which is fifth of all interior linemen.

Defensive End, Dani-Dennis Sutton

Sutton is an incredibly intriguing prospect with the elite speed he has. Kiper has him ranked as the fifth ranked defensive end prospect in the draft, but he may be severely undervalued here.

The former five-star prospect ran a sub-5.0 40-yard dash as a 265 pounder and last season, was second in tackles for loss (13) as well as sacks (8.5).

Perhaps this season tanked his value. The numbers don’t exactly look ideal, but he has a tremendous burst that can result in true havoc against quarterbacks and opposing offensive lines.

Cornerback, A.J. Harris

Harris, who Kiper has ranked ninth out of all cornerbacks in the draft, is the true definition of a ball-hawk.

Last season, he registered five pass breakups with 48 total tackles, along with four tackles for loss and an interception.

Harris is a very sticky defender, and in the unlikely event where he gets beaten, has the top-end speed to recover. He also bridges the gap incredibly well, using his aggressiveness in the open field.

Safety, Zakee Wheatley

Speaking of ball-hawks, Wheatley is a magnet to the ball.

Kiper has him ranked as the sixth-best safety in this draft, which could help elevate him as a top-60 pick.

Last season, Wheatley registered 96 total tackles (58 solo), with a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. On top of that, he caught three interceptions, as well as four pass breakups and  a forced fumble.