Penn State improved to 9-2 last Saturday with a 21-point victory over Rutgers in Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions scored 17 unanswered points after halftime to pull away for a 27-6 win, while starting quarterback Drew Allar was sidelined for much of the second half due to injury.

Following a change at offensive coordinator, we didn’t witness major personnel shifts, though there was extended work for some non-starters. Prior to the matchup, a mandated availability report revealed a relatively healthy squad at this stage of the season and Penn State appeared to avoid any substantial setbacks in that department versus Rutgers.

Each week at Lions247, we’ll review Penn State snap counts from the previous game, via Pro Football Focus. Additionally, we’ll look at who landed the three highest PFF grades on both sides of he ball, based on a minimum of 20 snaps.

Puff Johnson made his highly anticipated Penn State basketball debut last week, and now, the guard/forward must build on that entering the Nittany Lions’ toughest stretch of games to date. Johnson was sidelined for parts of the preseason and the first two games of the season with an undisclosed injury.

He came off the bench in wins over St. Francis (Pa.) and Morehead State last week, and while coach Mike Rhoades wouldn’t commit to inserting Johnson into the starting lineup, the North Carolina transfer could see an uptick in action.

“We’ll see [about starting Johnson],” Rhoades said during a Zoom call Monday. “That could change any day. I’m not wanting to just stick with a starting lineup all the time. We just got to find the right matchups and stuff like that. All that stuff’s to be determined, to be honest with you. But it’s great just to have him back, and now his minutes are going to drastically go up, which is great.

ohnson played 32 minutes in his two appearances. He scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds while adding a block and a steal. He made three of his eight shot attempts. Even in the limited action, it was clear that the 6-foot-8, 205-pound Johnson could bring something extra to Penn State.

Johnson was ranked as a four-star prospect in the NCAA Transfer Portal by 247Sports. As a member of the Class of 2020, Johnson was a four-star prospect and top-100 recruit who originally signed with North Carolina. He saw limited time in his three seasons with the Tar Heels.

Rhoades, though, envisions a big role for him at Penn State, including this weekend at the ESPN Events Invitational in Kissimmee, Fla. The Nittany Lions open three games in four days against No. 12 Texas A&M on Thursday (noon ET, ESPN).

“We need him,” Johnson said. “We need him for this trip. I’m just glad he’s back, and he felt great today. He was moving really well today, so really excited to have him back at full strength. It’s definitely what we’re talking about, it’s stuff we’re thinking about doing, but we want to find that balance among everybody on the roster.”

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My Lions247 colleague Mark Brennan made a good observation in his top takes after Friday night’s win over Morehead State. When guard Jameel Brown’s 11-of-16 mark from three-point range is subtracted from Penn State’s shooting numbers, the Nittany Lions have made only 21 of 92 attempts from deep. That’s a meager 22.8%. With Brown factored in, that mark rises to 29.6%.

Brown, who ranks second nationally by making 68.8% of his three-point attempts, has been a bright spot this year. Rhoades credited the sophomore with earning his way onto the court with his defense, and then taking advantage of his opportunity. But he’s really the only player to have consistent success from deep.

Guard Kanye Clary ranks second on the team at 35.7% (5 of 14), while forward Zach Hicks is hitting 28.6% (8 of 28). Only two other players have attempted at least 10 3-pointers with guard Ace Baldwin making 22.2% (4 of 18) and forward Leo O’Boyle hitting a meager 10% (1 of 10).

“We shoot better in practice right now than we do in games,” Rhoades said. “Look, we have the right guys shooting the shots in games. We got to shoot better. There’s adjustment from the style of play for a lot of these guys. Also the anxiety of playing in a game. With experience and with reps and playing through tempo, you got to find your spots to knock those down.”