Blue White Illustrated

T H E 2 0 1 8 S E A S O N FRANKLIN SAYS "We have games like [the Ohio State game] where we play our starters a lot more reps and we run out of gas in the fourth quarter. So we've got to do a better job of creating depth so that we feel like we can play those [backup] guys in those types of games to sustain it. That's the next step for us." SUMMARY Through six games, the Lions ranked ninth in the Big Ten in rush defense at 155.3 yards per game, and the challenge is only going to get bigger from here. It's nothing that a deeper rotation probably wouldn't fix, but whether the Lions will be able to develop that kind of depth at this point in the season is an open question. Games against Michigan and Wisconsin will pose major difficulties. As of mid- October, Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor and Michigan's Karan Higdon were both among the Big Ten's top three rushers................................ GRADE C LINEBACKER THE GOOD Franklin said before the season that Jan Johnson reminded him of Brandon Smith, the former walk-on who steadily developed into a signifi- cant contributor and eventually a full- time starter. A former walk-on himself, Johnson has indeed followed Smith's career track, starting Penn State's first six games at middle linebacker and leading the team with 34 tackles. He also had one of the bigger defensive plays of the evening at Illinois, inter- cepting a pass at the Illini 21-yard line early in the fourth quarter to set up a touchdown. Against Ohio State, he di- rected a defensive effort that held the Buckeyes' high-flying offense to two touchdowns in the first 52 minutes of the game. He and fellow starters Koa Farmer and Cam Brown combined to make 19 tackles that night. THE BAD As expected, there have been some growing pains at this position group. Depth has been a particular con- cern. Against Ohio State, the Lions did- n't turn very often to Micah Parsons, Ellis Brooks or any of their other back- ups. Aside from the starters, the only linebacker to register a tackle in the game was Parsons with one stop. Need- less to say, Penn State can't afford to ride its starters that hard for weeks on end. FRANKLIN SAYS "We've got experi- enced talent and we've got young talent. I think the combination of Koa Farmer and Micah Parsons at the outside line- backer position [provides] a nice one- two punch there. I feel like those guys have got a chance to play at a very, very high level for us. At middle linebacker, you have an interesting three-way, three-headed monster there with Jan, Ellis and Jesse. All three of them do good things, and we'll continue to see those guys get reps and opportunities. It was good to see Jesse, who didn't play in week one at the linebacker position, get some reps in week two. … That group will continue to evolve and grow, and you'll see a lot of guys get an opportu- nity to make plays. I think at some point this season, either someone will take the job and take control of it and say, 'It's mine,' or you'll see a two-headed or three-headed monster continue evolve there and grow." SUMMARY While the Ohio State game offered an encouraging sign of the unit's capabilities, it surely wasn't a model for how the coaching staff will approach the rest of the season. The Lions thought they might be able to get by for one night with minimal substitutions, and they nearly did. But as is the case on the de- fensive line, they need a deeper rotation in order to make it through the rest of the season. The freshmen certainly look to have plenty of potential. Through the season's first six weeks, Parsons was fifth on the team in tackles with 28, while Brooks had 12 and Luketa five. Luketa has already played in more than four games, so the staff thinks highly enough of him to burn his redshirt. This will probably turn out to be a pretty good linebacker corps, but it's not there yet.....................................GRADE C+ SECONDARY THE GOOD Throw out its poor showing against Appalachian State on opening day, and Penn State's pass defense has been mostly OK. The Lions gave up 292 passing yards in their opener, but their next five opponents averaged only 193.2 yards through the air. One of those op- ponents was Pitt, which managed only 55 passing yards and drove that per- game average down substantially. But the Lions also faced the Big Ten's most productive quarterback in Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins and held him mostly in check until late in the game. Of Haskins' 270 passing yards, 71 came on a pair of long catch-and-run touch- downs late in the fourth quarter. Safeties Garrett Taylor and Nick Scott were ranked second and third on the team in tackles, respectively, through six games. THE BAD John Reid was slow to round back into form following the knee injury that kept him out all of last season. An experienced junior, he missed two games entirely and played sparingly in the opener against Appalachian State. Also, while senior cornerback Amani Oruwariye has been one of the team's most opportunistic players, the Lions will be haunted for a while by the errant pass that slipped through his hands late in the game against Michigan State. Had he intercepted it, Penn State would al- most certainly have held on for the win. FRANKLIN SAYS "Nick Scott is doing some nice things for us and been really consistent. Garrett Taylor was the player of the week [against Illinois] from a coaching staff perspective, so we obviously feel like he's growing into that role as well. And I will say John Suther- land, all the way back to the spring game, is a guy who flashes. We're talk- ing about getting him more involved. I think he's one of the better tacklers on our defense. So I think we're getting better and we're going to need to con- tinue to get better." SUMMARY It looked like it was going to be a long season for the secondary after the App State game, in which Zac Thomas completed 25 of 38 passing at- tempts. But it rose to the occasion at the end of that game, as Oruwariye came down with an interception in overtime

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