Blue White Illustrated

February 2013

Penn State Sports Magazine

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the left tackle spot. After overcoming an ankle injury early in the season, Smith started the team's final seven games and made ESPN.com's Big Ten All-Freshman team. The big questions concern the right tackle spot, where fifth-year seniors Adam Gress and Eric Shrive will vie for the starting position vacated by Mike Farrell last season. Gress has to be considered a strong favorite going into spring practice. He impressed the new coaching staff last spring and played in every game last fall, starting the Navy, Temple and Illinois games when Farrell shifted to left tackle to fill in for the injured Smith. COVER STORY Amos was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick this past season after helping Penn State finish second in the conference in scoring defense (19.1 points per game). CENTER Matt Stankiewitch will definitely be missed after starting all 25 of Penn State's games the past two seasons and winning first-team AllBig Ten recognition as a senior. The pool of potential successors includes senior Ty Howle, sophomore Angelo Mangiro and redshirt freshman Wendy Laurent. O'Brien cited Laurent recently as one of the team's more promising newcomers, while Howle snapped on field goals and PATs last season. But Howle is also listed at the backup left guard, and if he stays there, Mangiro, a 6-3, 291-pounder New Jersey native, might be the best bet to win the starting position. DEFENSIVE END Who's ready to see what Deion Barnes can accomplish during year two? The Philadelphia native might be Penn State's most heralded sophomore defensive end since Maurice Evans in 2007. Evans finished with 12.5 sacks that season, living up to all the high expectations. Barnes is now faced with some lofty expectations of his own. He finished 2012 with Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors and led the team with six sacks. He'll need to more than double that total to match Evans' sophomore success, but if you ask him, that won't be a problem. Expectations for Anthony Zettel's sophomore season are rising, too. Gone are Sean Stanley and Pete Massaro, but Zettel finished the 2012 sea- Steve Manuel son with four sacks, including two against Navy. He will compete with junior C.J. Olaniyan for the starting spot opposite Barnes. Barnes, Zettel and Olaniyan will comprise Larry Johnson's end rotation. Include Brad Bars in that mix, too, unless he moves back to linebacker. True freshmen Garrett Sickels and Curtis Cothran could break into the three-deep, too. But in all likelihood, at least one will redshirt this coming fall. DEFENSIVE TACKLE With Jordan Hill off to the NFL, it's DaQuan Jones' turn to anchor Penn State's defensive line. He might not be the pass rusher that Hill

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