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year. … He was the best football player I've ever seen in our league." That is quite a compliment consider- ing that Souza has coached against a lot of great players in his four decades in the ISL, including Boston College running back A.J. Dillon, who was a Doak Walker semi9nalist as a freshman in 2017. On defense, if Shareef Miller decides to come back for his 9nal year of eligibil- ity in 2019, Penn State will only have to replace two starters: Scott at strong safety and Koa Farmer at outside line- backer. Essentially, Farmer's 2019 replace- ment, Parsons, became the starter at the Will OLB position in the second-to-last game of the season against Rutgers. Par- sons is Penn State's leading tackler going into the Citrus Bowl, and like Hamler and Freiermuth, he was recently selected by both the media and the Big Ten coaches as an honorable mention All- Conference performer. Considering how much experience Parsons has gained this year, Penn State really will only have to replace two starters even if Miller does decide to leave early for the dra;. But as I view it, Hamler, Freiermuth and Parsons aren't the freshman-eligi- ble players who have the most to gain in the practice sessions leading up to the Citrus Bowl. The players who I believe have a chance to make the biggest strides are Cli:ord at quarterback, Mi- randa at right guard, Mustipher at de- fensive tackle, Sutherland at safety, and quite possibly two Class of 2018 defen- sive ends: Oweh and Tarburton. Cli:ord only saw action in three games this season, completing all 9ve of his pass attempts for 195 yards. Two of his completions were for touchdowns, in- cluding a 95-yarder to George. With McSorley graduating a;er the Citrus Bowl, Cli:ord and Tommy Stevens will receive most of the repetitions at quar- terback. When Michal Menet was forced to miss the 9nal game of the regular season with an apparent injury, Miranda was inserted into the starting lineup at right guard, with Connor McGovern taking over the starting job at center. Even with the change, Penn State turned in its best o:ensive performance since the 9rst week of the Big Ten season, posting 565 yards of total o:ense, including 310 rushing yards against Maryland. Mi- randa played a superb game. Mustipher's season statistics aren't overwhelming, but the freshman could have an opportunity to see substantial playing time in the Citrus Bowl. He took over the backup three-technique defen- sive tackle position due to injuries at the position, and if he continues to look good in the team's December practices, he could be the third defensive tackle in the rotation for the 2019 season. As for Sutherland, he was one of the team's unsung heroes on defense and special teams this year, and a solid per- formance in December, coupled with a strong showing in spring ball, could pro- pel him to a spot in the starting lineup as Scott's successor at strong safety. Finally, two other members of the Class of 2018 who impressed me in Sep- tember were Oweh and Tarburton. Oweh has played in four games, totaling four tackles, including two sacks. He doesn't have a lot of football experience, but his tremendous measurables, which include a 4.4-second 40-yard dash, a 10-foot, 2-inch standing broad jump and a 40- inch vertical leap – make him a player to watch. Tarburton also showed potential early in the season, and if Miller exits, he and Oweh will have an excellent chance to become major contributors at defen- sive end in 2019. Before this year, I would never have thought it possible for 30 freshmen to play in the same season at Penn State. But with the NCAA's rule change and Franklin's excellent recruiting, this is likely to become a trend. It wouldn't be surprising if 25 or more freshman-eligi- ble players were to see action next sea- son, too. ■

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