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likely starting and the others vying for serious playing time behind him. WEAKSIDE DEFENSIVE END CONTENDERS Shane Simmons, Shaka Toney, Jayson Oweh ANALYSIS Miller won't be easy to re- place a;er 9nishing second on the team with 15 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks as a junior. But I believe Penn State has an excellent chance of doing just that, with Simmons, Toney and Oweh in con- tention for the weakside defensive end spot. Simmons and Toney will be red- shirt juniors this coming fall, while Oweh will be a redshirt freshman. A;er receiving honorable mention All- Freshman honors from BTN.com in 2017, Simmons had a disappointing sopho- more season. He su:ered an injury in preseason practice and only saw limited action in eight games last fall, totaling just nine tackles. But if healthy, he should be a serious challenger here, and so should Toney, who enjoyed a solid 2018 season with 23 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 9ve sacks. But even though he's the youngest of the three contenders, I believe it would be a big mistake to count out Oweh. Since arriving on campus last year, he has added 30 pounds and entered spring practice weighing nearly 260 pounds. During winter workouts, Oweh was able to squat 545 pounds, posted a 4.45-sec- ond 40-yard time and had a vertical leap of 36.5 inches. He also power cleaned 355 pounds and bench pressed 390 pounds. Penn State strength and conditioning coach Dwight Galt said he's been very impressed with Oweh's attitude, partic- ularly his unwillingness to simply rely on his tremendous natural athletic ability. "I see too many guys who have done that," Galt said. "He continues to really be all that he can be." Oweh saw action in only four games last year in order to maintain his freshman eli- gibility, but he still totaled two sacks. This is the position battle I'm most ex- cited to watch this spring. If Simmons, Toney and Oweh can 9nd a way to match or exceed Miller's productivity, Penn State could 9eld the best group of defen- sive ends in the Big Ten in 2019. The Lions already have an extremely disrup- tive defensive end on the opposite side of the line in junior Yetur Gross-Matos. RIGHT GUARD CONTENDERS Mike Miranda, C.J. Thorpe, Bryce E:ner ANALYSIS In McGovern, Penn State must replace a player who started 35 games over the past three seasons. That's tied for the second-highest total on the team during that span, with Bates also starting 35 games during the 2016, '17 and '18 seasons. (McSorley led the way with 40 starts.) Miranda and Thorpe, both redshirt sophomores, are expected to be the two leading candidates to replace McGovern. Miranda started last year's regular-sea- son 9nale against Maryland, 9lling in at right guard when McGovern moved to center to replace the injured Michal Menet. Penn State had one of its best rushing performances of the season that day, totaling 310 yards on the ground against the Terrapins. If Miranda and Thorpe can adequately replace McGovern at right guard, Penn State should have one of the best interior o:ensive line combinations in the Big Ten's East Division. Menet is set to re- turn at center, and Steven Gonzalez is back at le; guard. RIGHT TACKLE CONTENDERS Rasheed Walker, Des Holmes, Anthony Whigan ANALYSIS Just like McGovern at right guard, Bates won't be easy to replace at right tackle this fall. The three leading contenders to succeed the All-Big Ten standout are Walker, Holmes and SEE CORNER PAGE 62

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