Blue White Illustrated

special on the field. He's been here now for nine months. He came in at 228 pounds, and he's almost 260 right now. "So he just continues to not rely on his natural ability, which is huge for me. I've done this 35 years now and I've seen too many guys who have done that. He con- tinues to really want to be all he can be, and you have the example on the squat today – he did 455 for seven today. He cleaned 355. I think he benched 390." Along with those impressive numbers, Oweh maxed out at 545 pounds in the squat and had a 36-inch vertical leap. "The kid has only been here nine months. He's 18 years old," Galt said. "He's a converted basketball player, so we're really, really pleased with how he's progressing, but we've got to transfer it to the field. He did a great job last year in the games he was playing in, so we feel really positive about him." PARSONS' RISE CONTINUES One other young defensive player who earned high praise from Galt was sophomore line- backer Micah Parsons. Coming off a true freshman season in which he led the Nittany Lions in tackles despite playing primarily as a backup, Parsons has not relented in the slightest. "I couldn't be more proud. Proud is the word that I have for Micah Parsons. Not just with how he's grown, but his ap- proach is phenomenal," Galt said. "Micah wants to be a great football player. He will do whatever it takes to be a great football player. He doesn't want to be average, he doesn't want to be good. He wants to be great." That sense of determination was evi- dent in the weight room this winter, as Parsons had a 355-pound clean and a program-record 565-pound squat. "I'm not going to say it's easy or sim- ple, but I know that challenging him on a daily basis to be all he can be – he thrives on that and he's never had a day off," Galt said. "He comes in, he does what he's supposed to do, he works his butt off, he's got a great attitude, he's done unbelievable in school. I couldn't be more pleased with him. He started to take on a nice leadership role, and obviously he's a phenomenal football player. Micah is the kind of guy you want to eventually build your team around, so it's only a matter of time before that really starts happening. We're really pleased with what he's doing." LINEBACKERS EXCEL Galt's praise for the linebacker room didn't stop with Parsons. During a testing session, eight consecutive linebackers produced a broad jump of 10 feet or more, and Galt was especially pleased with the per- formance of senior Jan Johnson, a re- turning starter in the middle. "Everybody knows his story, but he broad jumped 10 feet, and he triple- broad [jumped] 30 feet, which is elite. Then he ran a 4.08 pro shuttle, which might be the best of all-time for a line- backer," Galt said. The previous record was 4.17, "so now he's got the all-time record for a linebacker here. He benched 350. He just squatted 485. And he cleaned 315. So, really good numbers for a guy who had an ACL, did wrestling for a year, is graduating with his master's degree this semester and he's going back to school next semester. So we don't know what he's going to do. I don't know if he's going for his Ph.D. or what. So he's a really special kid. Great leader. Voice of reason. He's a guy who has done a really, really nice job." EARLY ENROLLEES GET STARTED Galt was asked about his initial impressions of the early enrollees who began their Penn State careers in January. Exempli- fying a trend that has grown signifi- cantly in recent years, not just at Penn State but all across the country, the Nittany Lions welcomed 14 early en- rollees for the start of the spring se- mester, including 11 scholarship players in their latest recruiting class. "They've been phenomenal. They've done everything we've asked," Galt said. "It's not an easy transition. I think the fact that there were so many of them actually made it a little easier on them. They were kind of leaning on After getting under way on March 13, Penn State's spring practice ses- sions will conclude with the Blue- White Game. This year's edition of the annual spring game will kick off at 3 p.m. on April 13 at Beaver Sta- dium. The game will air live on the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com and will be shown via tape delay on the Big Ten Network beginning at 8 p.m. Admission is free for the game. Sea- son ticket and season parking permit holders from the 2018 season received a white 2019 Blue-White Game park- ing permit with their 2018 season tickets and parking last summer. Fans attending the Blue-White Game who did not have 2018 season tickets and a season parking permit will be charged $20 for parking. Car parking can be purchased for $20 in advance by visiting the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In-person pur- chases can be made until 6 p.m. April 12. Parking on game day is cash only. Additional details on the Blue- White Weekend will be announced in the coming weeks. The Blue-White Game is the uni- versity's unofficial annual spring re- union. Last year, an estimated 71,000 fans were in attendance to see quar- terbacks Trace McSorley and Sean Clifford lead the Blue past the White, 21-10. The Blue-White Game has drawn more than 50,000 fans in eight of the past 10 years, including crowds of 70,000 or more in four of the past five years. ■ F O O T B A L L This year's spring game will kick off at 3 p.m.

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