Blue White Illustrated

whelming favorite to inherit Oruwariye's starting position. Franklin said of Cas- tro-Fields this spring, "It's hard not to consider him a starter." Another piece of good news at corner- back has been the performance this spring of January enrollees Keaton Ellis and Marquis Wilson. Franklin said they've been among the most buzz- worthy newcomers of the off-season. "Those guys have flashed a lot of really good things," he said. "I think there's a buzz, an excitement, right now among the players and the coaches." FRANKLIN SAYS "There are some [in- stances in which] we like to drop one safety into the box more and play to their strengths. That's something that Sutherland does extremely well. [With] all of them, and all of us, there are strengths and there are weaknesses. We are trying to play to their strengths as much as we can but also work and groom and help them grow with their weak- nesses. So we're really excited about Wade, what Wade has done this off-sea- son. We're really excited about what Petrishen has done. He's healthy, proba- bly for the first time in his career over a length of time, and Sutherland just con- tinues to show up and make plays in a lot of different areas." ANALYSIS The safety battle is likely to continue into preseason camp, espe- cially if Petrishen, a 6-0, 211-pound fifth-year senior, has overcome the in- jury problems that have held him back in his career. The Lions already have an ex- perienced player vying for Scott's for- mer position in Wade. He hasn't talked publicly yet about his decision to pull his name out of the transfer portal, but that move was surely predicated at least in part on a belief that he will be a major contributor during the next two seasons. And as for Sutherland, it will be hard to keep him on the bench if he continues his steady ascent. One other factor to consider is that the Lions will be getting a potential early- impact player this summer in juco transfer Jaquan Brisker. With two sea- sons at Lackawanna College under his belt, Brisker is likely to be more ad- vanced than the typical newcomer, and he's already been bombarding Franklin with text messages expressing his eager- ness to compete for playing time right away. "During the national champi- onship [game], he's sending me mes- sages," Franklin said. "Same thing with Coach Pry and Coach [Tim] Banks. I got a message from him yesterday morning, his workout videos. He's excited." The upshot of all these developments is that the Lions appear to have the mak- ings of a solid two-deep. "We feel like we have a good group," Franklin said. "But obviously we have to answer some questions." SPECIAL TEAMS NEWS The biggest news here, obvi- ously, is the arrival of new coordinator Joe Lorig. A 22-year coaching veteran, including six seasons as a special teams coordinator, Lorig brings the right cre- dentials to the job. At Memphis, where he spent the past three seasons, his units routinely ranked among the best in the country in kickoff returns and kick cov- erage. The Lions have a very good kick re- turner in Hamler, and he has shown the ability to return punts, too. Whether the Lions will ask him to do both this fall, while also holding down a starting spot on offense, remains to be seen. The more likely scenario is that they'll turn to one of their young receivers or defen- P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> S I T E L I N E S B W I . R I V A L S . C O M R E A D E R S S O U N D O F F Hamler has impressed me as one of those guys who is just a natural leader. I've read that he's a talker, a bit of a fiery guy, and his comments after the Kentucky game exemplified that. I just can't help but feel things will be much different with this [wide re- ceiver] group in '19. I think we saw the problems that can occur when you lack leadership like that provided by guys like Barkley, Gesicki and Hamil- ton. mickey_PSU I think this [receiver] unit may be very strong provided the injury bug stays away. I am really looking for- ward to seeing what Coach Parker can do with all that talent in the room. Something was missing last season in that WR room. Coach Cor- ley was put in a very unenviable posi- tion last year, and quite possibly did not have the complete attention and respect needed for that group to per- form up to their level of talent. Let's hope we get the right guy at QB pulling the trigger and getting the ball to this array of talent. FlaPaLion I always felt like the best college of- fensive lines had a bunch of redshirt juniors and seniors on them. It's tough to know that we could have had that if McGovern and Bates had stayed. I guess that's the new normal, though. I really feel like Rasheed Walker is going to be great, but it stinks to have red- shirt freshmen forced into starting roles. I think Menet will be better, and Gonzalez is very good as well. I also like Miranda, so a lot of my hopes for the OL come down to how Walker and Fries play and also how the second team comes along. CKSmith45 If Journey Brown can catch the ball, he can be really special. There is no substitute for speed, especially on those wheel routes. If he puts it all to- gether, I see his ceiling higher than his RB peers. Here is hoping he continues to progress. Gotta love the praise his teammates and coaches have been throwing his way. hiptohoo

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