Blue White Illustrated

P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> Pry pleased with Lions' depth at linebacker very confident will come to fruition. "I said I wanted to bring the future of Penn State back. And I think me and the team are going to do that this year," he said. "People sleep on us, but I think this is the fastest our defense has ever been this year, and we're all looking fast, we're moving good, we're healthy this year. I think Penn State is back, and the future is conference championships." Whatever success the Nittany Lions enjoy this coming fall, Parsons figures to be a big part of it. He stands 6-foot-3 and is comfortable carrying 245 to 250 pounds. He said recently that he believes fans will soon begin to see the improve- ments he's been making during the off- season. "I'm ready to go. They're going to see me going much faster this year. I look a lot faster on film because I'm not hesitating, I'm not nervous. I'm playing like I've been here before, obviously. I'm just fresh and ready to prove myself," he said. "I still feel like I've got a chip on my shoulder be- cause obviously the season didn't end how we wanted last year, so there's still a lot to prove." Parsons' improvements extend beyond the physical, too, he said. He is concen- trating on finishing out more plays this season and cited a missed interception in the Citrus Bowl as an example of a play that he could have made with the im- proved footwork he has developed this spring. "Finishing those types of plays – tackles in the backfield, key reads, things like that – they're all things that I think I can do a better job of this year after really focusing and really putting my head down and working this year, just focusing on my technique," he said. "I'm obviously hav- ing a way better spring than I did last year, and I just want to keep going off of that towards the season." Spending time at both the Sam and Will outside linebacker spots this spring, Par- I n Brent Pry's estimation, Penn State's linebacker unit is set for a highly com- petitive preseason camp, even with two starters returning in Jan Johnson and Cam Brown, and a de facto starter, Micah Parsons, also back. Pry said a:er the Blue-White Game that the division of labor within the linebacker corps is still to be determined. Sophomores Jesse Luketa and Ellis Brooks are expected to push the starters for playing time, and the Lions have continued to add talented prospects in their most recent re- cruiting class. The abundance of four- and 8ve-star players at the position group should make for a competitive atmosphere in the months to come, Pry said. "Even though you may be the starter, how many snaps you play is still debat- able," he said. "So there's still a lot going on there and [it's uncertain] how that will shake out. But the competition has been good. Nobody has bowed down. "We've got some guys jumping around right now, playing some di9erent spots, which creates some depth there for us. Cam Brown is a guy right now who could play Sam, Mike or Will for us. That ver- satility with the rest of the group is going to help us as well." Pry declined to elaborate on how the Nittany Lions might choose to line up this fall, but he did o9er insights into the progress that Johnson, Brown and Par- sons have made. "Jan has had a really good spring," Pry said. "He continues to impress every- body – his peers, his coaches. He does things so smart, so intelligent. Jan is going to 8nish his master's degree here in another few weeks. That's what he's out there – he's a graduate student of the game. "I'd like to see him be a little bit more vocal, be a little bit more of a com- mander the way Jason Cabinda was, to take charge of things, be more pro- nounced. But he's had a great spring and I'm looking forward to him having a big senior year." Although he's at a much earlier stage in his career than Johnson, Parsons gained valuable experience as a true freshman last season, Pry added. "Last spring, he didn't know what he didn't know. And in some ways that was a good thing for him," the veteran de- fensive coordinator said. "He didn't know when he was wrong and just played fast and chased the ball. And these guys have played linebacker and played more in the back end, and so they have an idea of things. Sometimes your mind can tie up your feet a little bit." And as for the group as a whole? Pry said he's con8dent that the linebackers will be able to spearhead a defense that steadily improved over the course of the 2018 season and that is welcoming back many of its key players in 2019. "Obviously, we've got some experi- ence now. We've got 8ve guys who have played a fair amount of football," Pry said. "Jesse Luketa's reps were mostly on special teams, but there were a bunch of them, and he's proven himself in a lot of ways to our sta9 and to his teammates. And Ellis Brooks, his role is going to grow some. He's had a really nice spring. "And then obviously I'm super ex- cited about Cam and Jan and Micah. I really like that threesome. I think we've got five guys we can win with right now. I'm looking for Brandon Smith, Lance Dixon and Charlie Katshir to step up and for somebody to earn that sixth spot." –N.B. PRY

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