Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1138762
P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> Penn State's recent success has been predicated on of- fense, but this team may have to lean on its defense while waiting for the young playmakers on the other side of the ball to gain experience. The good news for Franklin is that his defense might just be up to the challenge, with differ- ence-makers such as Gross-Matos and Parsons leading the way. The bad news is that Penn State still plays in the rugged Big Ten East Division, where its abundant youth on offense is not likely to go unexploited. The Lions are building some- thing after bringing in three consecutive recruiting classes that have ranked among the country's top dozen. But this project may not be complete in 2019. ATHLON SPORTS Penn State has much skill and speed – there are 39 for- mer five- and four-star recruits on the roster from the past three recruiting classes – but it's a young roster. If the defense can carry the team until a new quarterback and the offense gain traction, the Lions can reach nine wins again. LINDY'S SPORTS The defense has a few cornerstones. End Yetur Gross- Matos is one of the top pass rushers in the Big Ten, while cornerback John Reid had an encouraging return from in- jury last year and will pair with talented junior Tariq Cas- tro-Fields. Penn State is the wild card in the Big Ten. If this team arrives ahead of schedule like the 2016 Nittany Lions, however, they might have something to say about the East race before all is decided. STREET & SMITH'S A flurry of offseason departures was followed by this spring's surprising move: Tommy Stevens opted to transfer rather than continue in Penn State's quarterback battle. That changes the equation under center. However, it's important to remember that redshirt sophomore Sean Clifford has been viewed as the future at the position — only his time was sup- posed to come in 2020, not this fall. USA TODAY Tommy Stevens' decision to enter the transfer portal shook up the quarterback race, and Sean Clifford im- pressed enough in the spring to take a run at the job. The Nittany Lions likely will have a running back committee, and wide receiver K.J. Hamler will build on a breakout season. Linebacker Micah Parsons could have a breakout season, too. Close losses to Ohio State have kept the Nit- tany Lions out of the Playoff race the last two seasons. James Franklin still has the talent capable of a break- through, but that means closing in the Big Ten East showdowns. THE SPORTING NEWS W H A T T H E Y ' R E S A Y I N G sells tickets and defense wins champi- onships. These days, when a good of- fense meets a good defense, the offense often has the upper hand. Just look at the proliferation of offensive superpow- ers. In 1987, the year after Penn State won its last national championship, only two teams in the country averaged more than 40 points per game. By 2007, that number had increased to nine. This past season, there were 12, including three of the four College Football Playoff partici- pants (Oklahoma, Alabama and Clem- son, all of which finished among the top four teams in the FBS in scoring of- fense). And bear in mind: That trend was under way long before the NCAA liber- alized its transfer rules. Now that play- ers – quarterbacks in particular – have more freedom to seek the best fit, high- scoring teams like Oklahoma and Ohio State, which landed Jalen Hurts and Justin Fields, respectively, this past win- ter, have even more ways of patching holes and keeping their offenses hum- ming. But even though college offenses have become more potent over time, a good defense can still take you places. What kind of places? The kind with palm trees and warm tropical breezes? The Nittany Lions may find out this fall, because their offense is loaded with inexperi- enced players at all the skill positions, including quarterback. That means their defense will have to keep the back-and- forth scorefests to a minimum, at least early in the season while all those young receivers, running backs and QBs are gaining experience. Gross-Matos thinks they can do that, and he isn't the only one. When I talked to senior safety Garrett Taylor in the spring, he, too, touted the potential of this year's defense. "I think we can be better than we were last year," Taylor said. "Obviously, we're losing some older guys. But we've got a lot of talent coming back, and a lot of young guys who are eager and excited to fill those empty holes and who are just as talented as the guys we're losing. "At the end of the day, we can be as good as we want to be. It comes down to us holding each other to a championship standard – making sure we're coming out to practice every day and working our butts off, flying to the ball, taking reps at full speed, taking coaching well, taking constructive criticism. I think if we put all that together and come to- gether as a defense, we have the poten- tial to be pretty special." This could end up being one of those Penn State teams that's as much fun to watch when its defense is on the field as when it's on offense. And if the Lions are able to get some of those offensive con- cerns resolved during the nonconference season, well, who knows? This could be a pretty fun team to watch no matter who's got the ball. ■