Blue White Illustrated

to challenge Michigan State and Ohio State as the top defensive team in the Big Ten. The one position that was a major concern for me was the 3eld safety spot. I felt that Wade had not tapped into his potential during his freshman and soph- omore seasons, and his ascent to the starting position raised some concerns in my mind. Two months later, all I can say is that Wade has played beyond my expecta- tions. He was Penn State's third-leading tackler with 36 stops, including a sack, as of this writing and has become one of Penn State's best tacklers in the open 3eld. He just might be the team's most improved player on defense. When you factor in the performance of Wade's backup, juco transfer Jaquan Brisker, who had 15 tackles and an inter- ception through seven games – the 3eld safety position has become one of the strengths of Penn State's secondary. 5. DEPTH AT LINEBACKER Prior to the season, I told anyone who would listen that Penn State had the best overall group of linebackers in the Big Ten and the best group of underclassman line- backers in the country. I stand by that assertion, even though, at the season's halfway point, the Nittany Lions didn't have a single player ranked among the top 30 tacklers in the Big Ten. In fact, there's a case to be made that Penn State's absence from the league's tack- ling charts is a sign of its strength. As of this writing, Micah Parsons was Penn State's leading tackler with 45 stops, including six tackles for loss and a sack. If he continues on that pace, he will 3nish with about the same number of tackles that he had last season as a true freshman who started only one game. Is that a problem? Hardly. Parsons has only been on the 3eld for about 60 percent of Penn State's defensive snaps. Jesse Luketa, Parsons' backup at the Will outside linebacker position, has been entering games in the 3rst quarter and seeing frequent action therea5er. That's an illustration of how talented Penn State's linebackers are, and it's not just at the Will position where they have built impressive depth. The Lions are also three-deep in the middle (Jan John- son, Ellis Brooks and Luketa) and at the Sam OLB spot (Cam Brown, Brandon Smith and Charlie Katshir). It's the best overall depth I've ever seen at all three linebacker spots at Penn State. My only concern is that Parsons might not be named 3rst-team All-Big Ten because he won't have the kind of numbers that jump o4 the stat sheet. 6. IMPROVEMENT VS. THE RUN Last year, Penn State 3nished eighth in the Big Ten against the run, as opponents averaged 169.0 yards per game on the ground and 4.0 yards per carry. I knew the Nittany Lions' run defense would be better in 2019, but even I was surprised at how tough they have been against op- posing ball carriers. Heading into the Michigan State game, the Lions were 3elding the fourth-ranked run defense in the Football Bowl Subdivision, with averages of 66.3 yards per game and 1.9 yards per carry. In my opinion, the No. 1 reason for the defense's much-improved performance vs. the run is that Penn State has devel- Statement of Ownership for Blue White Illustrated

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