Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1179560
T H E 2 0 1 9 S E A S O N DEEP IMPACT H e had disappeared into the labyrinth of tunnels underneath Capital One Stadium a little while earlier, shortly after deliver- ing a thermonuclear hit that had knocked Maryland quarterback Josh Jackson off his feet and drawn a targeting flag and a subsequent game suspension. But while the first-quarter penalty had brought a pre- mature end to Micah Parsons' night, it hadn't entirely silenced the sophomore linebacker. At 9:32 p.m., a tweet emanated from the Penn State locker room: "My boys taking care of business regardless!!" Did they ever. Even with Parsons out of action, Penn State's linebackers were hav- ing their way with the Terrapins, harassing Jackson, creating havoc in the passing lanes and stifling Anthony McFarland and his fellow running backs. The Lions held Maryland to 128 total yards in a 59-0 blowout, and the linebackers were one of the big reasons for their dominance. Parsons' replacement at the Will outside linebacker spot, sophomore Jesse Luketa, finished with five tackles, including a collision with running back Lorenzo Harrison on a reverse on which the sophomore flung Harrison to the turf with one arm. He also nearly came away with the Lions' third interception of the game. The team's leading tackler that night was another backup linebacker, Ellis Brooks, with six stops including 2.5 sacks. True freshman Brandon Smith played, too, and finished with a pair of tackles. Much has been made of the talent and experience that Penn State's starting trio – Parsons, Cam Brown and Jan Johnson – have brought to the defense this season. But one of the keys to the Nittany Lions' overall success has been the impressive depth they've amassed within the linebacker corps. Defensive coordinator Brent Pry can bring in his backups and you would hardly notice any drop-off. Maryland certainly didn't. At a recent news conference, head coach James Franklin likened the Lions' depth at linebacker to their much-discussed four-man pla- toon at running back. "You guys like to talk about the running back rotation," he told reporters. "You guys don't talk about the nine-deep at linebacker that we rotate. "Micah is doing some really good things, obviously. But it's impres- sive when Micah gets ejected for a targeting call and Jesse goes in… and you don't even skip a beat. Then Jan Johnson and Ellis Brooks One of the keys to the Nittany Lions' defensive success so far this season has been a linebacker corps that consists of so much more than just its trio of standout starters | GET A GRIP Brooks brings down Pitt run- ning back Vincent Davis during the Nit- tany Lions' 17-10 victory over the Panthers in September. Photo by Steve Manuel