Blue White Illustrated

to wear a brace after returning to action, at least initially. Breneman looked awfully quick as he ran go routes inside Holuba Hall. But he is less than a year removed from knee surgery, so don���t bet on seeing him in the Blue-White Game. 3 Everybody focuses on the offense in the Blue-White Game. What about the defense? The Lions have some gaping holes to fill, particularly at linebacker, where Michael Mauti and Gerald Hodges have graduated after combining for 204 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and five interceptions last season. The only retuning starter at linebacker is senior Glenn Carson, who returns in the middle. Flanking him will be redshirt junior Mike Hull, a high-impact backup last season who earned a field promotion in the Lions��� next-to-last game after Mauti went down with a knee injury. At the opposite position, the leading candidates are redshirt sophomore Ben Kline and redshirt freshman Nyeem Wartman. Kline won���t be in action on Saturday; he sat out spring drills with a shoulder injury. But Wartman will definitely be a player to watch in the Blue-White Game. He was one of the top prospects in Penn State���s Class of 2012 and was set to make an impact for the Lions as a true freshman last season. But a knee injury in week two against Virginia prompted him to take a medical redshirt, so his appearance in the Blue-White Game will be his first in Beaver Stadium since last season���s opener against Ohio. His teammates have been impressed with what they���ve seen so far. Said Carson, ���Nyeem���s a very athletic player, and he���s got confidence, which is important for a young guy like him. I have all the confidence in the world that Nyeem can come in and play a big role at linebacker.��� One other linebacker to watch is red- shirt freshman Gary Wooten. The Miami native was a bit of a mystery last season, showing up on campus just before preseason practice started. He didn���t play for the Lions in 2012, but the 62, 235-pounder figures to get a shot this fall with the team lacking depth at all three spots. ���He knows what he���s doing on the field,��� Hull said. ���He���s not afraid to hit you. I think that if he keeps learning and getting better, he���s going to be a good player for us.��� The Lions are also trying to figure out where everyone fits in the secondary. Cornerback Adrian Amos was at safety in the team���s open practice March 27, while Trevor Williams and Jordan Lucas were at cornerback. Senior safety Stephen Obeng-Agyapong is recovering from shoulder surgery this spring and is expected back in the fall, so there���s no way to know at this point whether Amos will end up playing safety, cornerback or both. Spring practice has given Penn State D.J. CROOK AUSTIN WHIPPLE JACK SEYMOUR BY THE NUMBERS Crook threw for 8,126 yards and 77 touchdowns during his career at Barnstable (Mass.) High, including a schoolrecord 2,813 yards and 33 touchdowns as a junior. Then he enrolled at Worcester (Mass.) Academy for a year of postgraduate school. QUOTABLE Bill O���Brien, speaking to ESPNBoston.com: ���He���ll compete. He���s a big kid, a tough kid. What stood out to me was his intelligence. He���s a very smart kid, an engineering major at Penn State, which is very difficult.��� THE SKINNY After spreading passes all over the field in high school, Crook focused on running the ball at Worcester Academy. His strengths are a lively arm, quick feet and high football IQ. BY THE NUMBERS Whipple finished with 1,450 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions during a postgrad season at the Salisbury (Conn.) School. As a senior at PineRichland near Pittsburgh, he threw for 1,526 yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions. QUOTABLE Bill O���Brien: ���Austin is [Mark Whipple���s] son, and I���m really looking forward to working with him.��� THE SKINNY Whipple might not have the size (6-1, 190) of a prototypical Division I starting quarterback, but as the son of the Cleveland Browns��� former QB coach, he certainly has a strong football background and an understanding of the position that should strengthen Penn State���s Dirty Show, aka its practice squad. BY THE NUMBERS Despite missing three games with a high ankle sprain, Seymour threw for more than 1,500 yards and tallied 17 touchdowns during his senior season at Park Tudor School in Indianapolis. He completed 102 of his 214 pass attempts and finished with nine interceptions. QUOTABLE Park Tudor coach Orlando Lowry: ���He just thought that Penn State was absolutely the best for him, and I commend him for that. I think he���ll do great in that system.��� THE SKINNY Seymour, a two-star recruit, rejected scholarship offers from Ball State, Western Michigan and Southern Illinois. He���s a prostyle QB who looks to have the potential to one day be a Division I starter. He is set to arrive on campus this summer.

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