Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1239570
O F F - S E A S O N R E P O R T
At defensive end, Oweh and Isaac are
very similar physically, with Oweh
checking in at 6-5, 257 pounds and Isaac
at 6-4, 256. Isaac was listed at 241
pounds last fall, so he clearly had a very
good winter in the weight room before
everything got shut down. Whether
he's had much opportunity in the
months since then to consolidate those
gains is an open question. Isaac is from
Brooklyn, N.Y., near the epicenter of
the coronavirus outbreak. New York's
efforts to contain the virus have been
among the most stringent in the coun-
try, so while everyone has had to im-
provise to some degree as they train at
home for the coming season, Isaac may
be faced with some particularly diffi-
cult challenges.
On its April 18 depth chart, Isaac was
listed behind Toney, while Oweh, Sim-
mons and Vilbert were 1-2-3 at the op-
posite DE spot. It's way too early to tell
whether that's how it will play out when
practice starts up, but this much is cer-
tain: The Lions have a lot of good op-
tions.
As for Scott's acclimation to Penn
State, defensive coordinator Brent Pry
said it's been as seamless as could be ex-
pected under the circumstances. "John
has worked with me at three different
[schools]," Pry said. "We're very much
on the same page. So that transition has
been very smooth. John is certainly
going to bring some fresh ideas. He's
been around some very good football
coaches, and he's already impacted our
unit that way."
LINEBACKER Penn State has lost two
veterans here in Cam Brown and Jan
Johnson, who combined to make 25
starts last season. But in Micah Parsons,
the Lions return a star OLB who may
only be scratching the surface of his po-
tential even after winning consensus
All-America honors as a sophomore.
And as far as those vacancies go, they
T
here's no pause button in football. While collegiate ath-
letics are shut down at the moment, coaches such as
Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry are still
doing what they can to prepare for the resump-
tion of football activities, whenever that may
be.
For Pry, a big part of those preparations in-
volves figuring out the best way to deploy
All-America outside linebacker Micah
Parsons. The last time Penn State
fans saw Parsons, he was wreaking
havoc on Memphis in the Cotton
Bowl, finishing the game with 14
tackles and a couple of forced
fumbles and winning defensive
MVP honors in the Nittany
Lions' 53-39 victory. That per-
formance, which followed his
selection as Big Ten Line-
backer of the Year, may have
only hinted at what's to
come when he returns to
action.
"Maximizing what he can
do for us each and every
snap that he's on the