Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1276571
Minnesota. You know what you're going to get from Antonio each and every snap out there. But behind him, I think we've got a lot more mileage out of Fred Hansard than we thought we would. I was pleasantly surprised with the year he had. I'm glad to see that for Fred and for us. I think Judge Culpepper is a guy who is going to open some eyes for some people. In- credibly hard worker. He's kind of P.J.'s running mate. They work together, train together, do extra together. Son of a football guy. He's got it all, and he's got- ten bigger and stronger and he's ready to play. And then there's a mess of young guys behind them. There are a bunch of them. There's a lot of depth at that spot, but we need those four guys to be who we think they can be, and then you find your fifth and sixth guy out of that group of young 'uns. I'm excited about all of them. BWI This probably applies to more than just the defensive line, but is it challeng- ing to keep those young guys patient? PRY They all come in thinking they can do it right now. And some of them get humbled, and get humbled in a hurry when they see what the old heads do. But yeah, they're all anxious and eager, and I think every new spring or fall, it's heavy on their mind that OK, this is my time. I'm going to be a starter. I'm going to be a backup. Competition, that's just what it does. They love to compete. It's hard to do what these guys do at this level – the commitment, the demands – without being a really, really strong competitor. It's not something that we just developed here. These guys, over the course of their athletic careers, they've learned to love to compete. We've got a lot of competition at some good spots. The corner spot is the same way. We've got Tariq [Castro-Fields], a proven guy, and someone I'm super ex- cited about and one of the guys we ex- pect will step into a leadership role. But then after that, there are a bunch of young, unproven guys who are really tal- ented. Some of them have been out there in some battles and maybe not such no- table experiences for us, but at the same time, experiences. Maybe not as positive as they care to remember. But these guys have been in some big moments, and that's important. BWI Do you feel like this is the best group of linebackers, overall, that you've had? PRY I think there's some development that has to happen with Brandon, with Lance [Dixon]. I think Charlie Katshir is ready to open some eyes and show peo- ple he can play linebacker at this level. I think we've got a heck of a competition with Jesse [Luketa] and Ellis [Brooks] to see who can take that Mike spot, at least initially. And then we're all excited to see what Micah does in year three. So it's got a chance to be a really, really nice group. More than likely the best I've been around as a linebacker guy. But there have been some great groups at Penn State. I'd be curious when this is all said and done where they would stack up. I remind them [of that] a lot, even here recently. We went through a little segment about the commandments of great linebacker play, what I believe in. And we talked about what's been in that room, and the guys who have sat in those chairs, and the approach they took, and the production they had, and how they're respected. So we've got some work to do in that area. It's just high standards in that room. BWI Is Micah ready to be a leader? PRY He's much closer to that. Micah wants to lead, and he'll lead in certain ways, certainly. He's so enthralled in >> GROUP CHAT Pry talks to his players after a practice session last year. The Nittany Lions fin- ished eighth in the country in scoring defense in 2019, allowing only 16 points per game. Photo by Ryan Snyder