Blue White Illustrated

(or lack thereof): "That's something that I think about 24/7. Our three linebackers who are in starting spots right now, I believe that they are very, very good players. They're tough guys, they're smart guys, and they're instinctive players. I do think that there are some guys behind them who can help us out." THE TAKEAWAY The good news this spring is that nobody got hurt. The bad news is that Penn State suffered a significant loss when freshman recruit Zayd Issah had his scholarship pulled after he was caught allegedly trying to pass counterfeit bills at a McDonald's in his native Harrisburg, Pa. Issah may yet end up at Penn State in 2014, but the Lions really could have used him this fall. Redshirt freshman outside linebacker Gary Wooten had better be ready to play this fall, and true freshman middle linebacker Brandon Bell will need to hit the ground running. SECONDARY SPRING STAR Sophomore cornerback Jordan Lucas was named co-recipient of the O'Hora Award. He had a nice break-up of a throw to the sideline in the Blue-White Game. HURTING Strong safety Stephen ObengAgyapong sat out contact drills this spring while recovering from shoulder surgery last November. QUOTABLE Cornerback Adrian Amos: "We definitely have leaders, and you'll see them more as we continue into summer. Leaders emerge through adversity and making big plays as well, which we'll see more often once the season is here in the fall." THE TAKEAWAY If Obeng is healthy – and he says he will be by August – the Lions will have lots of experience on the first team. After that, it's mostly freshmen and sophomores at all four positions. Still, with the infusion of talent from the past two recruiting classes, including converted wideouts Trevor Williams and Malik Golden, the Nittany Lions could end up with more depth than they had a year ago. O'Brien said recently that the Lions will be able to use five or even six defensive backs on the field this year. That's a luxury they didn't have in 2012, when linebacker Gerald Hodges was, in effect, the team's nickel back. "In the Big Ten, he was as good as a lot of nickel DBs, so we were OK there," O'Brien said. "But any time a team goes with threewide-receiver groupings or four-widereceiver groupings, you'd like to have a little more speed on the field, and maybe we'll have the ability to do that this year." SPRING GAME JUDGMENT CALLS The best and the rest from the Nittany Lions' Blue-White scrimmage SPECIAL TEAMS SPRING STAR Sam Ficken reportedly looked good throughout practice, building on his strong finish as a sophomore when he made his last 10 field goal attempts in a row. HURTING There were no significant injuries on special teams this spring. QUOTABLE O'Brien: "We have to find more core special teams players. We have to make a big improvement on special teams next year. We need more guys to step up who are second- and third-team guys [on offense and defense]." THE TAKEAWAY Ficken and punter Alex Butterworth both fared well, although their improvement wasn't reflected in the Blue-White Game, as Ficken missed a PAT and a 37-yard field goal attempt (with Butterworth holding instead of Ryan Keiser). Butterworth and Ficken will both face a challenge in the preseason when runon punter/kicker Chris Gulla arrives. Penn State was 11th in the Big Ten in net punting average last year (34.5 yards), so there's plenty of room for improvement in that department. As for the return game, there's plenty of room for improvement there, too. The Nittany Lions were last in the league in kickoff returns last season (18.1 yards per attempt) and ninth in punt returns (6.1 yards). Judging by the Blue-White Game, it looks as though true freshman Richy Anderson is going to get a shot at solving the first of those two problems. There was no punting in the game, so it's unclear who, if anyone, will challenge punt returner Jesse Della Valle. LAYER OF THE GAME Running back Akeel Lynch made his debut in front of the fans at Beaver Stadium on April 20 and certainly didn't disappoint. With his 83 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries, he showed the size, speed and strength about which program observers were raving throughout spring practice. PLAY OF THE GAME Tight end Brent Wilkerson hauled in a touchdown reception in the back of the end zone from quarterback Steven Bench late in the third quarter. BEST PASS Quarterback Tyler Ferguson avoided pressure as he dropped back and connected with tight end Jesse James 20 yards downfield late in the second quarter. The throw was a bullet and landed safely in James' hands. BEST RUN Early in the second quarter, Lynch reeled off a 27-yard carry down the left sideline. Backup Deron Thompson's big carry down the right sideline off a draw late in the third quarter was impressive, too. BEST CATCH James found Ferguson's wobbly deep pass in the north end zone to give the White team a muchneeded touchdown early in the second quarter. True freshman Richy Anderson's touchdown reception at P

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