Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1294210
Will OLB spot, it will erode some of the team's depth in the middle. Brooks is a seasoned veteran as he heads into his redshirt junior year, having seen action in 26 games and made 69 tackles over the past two seasons. But behind him is true freshman Tyler Elsdon. The Lions are taking a look at Charlie Katshir at the spot, and it wouldn't be surprising if that turns out to be a permanent move. SECONDARY WHAT WE SAID IN AUGUST "Penn State wants more interceptions from its sec- ondary. A year ago, opponents at- tempted 451 passes in 13 games, and the Nittany Lions' defense pulled in only 10 picks. [The Lions] came up with take- aways on only 2.12 percent of oppo- nents' passes, ranking 88th in the country. They intend to improve on that number this season, and they'll be lean- ing on an influx of young, ball-hawking players in the cornerbacks room, plus the return of a healthy veteran in [Tariq] Castro-Fields." – Nate Bauer WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE Penn State revealed in August that cornerback Donovan Johnson had suffered an injury that will force him to miss the 2020 sea- son. The redshirt junior had been ex- pected to vie for the vacancy at cornerback opposite Castro-Fields. Also, freshman defensive backs Dae- quan Hardy and Joseph Johnson III were charged with misdemeanors alongside Dixon after police found marijuana in their apartment. Whether the team im- poses any disciplinary measures re- mains to be seen. OUTLOOK Most of the Nittany Lions' top performers here are either in the very early stages of their college careers (Keaton Ellis, Marquis Wilson, Joey Porter Jr.), are not yet on the NFL's radar (Jonathan Sutherland) or still have an opportunity to substantially improve their draft positioning (Castro-Fields, Jaquan Brisker, Lamont Wade). So while there had been some speculation about whether Wade and/or Castro-Fields might opt out of a winter season, it ap- peared as of this writing that everyone was on board for the league's anticipated October start. SPECIAL TEAMS WHAT WE SAID IN AUGUST "The Nit- tany Lions should be in good shape in the kicking game. The biggest holes are at punter and punt returner, and while spring practice might have gone a long way toward clarifying the situation at both positions, Penn State does appear to have very promising players waiting to take over both spots." – Matt Herb WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE All quiet here. The Lions have gotten a commit- ment from graduate transfer punter Bar- ney Amor, an All-Patriot League per- former at Colgate last season, but he isn't expected to enroll until the spring semester. OUTLOOK The situation remains largely unchanged. It's unknown how much time the Lions devoted to the kicking game during the early part of September when they were constrained by the NCAA's 12-hour limit. But coordinator Joe Lorig has frequently hailed Franklin's willingness to prioritize the special teams units, so we're going to assume that this wasn't just an afterthought. ■ >> WILL POWER Luketa is set to start for Penn State at the Will outside line- backer spot fol- lowing Parsons' decision to opt out of the 2020 season. Photo by Ryan Snyder