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>> "I'm getting better in the run game," he said. "In the run game, my steps are better. Before, I was taking these elon- gated steps, I was rising up. That's why defenders were able to get in my chest. So I'm better with that. I'm moving more horizontally than vertically. "In my pass rush, I'm having more of a plan, I'm seeing the hands. It's not just a rush on the outside, because de- fenders, they start catching on to that and they decide to push you outward, so I'm taking inside moves as well. I've worked on my long arm and my bull rush, because you can't always rush on the outside. You have to apply [in- side] pressure sometimes, so I'm working on that. On my pre-snap reads, I'm getting better with forma- tions. My knowledge of the game, in every aspect I'm getting better." Oweh's freakish athleticism has given him a playmaking capacity that few can match. But the reason he's able to do the spectacular is that he's also willing to do the more mundane things that often go unnoticed. Some- times he ends up standing atop a quarterback. Other times, the play goes in another direction and one of his teammates ends up making the stop. Either way, Oweh's motor doesn't stop. "I feel like that's the most underrated thing that people don't notice about my game," he said. "I feel like I'm very productive. When I'm in there, I do my work, and I try to do it to my best abil- ity. I work, I run to the ball, I try to clean up plays. I just go out there and try to ball, you know? And I feel like on the snaps that I've gotten, I've been productive. I got 300-some snaps last year doing what I had to do. I feel like with the opportunity to have more, I can be even more productive." Having watched Oweh's prepara- tion, Luketa sees that as an inevitabil- ity. "He's going to go out there and do what he needs to do, and he's going to have fun doing it," the junior line- backer said. "Jayson Oweh is going to be a household name." ■ W hen reporters meet with Penn State's players and coaching staff ahead of every new season, one of the most com- mon questions is some variation of the following: "Which players might be in for breakout seasons?" Even with an unconventional setting for preseason media day – all interviews were conducted via Zoom during a three-day period rather than at Beaver Stadium on a single afternoon – that question was asked and answered again and again, with some Nittany Lions opting to pick out veterans who could be on the precipice of something big, while others chose to highlight youngsters who might play a bigger role than originally anticipated. Below is a compilation of many of those responses, as Penn State's players and staff gave their takes on who fans should be watching out for over the course of the 2020 season. BRENT PRY "It's just tough right now because, you know, these freshmen really, except for the few that showed up at midterms, they haven't had a chance to put the pads on, you know. Even for [the early enrollees], it was a winter workout. To see when the bullets really get flying and pads are popping, I think we'll be able to tell a little bit more about these new guys. Just from an athletic standpoint, a talent standpoint, there are certainly some guys who have jumped out, Curtis [Jacobs] being one of them, Coziah Iz- zard. There are just some guys who I think, right now at least you say, OK, we've got to give these guys a shot and see what they can do when the pads go on, because they're checking all the other boxes." NOAH CAIN "I feel like you all are going to be really impressed with KeAndre Lambert, a receiver. He's been nothing but great. He's been working hard – be- fore practice, after practice hitting the JUGS machine, always looking to get bet- ter. I've been real impressed with him on the field and I think he's going to make a big impact for us this year." JUDGE CULPEPPER "Off the top of my head, Hakeem Beamon is doing some great things. He's super fast. Great hands. I'm excited to see what he's going to do this year." CAM SULLIVAN-BROWN "[All the young wide receivers] have different styles and different flavors to their game. [KeAndre Lambert-Smith], Parker [Washington], Malick [Meiga], I like the different things they bring to the game. Parker is quick. KeAndre is competitive as hell. Malick is physical, and Jaden [Dottin] is fast and he'll go up and get the ball. I like all of their different styles." P.J. MUSTIPHER "Des Holmes on the of- fensive side of the ball. I go up against Des every day. It's a battle in the trenches. When we go against each other, I know I've got to be on my P's and Q's or I'm not going to win. I think he knows the same thing, so we've been battling out there in practice and now that we've got the pads on, we turned it up a notch as well. I think Des has the potential to be the best guard in America. Des has got the length, the strength and the size, and he has the right mindset to do it. I think that Des has worked his behind off since he's arrived on campus and I think it's going to pay dividends for him this season. There are a lot of guys who are working hard, and that's the most exciting part about this team this year." Young Nittany Lions earn praise from coaches, teammates |

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