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going to do it. I didn't know what it was going to entail," he said. "I also didn't know how I would find a way to finan- cially support my decision. I'm the youngest of seven, and my mother has been able to take care of all of us playing both [parental] roles. So there was a lot that went into that decision. But one thing that a lot of people would say about me is that I'm hard-headed when I want something. I'm going to find a way to make it happen. "So I was blessed to have people in my corner who supported me. I'm a firm be- liever that it takes a village, and in my sit- uation, it took a village to support me and come to my aid." There were on-field difficulties, too. He began his American high school career as a safety, but because he was accustomed to playing on a wider field with more fre- quent passing, he didn't have a feel for where he was supposed to line up. "I was like 25 yards away from the ball, and my coach would always look at me and be like, 'Why are you so far away?' " he re- called. "It took some time for me to get adjusted and finally get comfortable and get a good feel for the game. "But once it clicked, that's when I started feeling like myself, getting back to myself and making those plays that al- lowed me to start generating some atten- tion from collegiate coaches." Luketa ended up enjoying a great career with the Lakers, serving three seasons as a team captain, winning Class AAA De- fensive Player of the Year honors from the Pennsylvania Football News following his senior season and earning 32 scholarship offers. He chose Penn State from a list of suitors that included schools in all of the Power Five conferences, as well as a few of Group of Five elites and a handful of Ivies. In his first two seasons with the Nittany Lions, he showed athleticism and versa- tility, excelling at both the Will and Mike linebacker spots, and also on special teams. Last September at Maryland, he received an extended audition at the Will outside linebacker spot when Parsons was ejected in the first half on a targeting call. Luketa finished the game with five tackles and a pass breakup, impressing teammates and coaches. Said Pry, "Jesse stepped up and owned that moment and had a big-time game and a really good performance for our unit." The Nittany Lions are going to need more of that with Parsons gone. Fortu- nately for Pry, Luketa spent the extended off-season preparing as though his mo- ment was about to arrive. Stuck at home in Canada early in the quarantine, he worked out with NHL stars Claude Giroux and Ben Hutton and pored over film of his Penn State predecessors. He started with Mike Hull, then moved on to Jason Cabinda, then went back to watch even more film of Hull. He also watched film of Deion Barnes, a former Nittany Lion defensive end who recently rejoined the program as a graduate assistant. He even watched film of Parsons to see what elements of the consensus All-Ameri- can's game he might be able to add to his. The extensive film work is going to allow Luketa to be "the best version of myself," he said. "Being a diligent student of the game is going to make me a better player. Once the game slows down for me up here, psychologically, it's like stealing candy from a baby out there on the field." Brooks said he's seen the evidence of >> It remains to be seen how much playing time will be available for Penn State's three true freshman lineback- ers this season, but Ellis Brooks and fellow upperclassman Jesse Luketa said they've liked what they've seen from newcomers Zuriah Fisher, Cur- tis Jacobs and Tyler Elsdon. "Zuriah is a very instinctual kid, very long arms, can run well. I'm very excited to see him play," Brooks said. "Curtis is a very versatile player, played a lot of positions in high school, so you can see his range on the 3eld, especially at the linebacker position. Tyler is an in-state kid, loves to learn. I can tell he wants to be a student of the game, and I'm ex- cited to see his maturity as he goes along." Added Luketa, "The young guys, Curt, Ty and Zuriah, they're looking good. Now it's going to be about grasping the playbook comfortably and playing at a high level and doing what they have to do to earn an op- portunity to play on the 3eld." One potential route to early playing time – not just for the linebackers, but for all the freshmen – will be spe- cial teams, especially since the up- coming season won't cost players a year of eligibility. Luketa has been a key special teams player for the Nit- tany Lions and knows that the kick- ing game can be a valuable proving ground. "We have a culture where we take special teams seriously," he said. "I had an opportunity to get my feet wet as a freshman. I didn't really get those prime time snaps at the linebacker position, but what I did have was an opportunity to showcase my abilities, go down on kicko4s, for example. … I'm trying to show them that there's a di4erent way to approach special teams. We're going to have fun here, we're going to bring a di4erent swag to it. "I also emphasize that you see cer- tain guys in the [NFL] who have no business being there but they're there because they're diligent special teams players who people can depend upon. And at the same time, they're getting paid. They've got mouths to feed. So I try to embrace the culture and [talk to] the young guys, and they're em- bracing it." –M.H. Freshman LBs impress veterans

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