Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1305106
last year," he said, "so we've all been try- ing to get a lot of JUGS work." Added Franklin, "One of the things that we work on very hard with all of the de- fensive backs is those guys understanding and buying into getting on the JUGS ma- chine and catching as many balls as pos- sible. Because, at the end of the day, defending the pass and pass breakups are great, but the guys who are most impact- ful and the guys who have an opportunity to really change our season here at Penn State, and also change the trajec- tory of their careers at the next level, are guys who can create in- terceptions and even score on defense. Tariq has the ability to do that, and we've really been emphasizing that. So I think the next step for our defense is not only to challenge more routes, but also to have the confidence to go make the play and actually in- tercept the ball." With three career interceptions, 21 passes defended and 10 tackles for loss, Castro-Fields did enough in his first three seasons to consider leaving early for the NFL. He said that when the 2020 sea- son was in limbo, he weighed his options and thought about moving on. But he ul- timately chose to return, and the coach- ing staff is grateful that he did. "He's such a tremendous young man," Pry said. "I consider him the total pack- age. He wants to improve the physical piece of his game, which I think he's doing. He's just very mindful, very con- scientious. He's got a great skill set, he's got length, he can run, he's a student of the game." Castro-Fields is using those skills to help the Nittany Lions improve their pass defense and also to enhance his draft re- sume. It's a win-win scenario, and while there were a few weeks in which it didn't seem as though he would get that chance, he's happy with the way things worked out. "I'm just grateful that I get another op- portunity to strap up the pads and prac- tice and play," he said. "It's been a while, so I'm extremely excited for sure." ■ THE HOT CORNER Joey Porter Jr. has high hopes for his first full season as a member of the Nittany Lions' secondary | J oey Porter Jr. has a plan for his life a9er he wraps up his Penn State foot- ball career. Porter, a redshirt freshman corner- back for the Nittany Lions, wants to take a leadership role in his mother's ef- forts to help the special needs commu- nity. In 2003, Christy Porter started the Jasmine Nyree Day Center. Naming it a9er her second daughter, Christy opened the center to provide parents in Kern County, Calif., with the kind of daycare resources that she wasn't able to 7nd when Jasmine was diagnosed with autism at age 2. Five years later, she launched the Jasmine Nyree Educa- tional Center. More recently, she and her husband, former Steelers All-Pro linebacker Joey Porter Sr., bought the 180,000-square-foot Holy Innocents Parish in Pittsburgh's Sheraden neigh- borhood with the intent of turning it into a community center o8ering serv- ices for preschoolers, school-age youth and adults. Joey Jr. is majoring in special educa- RISING STAR Porter leaves with corner- backs coach Terry Smith following a practice session last season. He was listed as a first-team CB heading into the 2020 season. Photo by Ryan Snyder