Blue White Illustrated

Strength staff helps transfers get up and running A ssessing the state of Penn State's de- fensive line after losing three starters to the NFL Draft this off-season, strength and conditioning coordinator Dwight Galt offered a cautiously opti- mistic take on what's coming. The Nit- tany Lions brought in defensive end Arnold Ebiketie from Temple and defen- sive tackle Derrick Tangelo from Duke in January, and Galt was pleased with what he saw of the two during winter work- outs. "[They] have been phenomenal," Galt said. "These are two guys who are going to step in and could potentially be great contributors for us. They're both older guys, but they're very athletic, they're very mature, they're very hard-working, and they're very driven. And the best thing is, they fit right in. Derrick did a great job in the power clean [in a recent drill], and you would never know he had only been here for eight weeks. He's just treating it like he's one of the guys al- ready." With the NCAA having loosened its transfer restrictions, schools like Penn State are going to be welcoming more and more players from the collegiate ranks, rather than simply building their rosters through the traditional recruit- ing process. The influx of transfers is likely to provide new challenges for Galt and his staff, as the strength coaches will now have to remake a variety of conditioning elements that transfers will be bringing from their former colle- giate experiences. "We go ahead and spend a couple of weeks getting them integrated in, and then I kind of leave any past training history out of it for them. And then we start diving in a little bit, just for my knowledge and everything," Galt ex- plained. "It's been a big adjustment for them. It's been a very big adjustment for [Ebiketie and Tangelo]." In addition to the two defensive line- men, Penn State has welcomed former Baylor running back John Lovett and former South Carolina cornerback Johnny Dixon this winter. Offensive lineman Eric Wilson will join those players at University Park this spring after finishing up work on his under- graduate degree at Harvard. Speaking only of the two new defen- sive linemen, Galt said that even though the process can be abrupt and challeng- ing given the different standards that were in place at their previous schools, Ebiketie and Tangelo have both made a successful transition to Penn State. "Arnold's background is a little differ- ent in that I think they had a different situation [at Temple], a little more simi- lar to ours than they did down at Duke," Galt said. "But Arnold came in, and he wasn't the typical weight of a Penn State D-end. He's already gained seven pounds in the short time he's been here, and he's an incredible athlete. So he's blossoming big-time with the type of training that we have. "And then I can say the same about Derrick. Derrick came in and it took him a couple of weeks to get into the program for some other health reasons, and once he came into the program it's been phe- nomenal. He gained some weight as well. He's up to about 305 right now. But he put 65 pounds on his power clean just in the short time that he's been here. He was able to clean 350 and has done a nice job." Tangelo is listed at 6-foot-2, 306 pounds on Penn State's spring roster, while Ebiketie checks in at 6-3, 244. Galt said Tangelo has had to overcome some challenges since arriving at PSU. "It's been a really big transition for him [in] the weight room, but especially those 14 running workouts [during the winter]," Galt said. "We get a lot of work done in a short period of time. Our guys get in shape pretty quickly when they come in here as freshmen, but if you're an older player, that can be an adjust- ment. "To Derrick's credit, though, he's re- ally done a great job catching on, and the guys have been very supportive of him and he's almost there… so we feel good about it." ■ | NEW ARRIVAL Dixon, a cornerback who started his ca- reer at South Car- olina, is one of three off-season trans- fers to join the Nit- tany Lions' defense this spring. Photo by Mark Selders/ Penn State Athlet- ics

• Cover