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our defensive players are in catching the ball, the more willing they're going to be to go for the pick. "If we can increase our turnover ratio and do a better job with picks and things like that – and I'm not talking about making unbelievable catches, just make the ones you're supposed to – then that is going to really help us. I think you can take a good defense and become great, or a great defense and become elite. If we did nothing different but increased our turnovers next year, it would have a dra- matic impact on our defense, and obvi- ously on our offense as well." Franklin turned out to be right. In fact, Penn State's 2017 campaign was the one recent season in which the turnover stats were decisively in its favor. The Nittany Lions finished third in the Big Ten in takeaways with 25, and their +12 turnover margin was the league's best, helping to account for the team's 11-2 record. Two years later, there was a less dramatic uptick, but an uptick nonetheless, as PSU collected 22 take- aways and finished with a +8 turnover margin. And again it finished 11-2. Now the Nittany Lions find them- selves hoping they have the personnel to recreate that success. Maybe they do. King had four interceptions at Cass Tech even though opposing quarterbacks rarely threw in his direction, and as im- pressive as he's been in his short tenure at Penn State, he's probably not going to be a starter this coming fall. That's be- cause the Lions have two All-Big Ten cornerbacks in Tariq Castro-Fields and Joey Porter Jr., and they have prioritized the position in recent recruiting classes, landing coveted talents like Keaton Ellis and Marquis Wilson. They've also brought in a potential impact player in South Carolina transfer Johnny Dixon. The Lions are so deep at cornerback that Wilson was moved to wide receiver late in spring practice, a move that may end up being permanent, while Ellis got some reps at safety. Given the personnel PSU returns at both cornerback and safety, with Jaquan Brisker, Jonathan Sutherland and Ji'Ayir Brown back at the latter positions, it was hardly surprising to hear Jack Ham gush about the potential of the defensive backfield during Penn State's radio was plenty of shared responsibility for the problems, and he made clear what the offense's objectives would need to be to rectify the issues. "When you talk about the quarterback position, there are turnovers that you would say were poor throws. There are turnovers that you would say are poor decisions. There are turnovers where the ball goes off the re- ceiver's hand and gets picked, or a batted-down ball at the line of scrimmage [is inter- cepted]," Franklin said in November. "So what happens is, when you take those interceptions, you're also kind of divid- ing it up. Was this purely on the quarter- back, or did the pressure cause the interception? Was this purely on the quarterback, or did a hit cause that, or a lack of detail in the route? It could be the quarterback being protected, he gets strip-sacked. A fumble because of a lack of ball security to me is different from a defender who puts his hand directly on the ball, his head directly on the ball. "I think it's not strictly just the turnover and who gets that turnover in the stat sheet. Let's make sure that we truly understand the scheme. Let's make sure that we truly understand what's being asked and where the fault lies. Is it in the coaches with the call, in the detail of the route, in the protection and the decision? We do that with all of them, because for you to correct a problem, the first thing you have to do is identify what the issue was." Throughout spring practice, Penn State's offensive players were facing a defense that was eager to make up for its own turnover deficiencies last sea- son. But even taking that into account, Yurich was determined to see improve- ment. His goals were straightforward throughout the spring: "Minimizing the turnovers, winning the turnover battle, always giving the defense a long field, especially our defense here at Penn State," he said. "If we can give them a long field every time and never give them a short field, and we just take care of that football, that's a big part of what we'll do from a philosophy and emphasis standpoint on ball secu- rity." ■ HOLDING ON Yurcich was unhappy with the turnovers Penn State committed in the first of its open prac- tices. Photo by Mark Selders/ Penn State Athletics

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