Blue White Illustrated

of buzz before Saturday's scrimmage, and it only intensified with his out- standing public debut. "He is physically ready," Franklin said. "He's a guy who came in and was already physically developed from a weight standpoint and a strength standpoint. He's also very mature, him and his twin brother [Kobe]. They're both very mature. They know how to prepare, they know how to compete, they know how to work. They went to one of the most successful high school programs in the United States, Cass Tech. That got them prepared for the level of competition. They played in a really good league in Detroit. "And on top of that, he's got ball skills. You want to recruit guys who can play both sides of the ball. He's got tremen- dous confidence in his talents, and he's got ball skills." Penn State will be hoping that King and another new cornerback, South Carolina transfer Johnny Dixon, can help the team evoke memories of its great de- fensive performances of the past. The Lions added those players to a secondary that was already deep in talent, with cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields and safety Jaquan Brisker opting to return for their final seasons. Just how deep are the Nittany Lions? Deep enough that they were willing to try two cornerbacks from their 2019 re- cruiting class at new positions. Marquis Wilson got a tryout on offense this spring, seeing action at wide receiver in both of the open practices, while class- mate Keaton Ellis played safety in the April 23 practice. Those experiments are testaments to the quick development of King and Dixon. Coming off his true freshman season, Wilson had looked like a rising defensive star. Now, the Lions are so well-stocked in the secondary that they can afford to try him on the other side of the ball. During Penn State's radio call of the first scrimmage, analyst Jack Ham said that the unit as a whole "has a chance to be one of the best secondaries Penn State has ever had." In addition to evoking memories of their defense's storied past, the Nittany Lions are looking to evoke memories of a packed, raucous Beaver Stadium. The crowds they drew for their two open practices, encouraging though they were, only hinted at what Franklin and Penn State's administration are hoping will be possible in the fall. "Being in that stadium felt great," he said. "I can't image what it will be like to get back to what we were averaging the two years before the pandemic. I think we averaged 106,000 fans for those two years." Penn State, he said, is eager to do "whatever we have to do to get that sta- dium back full – that's for our commu- nity, that's for the state of Pennsylvania, that's for our university, that's for our athletic department and obviously that's for our football program. So anybody who is comfortable getting a vaccine, let's get the vaccine so we can get as many people in the stadium as we possi- bly can and try to get back to normal." ■ got 9exibility. He's got some safety qualities, he's got corner qualities, he's playing some at the nickel spot. He's going to play a lot of football for us." Pry described Ebiketie as having "great takeo:, great rush ability. He's got a lot of qualities. He's not as long as some of the guys we've had, but he's got a lot of those same qualities. He's got good athleticism, he can bend. He's got some things that remind me of Shaka [Toney] a little bit, some things that remind me of some guys we've had. He's just a mature guy who is a good student of the game and has a good skill set as well. So he's going to play a lot of football also." Pry didn't speci8cally address Tan- gelo's performance this spring, but the Duke transfer appeared in a rotation of defensive tackles that included P.J. Mustipher, Hakeem Beamon, Coziah Izzard, Fatorma Mulbah and Dvon El- lies, among others. The rotation at de- fensive end included Ebiketie, Adisa Isaac, Nick Tarburton, Amin Vanover, Smith Vilbert and Zuriah Fisher, among others. One returning player who earned ef- fusive praise from Pry was safety Jaquan Brisker. The 8;h-year senior played sparingly (as did veteran cor- nerback Tariq Castro-Fields) but did have a fumble recovery. "Brisk is a guy who could play corner, 8eld safety, boundary safety and nickel," Pry said. "And if we had an- other year a;er this one, we'd play him some at Will linebacker, too. He can do it all. He's got a great skill set. He's got corner feet and hips and speed, but he's got a safety body, and he's physical and can mix it up in the run game as well as be one of our best cover players. I'm super excited that he returned. He is a tremendous worker." The Nittany Lions must replace La- mont Wade at the opposite safety po- sition, but Pry said he's pleased with the overall depth at the position group. "I think right now at safety, between Jon Sutherland and Ji'Ayir Brown, you've got Brisker back there, you've got Tyler Rudolph, who I'm very ex- cited about. He's got a great skill set, another guy with some corner quali- ties but a safety body," Pry said. "So I feel really good about what we're doing back there and the guys that we have. You always hope that you've got a nice two-deep. You want to have guys who you feel like if you put them out there you can win with them, and I think we've got a chance to have four safeties we can win with, which is ex- citing to me. There have been times we've only had three, and to be hon- est, there's been a time when we only had two. So we feel that way. We've got a chance to have some solid depth at that spot." ■

• Cover