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to be there when Penn State begins its season in September. But nothing is locked in at this point. And something else to consider is that Harvard transfer Eric Wilson is set to arrive in the coming months. The highly regarded Wilson fig- ures to contend for a significant role, maybe even a starting spot, after win- ning All-Ivy League honors with the Crimson in 2019. He had originally planned to join Auburn as a graduate transfer but backed out when Gus Malzahn was fired. Trautwein prizes versatility, and he spent the spring looking at different play- ers at different spots, trying to find the most effective combinations. With the season opener still more than four months away, the only thing that's guaranteed is that the second-year Penn State assistant coach is going to keep an open mind. "What you're going to see vs. Wiscon- sin is that the best five will go out there," Trautwein said. "During that game, I'm going to play the guys who are ready. You might see 10 guys out on that field when it's all said and done. And you're going to see us be 1-0." DEFENSIVE LINE The Nittany Lions welcomed a pair of transfers this spring, with Arnold Ebiketie in contention for a starting defensive end spot and Derrick Tangelo set to make an impact at the three-technique tackle position. Defensive line coach John Scott Jr. said the Lions "were very, very fortunate that we were able to beat some other high- level people to get [Ebiketie's] services." It's easy to understand Scott's relief. Penn State lost both of last season's starters at defensive end and will be looking for the Silver Spring, Md., native to make an im- mediate impact this fall. Ebiketie was one of the stars of the April 17 scrimmage, as he was able to use his impressive quick- ness to make plays in the backfield. One improvement that Franklin would like to see in the coming months is for his projected starters at defensive end to add some weight. Both Ebiketie and Adisa Isaac are listed at 244 pounds on the cur- rent roster. "You'd like to see them, come next sea- son, be in the mid- to high 250s so that they can play the complete season over 250 pounds," Franklin said. "Both of them have a history of losing weight as the sea- son goes on. For them to be the every- down defensive ends that we need them to be [they'll need to add weight]. But we've been pleased with them." Other defensive ends who elicited praise from the coaching staff this spring were Smith Vilbert and Nick Tarburton. In addition, the Lions have moved Class of 2020 linebacker Zuriah Fisher to de- fensive end, and Rodney McGraw was one of seven Class of 2021 prospects to enroll in January. One other noteworthy news item to come out of spring practice was that Franklin said the coaches have looked at moving Jesse Luketa around in the defensive scheme. Luketa, who sat out spring drills with what appeared to be an arm or shoul- der injury, has spent his entire college ca- reer at linebacker. But at 255 pounds, he certainly has the size to play defensive end. Might we see him there for at least a hand- ful of snaps this fall? Stay tuned. At defensive tackle, Scott said he liked what he saw of Tangelo, a former Duke standout who arrived at Penn State over the winter. Tangelo "is really quick," Scott said. "He's played big-time football down at Duke with some good guys, and he has an understanding and maturity about him that is going to help our football team. I'm so excited about [the two DL transfers]. I don't know if we could have gotten, from a personality standpoint, from a production standpoint, any better transfers than those two coming in here." LINEBACKER As expected, Penn State made some moves here, switching Bran- don Smith from the Sam to the Will out- side linebacker spot, while shifting Luketa from the Will to the Mike position and prepping Curtis Jacobs to take over at Sam. The coaches are hoping that those changes will help revitalize a position group that struggled in 2020, particularly at the start of the season. Whatever else the staff may have planned for him, Luketa is certainly going to see plenty of snaps at middle line- backer. Indeed, the switch from Will to Mike figures to work out very well for him, as he appears better suited for mid- dle linebacker, a position he would have played last year had Micah Parsons not opted out. As for Smith, he could be poised for a big boost in productivity with the move to a box linebacker spot. Even last year, when he was having to make plays in space at the Sam position, he was a threat to wreak havoc at the line of scrimmage, leading the team with eight tackles for loss. With a full-time move to Will, he figures to have a better chance of fully capitalizing on his skill set. "For the Sam, you're more like a hybrid safety," Smith explained. "You're [often] in coverage. You're not really in the run game as much, depending on the call. So me being in the box more, there are a lot of things that I have to look for as far as the different line movements and recog- nizing whether it's power-counter or any type of misdirection type stuff. So really, those just have been the little differences between me being out of Sam and me being at Will now." One guy who appears sold on the former four-star prospect as a box linebacker is Seider. Smith "is what [Linebacker U] is all about" PSU's running backs coach tweeted on April 10. "His growth from last year to now is scary. Good luck stop- ping him!!" Meanwhile, Jacobs appears to have a lot to offer at the Sam position, even though he's still a relative newcomer to lineback- ing. In high school, the 6-foot-1, 227- pounder played a variety of positions on both offense and defense, everything from wide receiver to defensive end to safety. As a true freshman at Penn State, he saw action in eight games, largely on special teams but also at outside line- backer. It turned out that his prep career had prepared him well for what Penn State wanted him to do. "He had a defensive back type back- ground in high school," Smith said. "His movements and everything definitely show that he's meant for that position." While those changes appear likely to

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