Blue White Illustrated

1 Kalen King is the real deal. Period. James Franklin had spoken highly of the young cornerback all spring, even calling him "the most advanced fresh- man" the staff had brought in since coming to Penn State. When I heard that, I thought it was a lot of pressure to put on this kid, but his classmates and the media got an opportunity to see why the staff is so confident. You've heard about his two intercep- tions, and both were nice plays. But it was all the other stuff that impressed me the most. His tackling was excellent, his coverage was consistent. He looked like someone who's been in the program for a few years. We watched multiple defen- sive backs get caught out of position or miss tackles, yet I can't think of any glaring mistakes that King made. He also played more than just about any other defensive back, rotating with the first- and second-team defensive units. It's clear he's going to play a lot this coming season. 2 After a season that will be remem- bered for poor quarterback play, there wasn't a whole lot that made you think Sean Clifford and the others in that room are ready to turn the cor- ner. Both Clifford and backup Ta'Quan Roberson threw interceptions, and they were bad interceptions, too. Both of those passes shouldn't have been thrown. All three quarterbacks were also sacked at least once. Penn State even went under center – which it has never really done under Franklin – and Clif- ford immediately fumbled the snap. He recovered it, but fumbles were obviously a problem last year. It wasn't all bad, however. Clifford had a few nice passes to Cam Sullivan- Brown and Tyler Warren. The Sullivan- Brown pass was about a 40-yard fade down the sideline that set up a field goal. A few drives later, Roberson led a nice drive all the way from the 1-yard line, finding Malick Meiga for 20-plus yards, then Warren the next play for 15 yards. 3 There were a few players who I thought stood out. New defensive end Arnold Ebiketie had a very good day, getting pressure on the quarterback at least three times. He caused some prob- lems for Caedan Wallace, who is ex- pected to be a pretty good tackle for the Lions this year. We saw Ebiketie in a stand-up role more often than not, and it's a wise move because his burst is legit. Nick Tarburton also caused a fum- ble and did a solid job keeping contain. Overall, I was impressed with just about everyone on the defensive line. I thought that unit played well. As men- tioned above, Warren had a few nice catches from both Clifford and Rober- son. Fans won't have to worry about the tight ends this year. ■ 1 Curtis Jacobs continues to stand out as an exceptional football player. While he's known as a coverage line- backer, Jacobs was active around the line of scrimmage, with two would-be sacks of Sean Clifford at the goal line, and an- other for a safety in a later period. While he was a free rusher both times, he timed his blitz very well and made the most of the play design to get points for the de- fense. He also had a great run-blitz to tackle John Lovett in the backfield. It's early to anoint anyone a savior, but Jacobs could be one of the missing pieces for a defense that struggled to cover the field last season. He has an affinity for instinctive plays and is showing that he can be a presence in the run game as well as in the passing game as a blitzer. His movement skills in cov- erage are superb and his ability to recog- nize and react to routes is also very good. Having a player who can make positive plays in every phase of the game would give Brent Pry another versatile chess piece to use creatively. 2 Keyvone Lee looked notably quicker this spring and much more confident on the field. He took a back- field pass 20 yards, down to the 2-yard line, beating Jonathan Sutherland in man coverage and breaking two tackles along the way. It's the second weekend in a row that Lee has been a standout on offense. He's notably quicker through the offensive line and is very decisive with his cuts when he finds his read. If there was one glaring weakness in his game in 2020, it was that he was an up- right runner who was robotic in his mo- tions at times. This spring, he looks more dynamic and fluid in his movements. Meanwhile, he's maintained his ability to lower his shoulder at the end of runs, making him tantalizingly close to what you might think of as a feature back. 3 Ta'Quan Roberson struggled de- spite not throwing an interception during the live scrimmage period. What stood out most during the evening was his erratic downfield accuracy and ball placement. On a third-down play from roughly the 40-yard line, Roberson found Marquis Wilson breaking free from coverage toward the pylon. Unfor- tunately for the offense, Roberson dou- ble-clutched on the throw and didn't release the ball when he saw the route develop. If he had, he might have had a beautiful touchdown. Instead, he took an extra hitch and released an inaccurate pass out of rhythm that sailed over the head of all parties involved. In total, Roberson had zero on-target balls on passes 15 yards or more down- field. It was a blow to the Penn State of- fensive depth chart, which is searching for answers outside of Clifford, who had a low-key night. ■ O P E N P R A C T I C E T A K E A W A Y S A P R I L 1 7 S E S S I O N B Y R Y A N S N Y D E R A P R I L 2 3 S E S S I O N B Y T H O M A S F R A N K C A R R

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