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defensive e ort last year, but Smith def- initely had his moments, leading the team with eight tackles for loss and win- ning the coaching sta 's Defensive Player of the Week honor aer three games. Now he's set to bring that play- making ability to a position that better suits his skills. Aer a practice session this past spring, running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider tweeted that Smith had made huge strides. "His growth from last year to now is scary," Seider tweeted. "Good luck stopping him!!" Luketa was also miscast last year, hav- ing to start at the Will spot in place of Parsons. He should fare better in the middle, where James Franklin has said that Luketa and Brooks will essentially be co-starters. We didn't get much of a chance this spring to see how that rota- tion might work, as Luketa was out of action with an apparent arm or shoulder injury. But it wouldn't be surprising to see Brooks get the starting nod, with Luketa playing early and oen in relief. Brooks is coming o a redshirt junior season in which he started all nine games and .nished with a team-best 60 tackles. The 6-3, 251-pound Luketa is also ex- pected to get some reps at defensive end, a position where the Lions don't have much experience returning. So it's pos- sible that the senior won't be a full-time linebacker this fall. Whatever role Brent Pry and the defensive coaching sta have in store for him, it's likely to be a better .t than last year when Parsons' exit forced the coaching sta to impro- vise. With Smith and Luketa changing posi- tions, Jacobs will have a chance to shine at the Sam spot. Athletically, he seems like an excellent .t. Indeed, athleticism is at the top of his list when he talks about the attributes he brings to the position. "Speed to the ball, at- tacking the ball in the air, doing all that stu , all those things, really," he said. Pry said during spring drills that he was satis.ed with the overall depth of the linebacker corps, but it's not hard to imagine a scenario in which an injury or two causes some major problems. While the starting threesome looks formidable, and while the Lions do appear to be three-deep in the middle with Brooks, Luketa and Elsdon all returning, the outside linebacker spots look awfully thin. Buddin is a true freshman, while Katshir has had injury problems and is coming o a 2020 season in which he played in only three games. One mitigating factor is that Penn State is likely to .nd itself using a nickel package in many down-and-distance situations given the way in which high-powered passing at- tacks have proliferated through- out college football. If the Nittany Lions frequently .nd themselves using a 4-2-5 align- ment, the lack of depth at out- side linebacker won't be the issue it might appear to be at .rst blush. Pry said last year that he wasn't happy with the lineback- ers' tackling. It was part of a broader critique of the defense, which seemed out of sorts for much of the season's .rst half. If there's going to be a turnaround this year, the linebackers will have to be a big part of it, and Pry is working to en- sure that they are. "We've got to continue to build our identity as a defense," he said. "Part of that right now is accountability. We weren't very accountable last fall. Guys too oen were not playing within the framework of the defense. That's on me, that's on the guys, and we're all taking ownership, and we're committed to being more accountable with everything right now, not just on that .eld but with the details o the .eld and in the class- room, doing the things that are asked of us. I think we're making big strides there, but all summer long, that's going to be a point of emphasis." –M.H. >> TEAM LEADER Brooks paced the Penn State de- fense last season with 60 tackles, in- cluding 5.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Photo by Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics

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