Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1439730
3 4 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Poindexter and new defensive coordi- nator Manny Diaz. ZURIAH FISHER | DE While Penn State leaned heavily on seniors Arnold Ebiketie and Jesse Luketa and redshirt junior Nick Tarburton, the Lions also relied on defensive ends who were further down the depth chart in the final games of the regular season. Fisher, a 6-3, 260-pound redshirt freshman from Aliquippa, Pa., was seeing the most extensive action of his young career. He played in just one game as a true freshman in 2020 but saw snaps in seven games this season, in part because the Lions' depth had been eroded by injuries, including a season- ender that kept projected starter Adisa Isaac on the sideline all year. Under the watchful eye of strength and conditioning coach Dwight Galt, Fisher has filled out some during his first two years on campus, and it ap- pears he still has room to grow. Indeed, adding even more weight this offseason would go a long way toward making him a potential starter next fall. The Lions will need to replace Ebiketie, at the very least, at that spot. As for this past season, Fisher was one of the players who needed to step up, Franklin said. He did just that while see- ing more snaps with each passing week. "Zuriah Fisher's development is go- ing to continue to be important for us," Franklin said. "We have typically been five-deep at D-tackle, and we've typi- cally been five-deep at defensive end, and that has not been the case this year with injuries, especially when you lose multiple starters like PJ Mustipher and Adisa Isaac. "When that happens, obviously other guys need to step up and their reps need to increase, and their experience and their confidence needs to grow as the season goes on." ■ Small Freshman Class Has Limited Impact On Lions' 2021 Season This past offseason, Penn State brought in the smallest recruiting class of the James Franklin era, signing only 16 players in December and Febru- ary. Of those players, two were already gone by the time the 2021 season began, with offensive lineman Nate Bruce leaving school in the spring and later resurfacing at Lackawanna College, and receiver Lonnie White Jr. opt- ing to pursue a professional baseball career after being selected with the 64th overall pick of the MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The remaining 14 scholarship freshmen mostly contributed behind the scenes this past fall. Nine players in Penn State's 2021 recruiting class saw action, but cornerback Kalen King was the only one to play in every regular-season game, and only one of his classmates — safety Jaylen Reed — had played in enough games to use up a year of eligibility. Two other freshmen — linebackers Kobe King and Jamari Buddin — were at the four- game threshold heading into the postseason, meaning that if they played in the Outback Bowl, they too would forsake their ability to redshirt. Here's a breakdown of how much playing time each of the prospects in Penn State's 2021 recruiting class saw this fall: PLAYER POS GAMES* 2022 ELIG. Jamari Buddin LB 4 TBD Liam Clifford WR 0 R-Fr. Jeffrey Davis Jr. CB 0 R-Fr. Khalil Dinkins TE 1 R-Fr. Kalen King CB 12 So. Kobe King LB 4 TBD Rodney McGraw DE 0 R-Fr. Jaylen Reed S 7 Soph. Sander Sahaydak PK 0 R-Fr. Landon Tengwall OT 2 R-Fr. Davon Townley Jr. DE 0 R-Fr. Christian Veilleux QB 1 R-Fr. Harrison Wallace III WR 2 R-Fr. Zakee Wheatley S 3 R-Fr. * Does not include Outback Bowl Safety Jaylen Reed saw action in seven games during the regular season, playing primarily on special teams and making four tackles. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL