Blue White Illustrated

Amos is coming off a sophomore season in which he intercepted two passes and had 2.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups, five passes defended and assisted on a sack. He received honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition from both the media and the coaches. Given those accolades, the expectations are even higher for the season ahead. Amos was moved from his starting cornerback spot over to safety early in spring practice. On the official depth chart that Penn State released last month, he appears as a starter at safety alongside fifth-year senior Malcolm Willis. Realistically, Amos is likely to line up at a variety of positions in the secondary based on the opponent and the matchup. In addition to stellar on-field performance, the Lions are looking for leadership from the often soft-spoken Amos. The team lost several of last year's strongest leaders to graduation and needs some of the more experienced returnees to step forward. "Every kid is different, and certain kids' leadership characteristics surface sooner than others," defensive coordinator John Butler said. "Obviously, the ideal situation in any organization is [when] some of your most talented and most productive performers are the ones leading the way, because those are the ones who the followers usually will listen to." Although unassuming in public, Amos gradually appears to be emerging from his shell, at least according to friends and teammates who have watched him open up a bit this summer. He is taking seriously the responsibility of guiding his inexperienced teammates, hoping to help bring along the younger players while continuing his own personal development. "Everybody has expectations to hold each other accountable," he said. "It's not about yelling at a teammate. It's about helping a teammate when they may be a little confused or might need a little pick-up. "I'm going to do my best, because I want to be great in the country. I'm holding myself accountable to my own I expectations of myself." | LETTERMEN RETURNING CB: Da'Quan Davis, Jordan Lucas, Jesse Della Valle, Trevor Williams; Saf.: Adrian Amos*, Ryan Keiser, Stephen Obeng-Agyapong*, Malcolm Willis* LETTERMEN LOST CB: Patrick Flanagan, Stephon Morris, Mike Wallace; Saf: Jake Fagnano RISING STAR Last year he was catching passes; this year Williams will be swatting them down. Or, better yet, intercepting them. Williams caught 10 passes a year ago as a receiver but was moved to cornerback this past spring due to a surplus of talent at the position. The move was an experiment, but Williams, a former high school defensive back, prospered at his new position and is listed as the starter on Penn State's summer depth chart. BIGGEST LOSS Only one starter departs: Morris. The Greenbelt, Md., native finished his senior season with a secondary-leading 60 tackles, five of which were for lost yardage, 1.5 sacks and five pass breakups. It's possible he'll be missed even more acutely in the media room than on the field. Dude was never short on quotes. NUMBERS GAME Amos's two interceptions last year were not only tops among Penn State's defensive backs but were the only ones the secondary produced. In addition, Penn State allowed 226.2 passing yards last year, eighth-best in the quarterback-deprived Big Ten. There's significant room for improvement, but the Nittany Lions are on the right path. This might be the deepest position group on the defense. OUTLOOK The Nittany Lions are likely to rely on a variety of personnel combinations in the defensive backfield this fall. While he still could play cornerback, Amos is listed at safety heading into preseason practice, and on Penn State's latest official depth chart CORNERBACK NO 10 24 12 NAME Trevor Williams Anthony Smith Jordan Smith OR YR So. Fr. Fr. HT 6-1 6-0 5-11 WT 189 187 184 Sr. Jr. So. Fr. 5-11 6-1 6-1 6-0 213 205 194 176 SAFETY 1 23 39 2 Malcolm Willis OR Ryan Keiser Jesse Della Valle Jake Kiley SAFETY 4 7 6 Adrian Amos Jr. S. Obeng-Agyapong Sr. Malik Golden Fr. 6-0 211 5-10 207 6-1 193 CORNERBACK 9 3 16 Jordan Lucas Da'Quan Davis Devin Pryor So. So. So. 6-0 192 5-10 164 5-10 171 he's listed ahead of returning starter Obeng-Agyapong. That doesn't necessarily mean Obeng has been demoted. With the Nittany Lions short on linebacker depth, look for defensive coordinator John Butler to deploy a nickel package on a more regular basis. In that alignment, Amos would be the nickel back, with Obeng manning his natural safety position. Depending on how preseason practice shakes out, Butler might also rely on a rotation at cornerback. Williams and Lucas are listed as the starters, but Davis gained valuable experience as a true freshman and is likely to be in the mix again, and early enrollees Jordan Smith and Anthony Smith both saw significant reps in the spring. It wouldn't be a surprise if they were to see action this fall. * Starting experience in 2012

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