Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1482664
ON THE NITTANY LIONS' LINEBACKERS … I think it's time to reassess what we're doing with the linebacker personnel group. I'm a big believer in playing players in their best position. Curtis Jacobs proved to me last year that he is a damn good Sam and is better at Sam right now than he is at Will. I'd much rather have him and Abdul Carter on the field together if we insist on going with three linebackers in running situations. Carter is a freshman in eligibility, but not in playing time at this portion of his career. I think we are best served by getting him more reps at the Will. Take the training wheels off and deal with the frosh mistakes. Long term, I believe Carter belongs at the Mike. But that's something we develop offseason, not midseason. — Northern- StatePSU We run so much 4-2-5 that we're getting to the point we probably need to at least consider committing to it as our base defense. — NittanyNation3488 I've always been a proponent of "take your most talented players and play them at their position of best indi- vidual fit," regardless of depth or what things look like elsewhere, and then build around it. That's why, regardless of how the lack of depth looked at offensive tackle, I was never going to agree with Caedan Wallace at tackle instead of guard. You take your most talented players and put them in position to maximize their talents … and then build around it. Jacobs is tailor-made for the Sam. Carter is built for the box. Moving guys away from their best fit because you need "experience" at a certain spot or need to consider how to bring guys along is something I've never been able to get behind. — RWC5113 I think we have been shuffling around our linebackers too much. Know their best location and put them there and let them learn. Stop switching them back and forth. I also have not been feeling the LB coaches for a while now and that goes back to Brent Pry's last few years. — bbrown ON THE PLAYERS WHO MOST IMPRESSED IN PENN STATE'S BOUNCE-BACK WIN OVER MINNESOTA … I didn't realize how much Penn State missed [tight end] Theo Johnson until last night. When he was out and Brenton Strange and Tyler Warren picked up the slack, I thought, why is everyone wondering why Johnson isn't playing? Now I know why those questions were being asked after every game he missed. — jarit Gotta go with Abdul Carter in the middle, which is where he belongs. While he blew a couple gaps last night early, the kid is going to be a monster next year. — PSU4U Dani Dennis-Sutton. That guy had his best game to date. He was shedding blocks and making tackles like he was a veteran. His energy on the defensive line all night was intense, and I enjoyed the emotion he provided alongside Curtis Jacobs. — callmethebear Has to be Sean Clifford without a doubt. He went from get- ting booed by the crowd pregame to throwing 4 touchdown passes. If we want to talk about a crossroads, that was it, because it could have gone south fast. — Tdrich07 ON WHETHER PENN STATE SHOULD TRY USING TWO-BACK SETS … Our freshman running backs are two of our best players on offense. Many back-and-forths were had on who should be the starter. I wonder, should we put them both in the lineup more often, considering Nick Singleton's explosiveness on the outside (more explosive than all the wide receivers) and Kaytron Allen's ability to run inside? I'm not saying we should do this all the time, but maybe for a few snaps a game? — 34truth I thought of this, too. Bringing Singleton on some jet mo- tion should keep linebackers from playing downhill and the defensive ends from crashing. You can find ways to use the threat of the run with Kaytron Allen to get Nick Singleton the ball in space. — Lion_NYC Considering that Franklin never did this with Saquon Bark- ley/Miles Sanders, don't expect him to do it with Singleton/ Allen. — Phoenixville Lion Site Lines C O M M E N T S F R O M T H E L I O N S D E N A T B L U E W H I T E I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M NOVEMBER 2022/VOL. 38, NO.3 MANAGING EDITOR Matt Herb CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Mark Panus, Chris Riffer WEBSITE PUBLISHER Sean Fitz WEBSITE EDITOR Nate Bauer STAFF WRITERS Greg Pickel RECRUITING REPORTER Ryan Snyder FOOTBALL ANALYST Thomas Frank Carr CONTRIBUTING WRITER Jim Carlson PHOTOGRAPHY Daniel Althouse, Bill Anderson, Steve Manuel, Mark Selders COVER PHOTO Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics DESIGN Jeanette Blankenship, Chris Miller F F F PUBLISHER Stu Coman BUSINESS MANAGER Linda Autry ADVERTISING SALES/MARKETING Michelle DeLee-Hamilton 877-630-8768 CIRCULATION MANAGER Sarah Boone CUSTOMER SERVICE Cathy Jones, Laura Thornton Shaheda Hargette 800-421-7751 BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED (USPS 742-550) is published monthly, except June, by Coman Publishing Company, 905 W Main St, Ste 24F, Durham, NC 27701-2076. A one-year (11 issues) subscription is $59.00. First-class, digital and foreign rates available on request. Periodicals postage paid at Durham, NC 27701 and additional mailing offices. Printed by The Papers, Milford, Ind. POSTMASTER: Please send address corrections/changes to BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Durham NC 27702-2331. For advertising or subscription informa- tion call 1-919-688-0218 or write BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Dur- ham NC 27702. W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Running back Kaytron Allen had gained 396 yards through seven games and ranked second on the team in rushing behind fellow freshman Nicholas Singleton. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE 4 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 2