Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1507572
1 8 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Anthony Poindexter is in his third season as Penn State's co- defensive coordinator and safe- ties coach. In front of him is his biggest challenge yet: retooling a position group that did not enter the season with a ready-made, high-level impact player and likely future Day 2 NFL Draft pick. Poindexter had that luxury the previous two seasons, with Jaquan Brisker and Ji'Ayir "Tig" Brown starring for the Nittany Lions in 2021 and '22 respec- tively, before embarking on pro careers. But he's not expecting any of his charges to make plays in the same way that those two did. Instead, he wants his cur- rent safeties to play to their own strengths in 2023. "I told our group, anytime you lose a Ji'Ayir Brown, a Jaquan Brisker, you have to reshape yourself," he said. "There is a lot of production that left out of that room. Will there be another Tig in the room? Who knows?" Penn State opened its sea- son with junior Jaylen Reed and sophomore Kevin Winston Jr. starting in the secondary against West Virginia, but four other safeties — senior Keaton Ellis, redshirt sophomore Zakee Wheatley, redshirt junior Tyrece Mills and true freshman King Mack — all got on the field, too. Poindexter recently talked to reporters about how the Nittany Lions' safety posi- tions have been shaping up. QUESTION: How would you evaluate your position group as a whole this year? POINDEXTER: "You lose Ji'Ayir, but Keaton and Jaylen Reed have played a lot of football the past two years, and Zakee did last year. It's not like we have all babies walking onto the field for the first time. "To put the pressure on those guys and say you have to be Ji'Ayir Brown is un- fair. These guys, in their own way, can achieve] their own greatness, and that's what I preach to them. "You have to be you and be comfort- able in your skin and what your play- making abilities can make. I'm not say- ing you have to be Ji'Ayir. They know I'm not saying you have to make this play like Ji'Ayir did. That's unfair to them. They just know that if you trust your skill set and play to your strengths, everything will work out just fine for you." QUESTION: What was it about King Mack that prompted the coaching staff to give him a green light to burn his red- shirt as a true freshman? POINDEXTER: "When he got here, the stage wasn't too big for him. The kid is just a natural football player. He has some physical traits that you can't teach, obviously one of them being speed. He's a much better tackler than I thought he would be for his frame and size. He picked it up pretty good. If he's ready to go, we're going to play him." QUESTION: How many safeties could end up seeing starter-like reps this season? POINDEXTER: "We haven't really settled on it yet, but I think at least four to five. I think we have good depth in the room. We'll see how the flow of the game is going based on who's hot or who's playing well." QUESTION: How would you characterize the progress that Keaton Ellis has made now that he's in his senior season af- ter moving over from cornerback following his sophomore year? POINDEXTER: "Seeing it from the angle he's seeing it from now, it all makes more sense to him. Moving from cornerback to safety is a totally different way of looking at the game. You see a lot more at safety. "He's really done a nice job. He worked in the offseason. It's like [he said], 'I want to be a great safety,' and it's starting to show on the field." QUESTION: Can you elabo- rate on the progress you've seen from your less-experienced safeties? Me- hki Flowers and DaKaari Nelson both have freshman eligibility, and Tyrece Mills is a redshirt junior, but he's only been at Penn State since last year. POINDEXTER: "Mehki has made a lot of strides both on and off the field. He's developing, and he's got a wealth of talent and a lot of skill. The trick for him is going to be learning how to play at this level, and the intensity and the work you have to put in to really be successful inside the sta- dium. He's learning each day. I'm happy with where he's at. "Mills and Nelson have been progress- ing good. Tyrece was coming off an injury from last year and he spent most of last season at linebacker. DaKaari is a young high school player who has come in [as a 2023 recruit], and this is big ball for him. But they're both progressing well, and I like the way they're attacking each day. We'll see how they keep progressing." Sitting Down With Safeties Coach Anthony Poindexter Poindexter joined the Nittany Lions' staff ahead of the 2021 season. As a player, he was a first-team All-American at Virginia in 1997 and '98, and he was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER