Penn State Sports Magazine
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4 0 N O V E M 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 O P I N I O N THOMAS FRANK CARR T F R A N K . CA R R @ O N 3 . C O M W e've all watched it happen time and time again. The quarterback drops back, and just as he's about to throw, he locks up. Maybe he does a double clutch. Maybe he flinches, physi- cally stopping himself from passing the football. Maybe you see his head quickly turn as he scans the field for an open receiver. And then, suddenly, he's swal- lowed up by the defensive line. It's some- thing that Penn State fans have become quickly accustomed to with Manny Diaz as the team's defensive coordinator. In the coming weeks, PSU will face two of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten in Michigan's J.J. McCarthy and Maryland's Taulia Tagovailoa, along with a rising star in Ohio State's Kyle McCord. How do you get players like that to hesitate? How do you get them to give you that split second so that Penn State's pass rush can come crashing down? It's not about creating confusion, head coach James Franklin said earlier this season. It's about limiting options. "We want to take the first read of the quarterback away," Franklin said. "That's obviously about route recognition. It's about tendencies when it comes to for- mations and down-and-distance. That's also a big reason why we play man cover- age — to try to get the quarterback off his first read as much as we possibly can, so then he's holding onto the ball, which is going to allow us to get pressure." Every college quarterback has a set of decisions to make on almost every play. Most will have a player they're target- ing first on a passing play. It's not always where the quarterback looks first, but it's where he starts his "read." By taking away that first option, a defense can force the quarterback to play at a higher level. Instead of being a point-and-shoot player, he must re- member where his other options are and quickly find them. The bet that defensive coordinators make is that most college quarterbacks aren't good enough to beat you this way consistently. You increase the likelihood of sacks and turnovers by denying easy-access first reads. The risk is that the offense will run specific plays to defeat your more-pre- dictable coverage decisions. It's all part of the chess match between opposing coaches. "There are strengths and weaknesses to everything," Franklin said. "If they know you're in man, are you getting more man-beaters? Yeah, but then you spend all your time [in practice] on man- beaters, right? So that's the whole phi- losophy behind what we do, how we do it, and why we do it." Since Diaz's arrival last year, the only teams that have defeated Penn State's aggressive attack have been those with elite talent at wide receiver and under center. While the running game gets the credit for Michigan's 41-17 rout of PSU last year, McCarthy and his pass catchers were troublesome, too. He completed 17 of 24 attempts for 145 yards in the Wol- verines' lopsided win in Ann Arbor. So, the plan isn't foolproof. The keys to making it work are the cornerbacks. They must be talented enough to hold up in single coverage and consistently win one- on-one battles to prevent that first read. If you think of the defense as a preven- tative element and not a reactionary one, Kalen King's lack of targets and oppor- tunities to make plays on the football are signs of respect. His presence narrows the opponent's options. The junior cor- nerback recently said his role in the de- fense is to "eliminate a side of the field." "Whether I get thrown at or not, I'm trying to win every rep," King explained. "Me not getting thrown at or getting as many targets as I want doesn't really di- minish my confidence." Diaz's scheme, combined with the work that cornerbacks coach Terry Smith and safeties coach Anthony Poin- dexter have put in, has helped unlock Penn State's defensive potential. "I think what [Smith and Poindex- ter] have done in recruiting, coaching and developing DBs is second to none," Franklin said. "Penn State has an unbe- lievable history with winning and suc- cess, the NFL Draft, All-Americans. But for whatever reason, cornerback was a position where we had not had a real strong history. Terry specifically and Dex have changed that." King aimed to take his game to the next level this year, knowing that he would be relied upon as the team's top cornerback. Being a good athlete is essential, but knowing what the offense is trying to do can be revelatory. "When I'm in the game and notice things about the offense and personnel and route concepts, it's like being in a zone," King explained. "That just helps me with my understanding of the game." It's important to note that most reads at the college level are first reads, and few quarterbacks are given an opportunity to execute complex passing progressions. But the teams that PSU will face in the weeks ahead are among the nation's best. If they're going to continue their success, the Lions will need to find a way to keep eliminating that first option. ■ In Manny Diaz's second year as coordinator, Penn State's defense was allowing only 9.6 points per game through the first six weeks of the season, which was second in the nation. PHOTO BY GREG PICKEL Cornerbacks Hold The Key To PSU's Defensive Success Upon Further Review