Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1524108
A U G U S T 2 0 2 4 6 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / L I N E B A C K E R S / / / / / / / Both King brothers said it was going to feel different this fall, not suiting up alongside each other for the first time in years. But as Kobe acknowledged, his brother "is on to something bigger and better right now, and I'm on to something bigger and better." "We're grown men," Kalen said, echo- ing his brother. "I'm chasing my dream of going to the NFL. I've got a career now. I'm a professional now. It will definitely be different. I've been with my brother since birth. We went everywhere together. But now that we've split up, it's really just time to grow up." When the season begins, Kalen will be watching Kobe from afar, and he'll be looking for another strong performance from the fourth-year Nittany Lion. "He was one of the highest-graded linebackers this past season, so I expect nothing but the best from my brother this year," Kalen said. "I feel like he's going to unleash his full potential and have a real good year." ■ Scholarship Players (10) No. Player Yr. Ht. Wt. 0 Dominic DeLuca R-Jr. 6-1 228 43 Tyler Elsdon Sr. 6-2 232 30 Kari Jackson Fr. 6-1 246 48 Kaveion Keys R-Fr. 6-2 230 41 Kobe King R.-Jr. 6-1 251 14 Tyrece Mills R-Sr. 6-1 209 24 Ta'Mere Robinson R-Fr. 6-3 230 13 Tony Rojas So. 6-2 239 40 Anthony Speca Fr. 6-1 230 32 Keon Wylie R.-So. 6-2 213 Quick Facts Position coach: Tom Allen (first season) Returning starter: MLB Kobe King (11 career starts) Departing starters: OLB Curtis Jacobs (36), Abdul Carter* (19) Projected new starters: OLB Tony Rojas, OLB Dominic DeLuca Top reserves: MLB Tyler Elsdon, OLB Ta'Mere Robinson, OLB Kaveion Keys, OLB Tyrece Mills Newcomers: Kari Jackson, Anthony Speca * Moved to defensive end 2023 vs. 2024: Stock Up Or Down? Given the team's significant losses, you'd think the Lions' stock would be trending down. Curtis Jacobs is off to the NFL, while Abdul Carter has moved to defensive end ahead of his junior season. They started 26 games and combined to make 14.5 tackles for loss and 7 sacks last season. Still, the Lions have one of their most promising young players set to take over at the Will outside linebacker spot in sophomore Tony Rojas, while redshirt junior Kobe King returns for his second starting season in the middle. The Lions also have a veteran at the Sam position in redshirt junior Dominic DeLuca. That combination of talent and experience should keep the linebackers' stock holding steady. X-Factor Much of the preseason speculation has concerned the adaptation to Tom Allen's defensive scheme. Allen favored a 4-2-5 alignment at Indiana that de-emphasized the linebackers in favor of an extra defensive back. While the transition to a new coordinator is always going to require some adaptability from players, Allen's scheme doesn't look to be all that different from what Penn State was already doing under previous coor- dinators Brent Pry and Manny Diaz. Nickel defenses are hardly exotic, so there's every reason to believe that the linebackers will fare just fine in their transition to Allen's scheme. Freshman Outlook During spring practice, redshirt freshman Ta'Mere Robinson looked to be putting himself in good position to earn snaps this fall behind Rojas at the Will spot. Robinson missed his senior season at Brashear High in Pittsburgh due to a knee injury, but he did see action in three games last fall and will bear watching in 2024. One of Robinson's classmates, Kaveion Keys, appears poised to see snaps, too. He played in two games last year and shared the team's Devel- opmental Squad Defensive Player of the Year award with defensive end Jake Wilson. Ta'Mere Robinson is expected to battle for playing time at outside linebacker as a redshirt freshman this fall. PHOTO BY GREG PICKEL