Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1524108
7 4 A U G U S T 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / 2 0 2 4 F O O T B A L L P R E V I E W / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★★ National Title; ★★★★ Top 10; ★★★ Top 25; ★★ Too Unproven; ★ Major Concern STARTERS ★★★★ Penn State suffered some losses in the secondary after the 2023 season, but it has been resilient in the back four and still returns a decent amount of experience for the 2024 season. Starting cornerbacks Kalen King, Johnny Dixon and Daequan Hardy all moved on after last year, with King and Hardy selected in the NFL Draft. (A pre-draft injury with long-term concerns has left Dixon unsigned.) But position coach Terry Smith's group is one of the deeper units on the team, and he went to the transfer portal to add to his numbers for this year. Junior Cam Miller returns to lead a group that should sort out its pecking order in preseason camp. Former five-star prospect A.J. Harris transferred from Georgia in the spring, along with former Flor- ida cornerback Jalen Kimber. With Harris, a sopho- more, and Kimber, a redshirt senior, added to the mix, Penn State should be able to find a comfortable rotation of four or five cornerbacks. First-year defensive coordinator Tom Allen has implemented a 4-2-5 scheme, meaning that Penn State will frequently deploy three safeties this sea- son. The Nittany Lions have three experienced play- ers at that position. Senior Jaylen Reed, junior Kevin Winston Jr. and redshirt junior Zakee Wheatley will all be considered starters heading into the year. EXPERIENCE ★★★ The Nittany Lions' strategy of rotating players in through key moments has helped cultivate depth throughout the defense. Miller played 326 snaps while seeing action behind the three starters at cor- nerback last year, although he showed in the Peach Bowl that there is room for improvement. Kimber was a starter at Florida in 2023, but otherwise the cornerbacks will have to do some growing on the job. Reed and Winston started all 13 games at safety last season, and both have All-Big Ten potential. Wheatley has played a lot as well. It's a group that will have to stay healthy if Allen's defense is going to flourish. DEPTH ★★★ While Penn State still isn't sure who will start and be in the rotation at cornerback, depth really isn't an issue. The Nittany Lions are expected to enter camp with six cornerbacks who look to be able to play at this level. Redshirt sophomore Audavion Collins, formerly of Mississippi State, came out of nowhere after the end of last season and has drawn quite a bit of buzz. Sophomores Zion Tracy and Elliot Washington II are athletic enough to get in the mix, and freshmen Antoine Belgrave-Shorter and Jon Mitchell seem promising. On the flip side, the loss of safety King Mack to Alabama via the transfer portal means that the Nit- tany Lions are still searching for a fourth player at the position. Redshirt freshman Lamont Payne Jr. made an offseason move from cornerback, while freshmen Dejuan Lane and Vaboue Toure have flashed potential in their short time on campus. A name to keep in mind is redshirt sophomore walk-on Kolin Dinkins, who stood out in the Blue- White Game and has impressed in a hybrid role on defense. After leading the Nittany Lions with 60 tackles last season, junior safety Kevin Winston Jr. has been garnering praise as a potential first-round draft pick next year. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL PERSONNEL POSITION COACH Terry Smith (cornerbacks): One of three Penn State lettermen on Penn State's staff, Smith is the team's longest-tenured assistant coach and the only one remaining from James Franklin's initial staff in 2014. The former receiver had a standout high school coaching career at Gateway High near Pittsburgh. He then started in the college ranks at Temple before returning to his alma mater in 2014. Seven of Smith's PSU players have been drafted, the most recent being Daequan Hardy and Kalen King this past spring. All three of his starting cornerbacks earned All- Big Ten honors last year. Anthony Poindexter (safeties): A College Football Hall of Famer who played at Virginia, Poindexter joined Penn State's staff following the 2020 season. He has been coaching since 2003 when he returned to Charlottesville as a graduate assistant. Besides spending time with the Cavaliers, he's also coached at Con- necticut and Purdue. Poindexter has sent two of his Penn State players into the NFL in the past three drafts. Jaquan Brisker was a second-team All- American as a senior and was selected in the second round of the 2022 draft by the Chi- cago Bears. A year later, Ji'Ayir Brown earned third-team All-Big Ten honors and was chosen in the third round by the San Francisco 49ers. Brown won an NFC title with the Niners last season and intercepted Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl. RETURNING SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS Cornerback AUDAVION COLLINS R-So. | 5-11 | 178 • Transferred to Penn State in 2023 after begin- ning his career at Mississippi State, where he redshirted as a true freshman. • Played in six games for the Nittany Lions last year, mostly on special teams. • Fastest player on the defense, recorded a 4.28-second 40-yard dash this spring. CAM MILLER Jr. | 6-0 | 182 • Played in all 13 games and started the Peach Bowl as a sophomore in 2023. • Finished last season with 24 tackles, including 4 for loss and 3 sacks, and had his first career interception against Illinois in September.