Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1537537
A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 6 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / T H E D E F E N S E / / / / / / / ling grade from Pro Football Focus. Still, he was a disruptive menace who put himself in a position to blow up running plays with regularity. The other factor that makes Durant so important to Penn State's defensive fortunes this fall is that he's the only proven player at the position group. The situation will improve when super senior Alonzo Ford Jr. comes back fully healthy from the injury that ended his season last November. Ford is expected to be ready to participate in preseason camp come August. For now, though, Durant is the only experienced veteran in the defensive tackle corps. KEYSTONE PLAYER NO. 2 Safety Zakee Wheatley We've noted many times in recent months that the safeties will be star play- ers in Knowles' defense. At his previous career stops, the Nittany Lions' new co- ordinator tailored his defense to set up free runs at the ball carrier for his safeties — specifically the players who operate in the "Caleb Downs" role. At Penn State, that player is going to be Wheatley. The 6-2, 200-pound redshirt senior has the ball skills and instincts to play a free rover role in coverage. He's ca- pable of popping up in unexpected places to take the football away from the offense, as evidenced by his 3 interceptions last year, which tied for the team lead. He also proved during his redshirt junior season that he had improved his tackling enough to be the primary focus of the team's run defense concepts. In fact, his 87.7 run-de- fense grade from PFF was second-best on the team among players with more than a handful of snaps, trailing only middle linebacker Kobe King's 89.2 mark. Those factors combine to make Wheat- ley very hard to replace. Junior King Mack and sophomore Dejuan Lane have the physical tools to take this position to a higher level in the future, but they are unproven compared to Wheatley. Lane has only one college season under his belt (albeit a 16-game season), while Mack has returned to Penn State after playing only 106 defensive snaps in nine games at Alabama last fall. There's a strong case that the entire defensive concept is built around Wheatley and would need to be substantially revised if something were to happen to him. KEYSTONE PLAYER NO. 1 Cornerback A.J. Harris Penn State has three up-and-coming cornerbacks who are the best poten- tial trio to start for position coach Terry Smith since Joey Porter Jr., Kalen King and Johnny Dixon in 2022. Yet, unlike some other positions like running back and quarterback, the cornerbacks aren't splitting reps at a single position. There's ample opportunity for three players to excel here. This year's marquee player is Harris, a 6-1, 191-pound junior who arrived from Georgia last year and went on to start 15 games, tying for the team lead with 5 pass breakups and earning an 81.3 coverage grade from PFF, best among PSU's de- fensive backs. Smith said this spring that his expecta- tions for Harris are extremely high. "He's everything we thought," Smith said. "He finished the season strong last year. This guy will be an All-American candidate. He's fantastic and he's locked in. He's super smart; he's working on his mental game. I'm really happy with where he's at right now." The Nittany Lions' rotation at corner- back will likely take the form of a three- man weave this fall. Even so, we expect Harris to be the clear No. 1 player, with ju- niors Audavion Collins and Elliot Wash- ington II splitting starting reps opposite Harris. That was how Smith handled the rotation in 2022. If Harris lives up to that All-America billing, he'll be a keystone player for the entire team, not just the cornerbacks room. ■ During his redshirt junior season last fall, safety Zakee Wheatley was the Nittany Lions' third-leading tackler with 96 stops and tied for the team lead with 3 interceptions, including 2 picks in the College Football Playoff. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS