Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/215616
FOOTBALL OUT WITH A 'BENG' His parents are from Ghana. He was raised in the Bronx. Now the versatile Stephen Obeng-Agyapong is leaving a legacy at PSU | S tephen Obeng-Agyapong had never seen the view from this side of the Hudson River. The night before Penn State's game vs. Syracuse in East Rutherford, N.J., from his hotel, the Bronx native glared across the water to the famous New York skyline – the place he calls home. To him, the landscape was like a work of art. "I hadn't seen that angle before, looking out from New Jersey and into New York," he said. "I've been to Manhattan. I've seen all that stuff, but not from the outside – the opposite side. I hadn't seen that angle, so it was kinda neat. It was definitely a different perspective of things. It was cool knowing that my city was right there. It gave me a good feeling going into the game." It showed. With a dozen or so family members in attendance – including his father, Stephen, mother, Glorida, older sister Esther and younger brothers David and Jeremiah – No. 7 had the best game of his career. Plus, he was playing a brand new position, which made it even more notable that he finished with eight tackles, an interception and a game-changing sack, which he calls the best hit of his collegiate career. Obeng-Agyapong had been a safety ever since Joe Paterno, a Brooklyn native, signed him out of John F. Kennedy High. But out of necessity, Bill O'Brien and first-year defensive coordinator John Butler switched Obeng-Agyapong to linebacker for the start of the 2013 season. At least that's his label on the depth chart. In reality, Obeng-Agyapong's position had been sculpted specifically for him. It's a hybrid of three positions, and the job description is to do whatever the coaches ask. Linebacker U's depth issues have been well-documented, so the coaches have had to improvise. "We've asked him to play safety, we've asked him to play linebacker, we've asked him to play nickel, we've asked him to learn how to blitz, how to play the run in the