Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/349223
efore he arrived at Penn State, Jordan Lucas spent a year at Worchester Academy in Mas- sachusetts. The Hilltoppers compete in the New England Prep School Athletic Confer- ence, which does not bear a great deal of re- semblance to the Big Ten. But when Lucas got to University Park in 2012, the Nittany Lions' secondary coach at the time, John Butler, would frequently remind him that he wasn't just another wide-eyed freshman. "You're not a young guy coming in here," Butler would tell him. "You can't have that mindset. You have to think like a veteran." Butler's stance may have made perfect sense from a coaching perspective. The Nittany Lions needed immediate help on defense – even a bit of leadership – following the mass exodus of the previous year's secondary and the imposition of major NCAA sanctions that summer. But it didn't resonate with Lucas. "What freshman comes in here and automatically thinks like that?" he said. "That just doesn't happen." Lucas ended up contributing at safety that fall, and a6er switching to cornerback the following spring, he quickly developed into a starter. But the transition from newcomer into team leader? That's only now starting to take place. A 6-foot-0, 198-pound junior, Lucas is being counted on this season not just as a cornerback but as a cor- nerstone. He's coming o5 a breakout sophomore season and is already being hailed as one of the league's best young defensive backs, having made USA Today's 4rst-team preseason All-Big Ten squad. But Lucas wants to be more than just a shutdown pass-defender this fall; he wants to be one of those players who makes everyone around him better. And to do that, he knows he needs to speak up. "I wasn't a leader last year," Lucas said. "I didn't really have a voice. I didn't know how to lead. This year, I'm playing a leadership role. Trying to lead by example and be vocal out there, just so that the guys know that we're not running this defense without any leaders. Our guys are going to be vocal – me, Mike Hull, Adrian [Amos], C.J. [Olaniyan], [Ryan] Keiser. We're going to be vocal and let them know that we have their back and we're going to work just as hard as they should." It shouldn't be that big of a challenge for Lucas. He may still be getting used to his role as sage veteran. But when it comes to vocalizing his point of view, well, that just seems to come naturally. Anyone who's ever been within earshot of Lucas | >> HOT CORNER THE Jordan Lucas aims to do more this fall than shut down opposing receivers B