Blue White Illustrated

YOUNG GUNS True freshman cornerbacks make some noise against Temple R Y A N J O N E S | B L U E W H I T E C O N T R I B U T O R You won't be hearing from Christian Campbell or Grant Haley in this story. James Franklin's staB has continued the longtime program tradition of not mak- ing true freshmen available for inter- views, meaning the rookie DBs never made it to the media room following Penn State's 30-13 win Saturday over Temple. But short of benching two of his best athletes, there's not much Franklin could do to si- lence the noise Camp- bell and Haley made on the 6eld. On a day when a b o w l - e l i g i b i l i t y - clinching win was cel- ebrated primarily as a reward for the upperclassmen who were most impacted by the sanctions, Campbell and Haley were the can't-miss representatives of the Lions' promising youth movement – and of the immediate impact of Franklin's recruiting prowess. Starting at one corner in place of the injured Trevor Williams, Campbell tal- lied three tackles and intercepted a third- quarter pass. Haley matched those numbers and did his classmate one bet- ter, returning that pick 30 yards for a touchdown barely a minute into the fourth quarter, putting the Lions up 27- 13 and eBectively ending the game. "Those guys have a lot of the things you can't necessarily teach," Franklin said. "They've got the speed, they've got the athleticism. We're excited about the im- pact those guys are going to make in the future." Whenever possible under Franklin – who made an exaggerated show in the postgame press conference of his en- thusiasm for true freshmen who can contribute – that future is now. A 6- foot-1, 183-pounder from Phenix City, Ala., Campbell was recruited by Franklin while the coach was at Vander- bilt; the Nittany Lions weren't even on his list until Franklin and his staff moved north. Haley, an Atlanta native who goes a sturdy 5-9, 186, had com- mitted to Vandy before the start of his senior year, but switched in January to Penn State. Both have made their marks on both sides of special teams – Haley handled kick-oB return duties Saturday, churn- ing out an impressive 31-yarder in the 6rst half, and also made a tackle in punt coverage – and Franklin said those op- portunities set the stage for their contri- butions against the Owls. "Having those guys on the punt team, every time they made a play, their con6- dence built," he said. "I think that trans- lated to special teams, and to defense. Now, when they are playing a lot, they've got the experience." Experience is something this Penn State defense has plenty of, particularly in its veteran front seven. But recent in- juries to safety Ryan Keiser and now Williams le5 the secondary suddenly looking very young. Any concerns that that youth might cost them against Tem- ple proved unfounded – it was seasoned junior Jordan Lucas who was le5 chasing on the long throw that led to the Owls' only touchdown of the day. Like their coach, the veterans on that Nittany Lion defense believe the untested kids patrolling all that green space behind them are more than up to the task. "It was cool that those young guys got those interceptions – that's huge for their con6dence and for the defense as a whole," senior linebacker Mike Hull said. "But those guys aren't freshman any- more, really. We know they're very ath- letic and talented, and they're just going to keep getting better and better." G A M E G R A D E S QUARTERBACKS Despite an improved performance from the offensive line, Christian Hackenberg continued to misfire on receivers and threw two in- terceptions, his fifth multi-pick game of the season. GRADE C- RUNNING BACKS Bill Belton broke a 37- yarder and then Akeel Lynch fired right back with a 38-yarder of his own, which was good for a touchdown on the very next play. The duo combined for 222 rushing yards. GRADE A RECEIVERS It wasn't perfect, as Hacken- berg's best pass of the day was dropped in the end zone by DaeSean Hamilton in the fourth quarter, but by that time the game was in hand. GRADE B- OFFENSIVE LINE Having its two most ex- perienced linemen back in the fray paid dividends for PSU. GRADE B+ DEFENSIVE LINE They whiffed a few times on Temple's elusive QB in the backfield, but that was to be expected. Otherwise this unit was up to standard, as Temple was held to just 61 total rushing yards. GRADE A- LINEBACKERS Once again, Mike Hull led the team in tackles, but perhaps his best play of the game was a goal-line block that sprung Grant Haley into the end zone on his interception return. GRADE A DEFENSIVE BACKS Snagging four inter- ceptions, two of which came from fresh- men and one that was returned for a TD, is more than you can ask for. GRADE A SPECIAL TEAMS Danny Pasquariello's 49- yard punt was beautiful, and he downed two inside the 20. The coverage was stel- lar, too, and Haley's 31-yard kick return was an improvement from previous games. GRADE B+ COACHES When the offense finally found success running the ball, it stuck with it. Bob Shoop with another A-plus effort, of course. GRADE B CROWD The total attendance exceeded 100,000 for the fourth straight game, and the U-S-A that was spelled out in the student section was a creative, patriotic tribute the week of Veteran's Day. GRADE B+ N O V E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 6 HALEY

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