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"He wants to be good, and he puts the time in. He works really hard on the scout team." TROY REEDER LB, 6-1, 245 Even though he's slated to redshirt, Reeder traveled with the team to every road game. And while most redshirts prac- tice on the scout team, Reeder spends the duration of practice working closely with the 5rst- and second-stringers, and metic- ulously monitoring the work of Mike Hull. "He prepares as if he's going to play," linebackers coach Brent Pry said about Reeder. "He gets his Friday evening [op- ponent scouting report] test just like Mike Hull does, and does just as well." At 245 pounds, Reeder has the size to play right now. He also has the football IQ, but with Hull and Gary Wooten ahead of him on the depth chart, the coaches opted to preserve his freshman eligibility. They are hoping Reeder's redshirt will help him adjust to the speed of the college game. "Troy is a really, really smart football player," Pry said. "He's picked up the de- fense very well. He's got good size, he's got good speed, [but] Troy is a guy who wants to be right. He wants to be exact. I think that's slowing him down a bit at times, but that's something he will over- come, something he will outgrow. But I think that Troy has a bright future here at Penn State." And while he practices most o8en at middle linebacker, he's not pigeonholed there. Like some of Linebacker U's greatest players, Reeder has shown the wherewithal to play multiple linebacker positions. "I'm very excited about him," Pry said. "I think Troy could play Mike linebacker, I think Troy could play Will linebacker. I think he's going to impact our football team over the next four years." CHANCE SORRELL OT, 6-5, 286 Of the Lions' four freshman linemen, Sorrell is the only one who traveled con- sistently with the team (although Brendan Brosnan made the trip to Indiana). He's also the only one who works day-in, day-out with the first- and second- teamers at practice. The other linemen in his class play on the scout team. Given all that, if any of this year's fresh- men linemen are going to make an impact in 2015, Sorrell appears to be the most likely candidate. He's already made a good impression on some of his upperclassman teammates. "Chance is doing a great job," junior Angelo Mangiro said. "He's able to play both sides of the line. He's comfortable with that. He's shown that he studies the playbook and he's doing a lot of good things for a young guy." With a full o6-season under strength coach Dwight Galt, it's expected that Sor- rell will weigh near or over 300 pounds next season. MARK ALLEN RB, 5-7, 180 NICK SCOTT RB, 5-11, 194 JONATHAN THOMAS RB, 5-11, 217 These three get lumped together simply because it's too di7cult to pick only one running back who has stood out. At least during developmental scrimmages, all three have put on a show. In one developmental scrimmage during the second bye week, Allen was nearly tackled in the back5eld upon receiving the hando6, but a ni8y spin move shed the defender and Allen turned the carry from a loss into a gain. Any talk of Allen's outlook will inevitably include a caveat about his size – he de5nitely needs to bulk up – but his quickness and shi8iness can't be overlooked. Scott has some wiggle, too, and he's proving to be the most versatile, well- rounded option of the three. As for Thomas, at 217 pounds, he's a bulldozer. And when the ball is live, he's looking to bowl over defenders – even if they're his own teammates. All three are coming o6 of leg injuries. Allen tore an ACL during his junior year of high school, Scott hurt an ankle in pre- season practice this past August and Thomas tore an ACL as a senior in high school. But they are all medically cleared and have seen valuable practice reps, es- pecially during the two bye weeks. ■

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