Blue White Illustrated

equally e8ective against the run and the pass. He's an every-play outside line- backer who is entirely capable of per- forming from sideline to sideline in Shoop's multiple-set defense. "Brandon got better every single week," Shoop said, "He understood what was being asked of him at the 7eld line- backer position. He embraced it. "He was a good blitzer, supported the run well, took good pass drops and played well in everything he did. He's got a positive attitude, practiced hard all the time. It was really special." The only other candidate I considered for this distinction was defensive end Garrett Sickles. In limited action as a redshirt freshman, Sickles totaled 11 tackles including three tackles for loss and two sacks. He might turn out to be the best outside pass rusher on Penn State's defense this coming fall. REDSHIRT FRESHMEN TO WATCH OFFENSE Three redshirt freshmen candidates on o8ense have an excellent chance of hav- ing a major impact this fall. CHANCE SORRELL [OT, 6-5, 296] Sorrell is reportedly the most physically im- pressive of the team's freshman o8en- sive linemen. He's expected to battle ei- ther Nelson or juco transfer Paris Palmer for playing time at the right tackle posi- tion. It's likely that he will play at 310 pounds in the fall. JOHNATHAN THOMAS [RB, 5-11, 217] Thomas has a real chance to be the No. 2 running back behind Akeel Lynch. He's a power runner with enough speed to break the occasional carry of 20 or more yards. He's also reported to be a solid pass blocker. DE'ANDRE THOMPKINS [WR, 5-11, 178] In addition to being a big-play threat in the passing game, Thompkins could also provide the spark that Penn State needs on punt and kicko8 returns. I've heard him compared to Eddie Drummond, one of the better return specialists in school history. REDSHIRT FRESHMEN TO WATCH DEFENSE The list here is extensive. There appear to be at least six redshirt freshmen with the potential to make an impact on de- fense next fall, including... TORRENCE BROWN [DE, 6-3, 253] With Olaniyan and Barnes gone, Brown's de- velopment is crucial. He might be the most athletic defensive end on the roster. KOA FARMER [OLB, 6-1, 208] Farmer was named scout team Player of the Week four times last fall. He had an outstand- ing December at the star position, mak- ing a pick-six in one of the developmen- tal practice sessions. He could turn out to be the second-team outside line- backer behind Bell. AMANI ORUWARIYE [DB, 6-1, 198] When Oruwariye arrived on campus last June, he weighed 182 pounds. He's since added about 16 pounds and could play the free safety or boundary cornerback positions this fall. It wouldn't be sur- prising to see him join Jordan Lucas at free safety in spring practice. TROY REEDER [MLB, 6-1, 244] Reeder is already physically ready to handle this position. He'll battle Gary Wooten and Ben Kline for serious playing time at the Mike position. ANTOINE WHITE [DT, 6-1, 294] White will back up Austin Johnson and Tarow Bar- ney at the one-technique position this fall. DAQUAN WORLEY [DB, 5-10, 192] Worley is fully healthy coming o8 an ACL injury and is, pound for pound, one of the toughest hitters in last year's freshman class. He was the scout team's Player of the Week six times last fall. Worley could play free safety or boundary cornerback and should be a special teams demon. Looking at the Lions' roster, and the fact that they played their 7nal game of the 2014 season with only 41 scholarship players, it's not hard to understand why those developmental practice sessions in December were such a high priority. If Franklin and his sta8 sign 25 recruits in February, Penn State could have as many as 82 scholarship players next fall. But more than 50 of those players will have either freshman or sophomore eli- gibility. That simple fact goes a long way toward explaining why the coaches were so focused in December on getting their young players up to speed. ■

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