Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/478201
ciency defense with a rating of 101.14 and were second in total defense, giving up only 278.7 yards per game. Those numbers piqued the interest of LSU's Les Miles, who tried to bring Shoop to Baton Rouge following John Chavis's departure for Texas A&M. If he had succeeded, Penn State would be heading into spring practice with yet another defensive coordinator – its =?h in the past =ve years. But PSU fended o> the Tigers' attempts to poach one of Franklin's most accom- plished assistants, and now that everyone in the Nittany Lion camp has ex- haled, it's time to look ahead at what he'll be looking to do in year two. The Lions return seven defensive starters: tackles Austin Johnson and Anthony Zettel, linebackers Brandon Bell and Nyeem Wartman, cornerbacks Jordan Lucas and Trevor Williams and safety Marcus Allen. Johnson, Zettel, Lucas and Williams won All-Big Ten honors last year, and all seven returnees should have even more swagger than they did a sea- son ago now that they've been playing in Shoop's system for a year. The question facing the Lions is whether they have enough young talent on hand to replace the four defensive starters they lost: inside linebacker Mike Hull, defensive ends Deion Barnes and C.J. Olaniyan and safety Adrian Amos. They got a bit of a head start last year, as Allen would have been a backup for the duration of his true freshman season were it not for the rib injury and subse- quent infection that ended Ryan Keiser's college career in October. Shoop said Allen "played as well as any safety in college football the second half of the year." In addition, it's likely that the 6-foot, 198-pound Lucas will be able to move over to safety this spring, given that the Lions have brought in an abundance of young cornerback talent in their past two recruiting classes. So even a?er los- ing their most experienced defensive player in Amos, the secondary should be a strength. The problems will be at defensive end, where Barnes will undoubtedly be missed a?er opting to forgo his =nal sea- son of eligibility, and at middle line- backer, where Penn State must replace Hull's veteran leadership as well as his Big Ten-leading 140 tackles. Hull was the team's highest-pro=le departure this o>-season, and he's not going to be easily replaced. But Shoop and linebackers coach Brent Pry have quite a few options at their disposal. They have been grooming redshirt freshman Troy Reeder for the spot since he arrived on campus last fall, and he'll no doubt be one of the team's most scrutinized players this spring. In addi- tion, Ben Kline reportedly looked good in winter workouts as he strives to re- turn from an Achilles tendon injury that forced him to sit out last season, Gary Wooten is back for his junior year, and a young player such as Jason Cabinda could slide over from outside linebacker if need be, with one of the young up- S P R I N G P R A C T I C E POSITION SWITCH After starring at cor- nerback the past two seasons, Lucas appears ticketed for a move to safety in his final season with the Nittany Lions. Photo by Steve Manuel