Blue White Illustrated

E ven though it will have 15 starters re- turning for the 2015 football season – seven on o9ense, seven on defense and one kicking specialist – Penn State has lost some key starters on both sides of the ball. The major losses on o9ense were on the line and at tight end. Assistant coach Herb Hand will face yet another chal- lenge as he looks to 8nd skilled upper- classmen with game experience to re- place Donovan Smith at le: tackle and Miles Die9enbach at le: guard. Die9en- bach may have only started the 8nal three games of the regular season a:er working his way back from an ACL in- jury, but the Nittany Lions will miss him nonetheless. At tight end, Penn State has some ex- citing underclassmen ready for the 2015 season in sophomores Adam Breneman and Mike Gesicki, and 8:h-year senior Kyle Carter also returns, but no one on the current roster is as physically im- posing as the 6-foot-7, 272-pound Jesse James, who passed up his 8nal season of college football to enter the NFL Dra:. On defense, Penn State lost three of the most important players in its front seven in ends Deion Barnes and C.J. Olaniyan and middle linebacker Mike Hull. Barnes and Olaniyan had 8ve years of starting experience between them, and last season they combined for nine sacks and 18 tackles for loss. Hull 8n- ished his senior season with 140 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. He was also a team captain and leader, holding the defense together and keep- ing Penn State competitive when the of- fense was having trouble getting 8rst downs. In addition to Barnes, Olaniyan and Hull, Penn State must replace starting safeties Ryan Keiser and Adrian Amos. So while the defense certainly has the potential to be a strength once again, some critical position battles loom on that side of the ball. Penn State's spring practice sessions begin March 20. Here's a look at what I believe will be the 8ve most interesting and important position battles. LEFT TACKLE PLAYERS Brendan Brosnan (R-Fr., 6- 6, 295), Andrew Nelson (R-So., 6-5, 305), Paris Palmer (Jr., 6-7, 290), Chance Sorrell (R-Fr., 6-5, 298) OUTLOOK Heading into the 2014 sea- son, Penn State had only one o9ensive lineman with any starting game experi- ence: Smith. But he opted to pass up his senior season to enter the NFL Dra:, and it will be interesting to see how Hand and head coach James Franklin plan to 8ll the vacancy at le: tackle. As I see it, four individuals will proba- bly take snaps in spring practice at the position. At 8rst glance, it might appear as though Nelson is the leading candidate. A:er all, he was a 13-game starter last season, and while he played primarily at right tackle, he took snaps at the le: tackle spot a:er Smith went down with what appeared to be a concussion in the game against Ohio State in October. You can bet he'll get a look at le: tackle in spring practice. However, I can't help but think that Hand and Franklin are hoping that Palmer, a January enrollee, learns the system quickly enough this spring and summer that he will have established himself as the leading candidate in time for the start of preseason practice in Au- gust. Palmer was named the No. 1 junior college o9ensive tackle and the ninth- best overall juco player in the country for the Class of 2015. But because he has only two years in which to complete his remaining eligibility – he used up his redshirt year while at Lackawanna Col- lege – the clock is ticking. I can guaran- tee you Franklin didn't recruit him to sit on the bench. Palmer understands the challenge in front of him. "I'm just going to do the best that I can do to take care of every- thing I can control," he told Blue White Illustrated's Ryan Snyder. "Of course I want to get bigger, stronger, faster. I want to come in and learn the playbook quickly enough that I can really compete in the spring. "Of course I want to play and all that, but I know that it's going to be a process and I will have to adjust to some things. I know there are big expectations and I have big goals, but it's not going to hap- pen right away. I have to earn things and I have to do this the right way." The other two players who will likely get some reps at le: tackle this spring are Brosnan and Sorrell. Both freshmen reportedly had excellent December practice sessions leading up to the Pin- stripe Bowl and are poised to compete for playing time this fall. But I believe the real battle for the starting job this spring will be between Palmer and Nel- son. TIGHT END PLAYERS Adam Breneman (R-So., 6- 4, 245), Kyle Carter (Sr., 6-3, 241), Mike Gesicki (So., 6-6, 242), Brent Wilkerson (R-Jr., 6-4, 250) OUTLOOK As is the case at le: tackle, there's a position battle brewing at tight end. But in terms of experience, the sit- uation is much di9erent. Penn State has These position battles will shape the Nittany Lions' 2015 season PHIL'S CORNER

• Cover