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the expectation is that team success will follow. "There's a standard now. There's a stan- dard that you've got to play at. We don't have to be the best defense in the nation. We don't have to be number two or what- ever those numbers were last year because that didn't matter," Wartman said. "All those players from last year's team aren't back. Now, the standard is still the same, but I'm more concerned about getting the W's now. We know that we have to play good. "At the same time, there's a high stan- dard because everyone knows our defense was good last year and they'll be coming a8er us. It's going to be expected now for this year because we have so many guys returning. We know the seriousness of it." Wartman said he will do his best to follow the example that his predecessors set during the past three seasons. And if his personal goals are ambitious, so too are his expectations for his team- mates throughout the defensive unit. The torch that he's been passed as a leader of the defense is one that he's happy to accept. "It was nice to see how Hull shouted me out and pretty much said I was the next guy up. It was nice for someone to hand the torch down to you and say, All right, you got it. Take care of it," Wartman said. "I take a lot of pride in that. I have to continue on with those guys there be- cause they learned from greats, too. It's just a blessing that I've reached this point." ■ W R A P A t Penn State, the coaches call it "dual training." It's an approach to practice that last year was used to en- sure that any of the offensive linemen could step in at any of several posi- tions, not just the spot at which they appeared on the depth chart. This spring, the coaches are using that ap- proach with the linebacker unit, too. When asked how to replace last year's leading tackler, Mike Hull, head coach James Franklin shoots it straight: "I don't think one person is going to replace Mike Hull. It's going to be a combination." To help identify that combo, line- backers Nyeem Wartman, Jason Cabinda and Troy Reeder all prac- ticed at multiple spots this spring. That trend could continue into the season as well, or at least until a fixed set of starters is settled upon. "The way we do a lot of things – with the offensive line, with the line- backers, with DBs – is that we try to create as much flexibility as we possi- bly can," Franklin said. "That's just kind of our belief system to create depth that way and dual train guys. We'll do that even when our depth gets better." The team's top returning tackler with 75 stops last season, Wartman had been working mostly at the Mike position earlier in spring practice. The redshirt junior "was having a really good spring, [but] he's been limited here as of late," Franklin said. Last year, Wartman was the full- time starter at Will. Of the three linebacker positions, Mike and Will have the most in common, Franklin said, so this spring, Wartman became one of the default options to fill in at Mike, the spot Hull played last year. But since they're similar positions – Mike and Will are considered "box linebackers" by the coaches – Wart- man could eventually move back to Will. Wartman hasn't been in pads re- cently, so Gary Wooten has seen more reps at Mike. But the Will linebackers have also been getting reps at Mike. "There is some flexibility, more with the Mike and at what we call the Will," Franklin said. "They're typically box players. We call the Sam our field 'backer, which is different than what a lot of people call it. A lot of people [refer to the] Sam and Mike as box 'backers and Will is to the field. We term it a little bit differently. So that field 'backer is probably not as inter- changeable as the two box 'backers are." Wartman, Cabinda and Reeder could potentially line up at either Will or Mike, but it's unlikely they will ever see action at Sam, a position more geared toward pass coverage than the other two linebacker spots. Brandon Bell started at Sam last sea- son and tallied 47 tackles, two sacks and an interception. He's expected to maintain that starting position in 2015. While the Mike and Will linebackers aren't expected to ever play the Sam spot, Franklin said there remains a possibility that the 6-foot-1, 231- pound Bell could eventually develop into a complete three-position line- backer. "I think Bell is a guy who could pos- sibly grow into a box 'backer down the road," he said. 'Dual training' has LBs ready for anything |

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