Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/541265
He converted walk-o7 kicks in victories over UCF and Boston College. Julius doesn't have any game experi- ence, but he was impressive during the kicking competition that preceded the Blue-White Game, converting a 55- yard field goal attempt. Now we need to see if he can make those kind of at- tempts under game conditions. Julius has an extremely powerful leg and ap- pears to have the potential to put the majority of his kickoffs into the end zone. 6 Carl Nassib and Garrett Sickels need to emerge as capable re- placements for Deion Barnes and C.J. Olaniyan. There is ample reason to believe that this will happen given the way Nassib and Sickels performed in spring practice. Nassib is now 6-foot-7, 274 pounds, and many preseason publi- cations are mentioning him as a poten- tial breakout performer this season. "I think Carl Nassib is a sleeper, a late bloomer who has grown into a big-bod- ied guy," defensive coordinator Bob Shoop said. "He's a former walk-on who has just continued to grow and grow and grow and has unique athletic ability. Sickels is a highly recruited guy… who is really competitive and has great explo- siveness." Penn State also has quality depth at defensive end in redshirt sophomore Curtis Cothran, redshirt junior Evan Schwan and redshirt freshman Torrence Brown. Cothran looked very impressive in the Blue-White Game with 6ve tack- les and 2.5 sacks. 7 Nyeem Wartman needs to take over Mike Hull's leadership role at middle linebacker. The sta7 seems con6dant that Wartman has more than enough athletic ability to replace Hull. A 6-1, 243-pound redshirt junior, he 6ts the bill physically, and he 6nished the 2014 season as Penn State's second- leading tackler with 75 total stops. Throughout last season, Hull was Penn State's leader on defense. His football instincts were phenomenal. This is the area where Wartman needs to prove himself and step up. This year's defense may be more physically gi8ed than its immediate predecessor, but without strong leadership, it could take a step backward. 8 Grant Haley needs to have a breakout season to make Jordan Lucas's move to strong safety worthwhile. I truly believe the second- ary has the potential to be the No. 1 strength of Penn State's defense this fall. But the only way that will happen is if Haley and the team's other underclass- man cornerbacks – Christian Campbell, Amani Oruwariye and Daquan Worley – realize their full potential. This is the most athletic secondary I've seen at Penn State during the 30- plus years I've covered the program. But for it to become the No. 1 strength on defense, it must create more turnovers. Penn State 6nished with 16 intercep- tions last season, of which the second- ary was responsible for 10. As far as Franklin is concerned, that's not enough. "As good as our defense plays, if we can add that aspect of getting the turnovers, that's not only going to help our defense by getting them o7 the 6eld and dropping the play count of the of- fense, but it's going to create opportuni- ties for our defense to score or put our o7ense in better 6eld position," he said. It won't be easy for the Nittany Lions to post a 9-3 record this fall. They will have to win their 6rst six games and go into their game at Ohio State on Oct. 17 unbeaten. And the eight items listed above are not the only concerns they will face in 2015. Is Adam Breneman com- pletely healthy? Are there any immedi- ate di7erence-makers in the incoming freshman class? The Lions have to hope that the answer to both of those ques- tions is yes, because the sanctions have le8 them with little margin for error. But even with all those caveats, I think Penn State is up to the challenge. I be- lieve it's entirely possible for the Lions to go 9-3 despite all of the unique chal- lenges in front of them. ■