Blue White Illustrated

for a breakout season this fall. Up front, where starting defensive ends Deion Barnes and C.J. Olaniyan have both departed, Penn State will need a breakout season from either 02h-year senior Carl Nassib or Sickels or, prefer- ably, both. The Nittany Lions need to re- plenish those positions if they are to perform at the same level they reached last season, when they ranked second in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total defense. Nassib has been receiving some well- deserved media attention due to his per- formance in the o1-season. He's a for- mer walk-on who has parlayed his per- sistence and dedication into a starting position, and his personal story has been recounted in some detail over the past few months. But in terms of potential on-0eld impact, I believe Sickels will be the big story at defensive end this fall. "Garrett Sickels was a highly recruited guy in Hack's class who is really com- petitive and has great explosiveness and get-o1," Shoop said. "He also had a great spring for us." Sickels played in all 13 games last fall, but in only six of those games did he see action at defensive end. It was a sup- porting role, but he still 0nished with 11 tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks. A former four-star prospect, Sickels has added close to 15 pounds and stands 6-4, 258 heading into his sophomore season. With the possible exception of classmate Curtis Cothran, he has the best outside pass rush of any Penn State defensive end. He'll have a chance this fall to show everyone why he was so highly rated coming out of high school. Other possible breakout performers on defense are Cothran, sophomore line- backer Jason Cabinda and redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Parker Cothren. At 6-5, 261 pounds, Cothran might be Penn State's most physically talented defensive end. He had an out- standing Blue-White Game with 0ve tackles and 2.5 sacks. Should BWI readers be disappointed that there are no obvious choices as breakout performers this year? I don't think so. There are a number of potential candidates, which to me illustrates how well Franklin and his assistant coaches have recruited and how far this program has advanced as the NCAA has backed o1 of its sanctions. ■ END GAME Gesicki (left) and Breneman talk to reporters at media day earlier this month. Photo by Tim Owen

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