Blue White Illustrated

man. He lost his grandmother this year, and then at the same time had an ACL. It was just one blow after another. His mom's health hasn't been great. It's just amazing to me, his positive attitude. It's something for all of us to learn from and look to. In the face of tough times, he keeps his chin up and he's bright-eyed and he smiles, and he's concerned about his fellow linebackers and always coach- ing those guys up and trying to be inspir- ing to them. He's a great example for us right now. Nyeem has been through some tough times and it's made him tough. [The knee injury] is just one more hurdle, one more obstacle that he's going to overcome and come out on the other side bigger and better than ever." Pry is looking forward to Wartman- White's eventual return as a fifth-year senior. With current starters Brandon Bell, Jason Cabinda and Troy Reeder all set to return in 2016, and only Ben Kline currently expected to graduate, the vet- eran assistant coach will have multiple combinations with which to work. "We're certainly going to be in a great situation," Pry said. "We're going to have a lot of depth. We're going to have a lot of quality guys with experience. It's obviously too early to say [which posi- tion everyone will play] and what we'll decide to do. The nice thing is that there are several guys with flexibility who have played both Will and Mike. Jason Cabin- da has played both. Nyeem has played both. Brandon Bell has played Sam and Will. Troy Reeer was a Mike first before we moved him to Will. "So there are just a lot of guys who have learned multiple spots, which I think will give us the flexibility to put the best three guys out there and back them up with three experienced guys. I'm excited about the future at my po- sition. I really am." ■ Penn State lost more than a game at Northwestern. It also lost strong safety Jordan Lucas for the rest of the season. The nature of Lucas's injury was not disclosed, but after leaving the game against the Wildcats in the first half, he returned to the sideline in the second half dressed in street clothes, with his right arm in a sling. He was replaced in the secondary by Malik Golden, and the redshirt junior is expected to fill in for Lucas for the duration of the season. "It was really hard on Jordan to know that it's coming to an end for him," coach James Franklin said. "But we've also played other guys and had other guys prepared [so] that the next guy will step up. We've done that all year long. "We've had a lot of guys miss either one or multiple games, and guys have had to step up. Jordan has been hurt several times this year where he's had to come out for a series or quarters, and other guys have been able to go in to play." Lucas began his career as a cornerback and started 24 games at the position be- fore moving to strong safety this past off-season following Adrian Amos's graduation. He started nine of Penn State's first 10 games at the position this season. The only game he missed was the San Diego State game on Sept. 26. A senior, Lucas does not have any eligi- bility remaining beyond the 2015 season. He concludes his career with 180 tackles, 25 pass breakups, four sacks and 11 tackles for loss. ■ BASEBALL Lions make history with visit to Cuba Rob Cooper had been talking to some Penn State o8cials about establishing a discretionary fund that could be used by the baseball team for any number of things, maybe even an international trip. But when Kirk Diehl, director of the Varsity "S" Club, brought up Cuba, Cooper dismissed the suggestion. "I thought he was kidding," the vet- eran coach said. He was not. Diehl knew that emeri- tus professor John Nichols had been leading educational trips to Cuba for years, long before the recent re-estab- lishment of diplomatic relations with the United States. Also, Penn State had a relationship with the Center for Mar- ti Studies in Havana. Those connections resulted in a milestone series. Penn State was set to leave on Nov. 21 for four games against teams from the Cuban National Series, including two games against Industri- ales, considered the New York Yankees of Cuban baseball. The Nittany Lions were to become the 7rst NCAA Divi- sion I team to compete against a Cuban National Series team, and the 7rst U.S. baseball team to play in Cuba since the resumption of diplomatic ties. Junior out7elder James Coates said he was looking forward to the trip as not only a team bonding experience but also a learning opportunity that will broaden everyone's horizons. "I'm just really excited to learn about the Cuban culture, the way they live their lives each day, how much they value baseball," Coates said. "I think that's something that we can take back and use in our lives here, during our season, to help us re- alize how special the game is to some other people and how lucky we are to get to play it." – MATT HERB FOOTBALL Lucas will miss remainder of season JORDAN LUCAS Steve Manuel

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