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Due in part to his performance in kick coverage, Scott is making the switch to safety. "We're going to try him out through spring ball," cornerbacks coach Terry Smith confirmed in early Febru- ary. Scott's move is not a response to the loss of Andrew Pryts, the three-star safety prospect from Hermitage, Pa., who had been a member of Penn State's incoming recruiting class before decom- mitting on the eve of signing day. In fact, by the time Pryts switched to Stanford, the coaching staff had been discussing Scott's move for weeks. The reason: ris- ing depth at running back with Andre Robinson coming off a redshirt year and elite prospect Miles Sanders set to arrive on campus this summer. Also, Scott has a burning desire to compete that the coaches simply don't want to extin- guish. Watch Scott on kickoff coverage, one of his primary duties as a redshirt fresh- man, and he races against his teammates down the field toward the opposite goal line like there's a prize to be won. His ef- fort in that phase of the game has not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff. During off-season workouts and test- ing, Penn State has recorded Scott run- ning the 40-yard dash in a rounded time of 4.5 seconds. It's one of the better times on the team, and that speed trans- lates to the field. Special teams coordi- nator Charles Huff times his athletes on kickoff coverage to determine their game speed. Scott runs just as fast during games as he does in the off-season test- ing. "We timed him in the game at 4.5, which means he's maximizing his speed," Smith said. "There aren't many guys who do that on our list. So that means he plays hard. He's going to be a great addition to our defense." The spring likely won't be without its challenges, however, as Scott readies for his first collegiate season on the de- fensive side of the ball. The coaching staff is confident that he will acclimate to the move in time, with Smith refer- ring to him as a "defensive-minded" player. His largest obstacle certainly won't stem from a lack of hustle. Rather, it will involve "learning our fundamen- tals, technique and terminology," Smith said. "That will be the greatest chal- lenge." Smith said that he and recently hired safeties coach Tim Banks are confident that their work with Scott this spring will help ease his transition. "We'll learn [more] about him," Smith said. "We know he's a kid who plays re- ally hard. He was a great special-teamer. He was a physical kid. So we expect him to be in the mix of [safeties]." FOOTBALL It was everything I dreamed of' ' ' In welcoming Penn State's Class of 2016 to the fold on Feb. 3, the football program trotted out one of its greatest stories from the 2015 season. As part of the signing day celebration in the Lasch Building's team auditorium, rising sophomore running back Saquon Barkley sat down to talk with Tony Man- cuso and Brian Tripp of Go- PSUSports.com, recapping his whirl- wind first year as a Nittany Lion. Turns out, a season in which he rushed for 1,076 yards and seven touchdowns on 182 carries – and netted multiple All- Conference and All-America nods in the process – was as fun for Barkley as it was for the fans watching. "It was everything I dreamed of," Barkley said. "It was an amazing time." The amazement began when he walked through Beaver Stadium's south tunnel for the first time, stepping onto the field during a driving rain storm prior to the team's home opener against Buffalo. Later that day, he scored his first touch- down in front of the Penn State student section, a milestone moment for a kid who was – and still is – in the infancy of his football playing career. Remembering his own signing day experience a year earlier, Barkley offered a few words of advice to the young prospects who will be joining the Nittany Lions in the coming months. "If you want to play as a freshman, you have to come in with the mentality that you want to play as a freshman," he said. "I know you're worried about high school and having fun still, but when Barkley looks back on his remarkable debut season SAQUON BARKLEY Bill Anderson

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