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201, R-Fr.), Ayron Monroe (5-11, 202, R- Fr.) OUTLOOK With the graduation of Jordan Lucas, Golden should be the leading contender to take over the start- ing position. He played in all 13 games last season and made four starts, step- ping in for Lucas after an injury ended the senior's career prematurely. Golden finished the season with 40 tackles to rank 10th on the team, and he also had an interception. His competition will come from Miller and Monroe. As true freshmen last sea- son, they played on the scout team, where they caught the eye of corner- backs coach Terry Smith. One other potential candidate at strong safety is junior Troy Apke. A 6-foot-1, 198-pounder, Apke had a solid season last fall, totaling 26 tackles. He played behind Marcus Allen at free safety, but he has the tools to play the strong safety spot, too. Regardless of what happens with Apke, however, Miller and Monroe will be expected to provide depth. WEAKSIDE DEFENSIVE END SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS Torrence Brown (6-3, 257, R-So.), Curtis Cothran (6-5, 262, R-Jr.), Shareef Miller (6-5, 248, R-Fr.) OUTLOOK It hardly needs to be said, but I'll say it anyway: Carl Nassib is go- ing to be a very hard man to replace. He was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year after leading the country in sacks with 15.5 and finishing second in the Big Ten in tackles for loss with 19.5. With Nassib off to the NFL, Brown ap- pears to be the leading contender to take over the starting weakside defensive end position. He finished with 11 tackles as a redshirt freshman, including 5.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. But Brown is likely to receive a chal- lenge from Cothran in spring practice. Cothran was a pleasant surprise in 2015, totaling 16 tackles, including four tack- les for loss and 2.5 sacks. At 6-5, he has the frame to carry 270 pounds. Miller was redshirted as a freshman last fall and won several of the scout team's weekly defensive MVP awards. He should provide quality depth this coming season, especially if he's up to about 255 pounds by the fall. ONE-TECHNIQUE D. TACKLE SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS Parker Cothren (6-4, 302, R-Jr.), Robert Wind- sor (6-4, 285, R-Fr.) OUTLOOK Unlike most (if not all) of the position battles listed above, there is a very strong favorite here. With two seasons of experience on his resume and no veteran players to challenge him in the spring, Cothren is all but certain to come out of the Lions' off-season drills standing atop the depth chart at the one-technique tackle spot. He had a sol- id 2015 season as Austin Johnson's back- up, appearing in all 13 games and making 13 tackles, including an assisted sack. Johnson won't be easily replaced, but Cothren is a consistent player, and that quality will serve him well this spring. Windsor was a leader of the scout team last fall, and Franklin said in December that the freshman had added about 15 pounds. He's listed at 285 pounds on Penn State's most recent roster, but if he's substantially bigger than his report- ed weight, he'll have the size he needs to handle the position. Penn State defen- sive line coach Sean Spencer says Wind- sor is physically prepared to make the four-man rotation at defensive tackle this fall. For depth purposes, he needs to come out of spring practice as a solid backup to Cothren. ■ P E N N S T A T E S P R I N G F O O T B A L L

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