Blue White Illustrated

the physical demands of the college game. As a high school player, he weighed 230 pounds and lined up at linebacker. But these days, he weighs 270, and he could be even bigger by the time his first season of eligibility begins in September. Reflecting on his effort in the weight room, teammates have called him a "phys- ical freak" and have praised him for his performance during winter workouts in January and February. As a result of all that work, Givens now has the opportunity to assert himself as heir to Anthony Zettel's vacated three- technique defensive tackle position. The depth chart is unsettled at that position, and the competition will heat up over the summer when Penn State welcomes the four defensive tackles it signed in February, including two juco players with instant-impact potential. But as defen- sive coordinator Brent Pry suggests, Givens has put himself in an enviable position. "I think Kevin's been a little bit of a surprise for all of us," Pry said. "We were certainly excited about him. He was a very raw player coming out of high school, [but] he's got tremendous work ethic, he really understands the game, he under- stands leverage and blocking schemes and just a lot of things that came to him nat- urally that maybe we didn't get a chance to see on his high school film. "He's a mature guy. He approaches the game the right way, very unselfish, he moved inside to three-technique and took it by the horns and really had a nice spring. He was a pleasant surprise." Pry compared Givens to senior linebacker Brandon Bell, calling him a "quiet" guy who "understands the game." Sooner rather than later, that combination of ath- leticism and understanding could help Penn State alleviate some of its concerns in the middle of its defensive line. "He's a pretty heady guy, he gets it," Pry said. "He makes plays because he sees it quicker than other guys. Kevin's got a great feel inside. We're excited about his future." ■ Healthy approach makes White a factor at DT | W hen Antoine White arrived at Penn State in 2014, he weighed 280 pounds. After a year on campus he was between 290 and 295, but while that might seem like the way it's supposed to work for an aspiring young defensive tackle, White didn't feel as healthy as he thought he should. So, working with strength coach Dwight Galt during the winter, he did something about it. "Right now I'm at about 278. I worked really hard to try to change my body with diet as well as how I approached my workouts," he said. "Now I'm trying to [put weight] back on how I want it in terms of me losing the fat now with the program that Coach Galt has me on and trying to gain back as much good, positive weight as I can." Ultimately, White said he's hoping to get back to about the same playing weight he was carrying during the 2015 season. He saw action in 10 games as a redshirt freshman, finish- ing with 12 tackles including a pair of assisted sacks, getting his feet wet in advance of a 2016 season in which he's expected to see much more ac- tion. Coach James Franklin said White dropped 13 pounds of bad weight while putting on 12 pounds of mus- cle, and White confirmed that those numbers are roughly accurate. "I dropped about 11 pounds throughout the entire off-season from January to my last winter workout. I'm looking to get to about 290 this year," he said. "At the end of last season, I was around 290, 295. I was floating in between there, so if I can stay consistent and get to 290 for the season, that's what I'd like to do." In spite of the weight transforma- tion, White was able to improve on his strength numbers during winter workouts, finishing second in the squat among all of the Nittany Lions with a 600-pound mark. White, who finished with two tackles in the Blue-White Game, one of which was for a 5-yard loss, is ea- ger to continue putting on more good weight as the months pass be- tween now and the start of the 2016 season. He said that he had an op- portunity this spring to show his po- tential and establish himself as a sol- id contributor now that last season's starting defensive tackles, Austin Johnson and Anthony Zettel, have graduated. "I felt like I just had a lot of weight that I put on really fast in my time here," he said, "and it wasn't all healthy weight, so I wanted to get more limber and then build it back on how I wanted to do. "I've been moving in and out from between the one and three [so that] I can help the defense with that rota- tion. I think that as the season comes and as camp comes, I'll be a more natural fit and at more solid position at the one."

• Cover