Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/703041
2 0 1 6 P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L P R E V I E W KEY PERSONNEL CB: Christian Campbell, Grant Haley*, Zechariah McPhearson Amani Oruwariye, John Reid*, Jordan Smith, Garrett Taylor; Saf.: Marcus Allen*, Troy Apke, Koa Farmer, Malik Golden*, T.J. Johnson, Jarvis Miller, Ayron Monroe, John Petrishen, Nick Scott LOSSES CB: Trevor Williams*; Saf.: Jordan Lucas* RISING STAR A former four-star defensive back, Taylor spent his first year at Penn State rehabbing a knee injury that he suffered in high school. Almost completely healed this spring, he was one of the stand- outs in a deep secondary, and that caught the coaches' eyes. He enters preseason camp battling for one of the five top spots in the cornerback rotation. Haley and Reid have two of them all but locked up, so the other three will be decided between Taylor, Campbell, Oruwariye, Smith and in- coming freshman McPhearson. If he's fully healthy, Taylor appears to have the ability to contribute on al- most every series for Penn State's defense. Who knows what can hap- pen from there. BIGGEST LOSS There's no simple replacement for someone who started 40 consecutive games, but that's the void Penn State has to fill in adjusting to life without Lucas, who finished his career with 46 game appearances, both at safety and cornerback. He is now with the Miami Dolphins, and his departure opens up an opportunity for a bevy of young of defensive backs who are rising through the ranks. Now it's a matter of finding one who is as reliable – or at least close to it – as Lucas. NUMBERS GAME Allen finished with 81 tackles as a sophomore, good for an average of 6.75 per game and ranking second on the team behind Jason Cabinda's 100. Only four other Big Ten defen- sive backs who return this year tal- lied more tackles. And to think, he probably could have made a few more. OUTLOOK Heading into preseason camp, the secondary is the strength of Penn State's defense. The cornerback group loses a multiyear starter in Williams but returns a surplus of un- derclassmen who are eagerly waiting their turn to make an impact in Beaver Stadium. Most notably, Reid appears ready to take over a full-time starter's role after appearing in 13 games and starting two, while two-year starter Haley is at the head of the table with the CBs. Allen has one safety spot locked up – and possibly a Star LB role as well – while Golden, Apke, Farmer and Scott will provide al- ternative options at the opposite spot or when Allen moves closer to the line of scrimmage. – T.O. >> CORNERBACK NO NAME YR HT WT 29 John Reid So. 5-10 191 17 Garrett Taylor R-Fr. 6-0 193 FREE SAFETY 2 Marcus Allen Jr. 6-2 205 28 Troy Apke Jr. 6-1 200 STRONG SAFETY 6 Malik Golden Sr. 6-0 205 7 Koa Farmer R-So. 6-1 225 CORNERBACK 15 Grant Haley Jr. 5-9 185 1 C. Campbell Jr. 6-1 194 21 Amani Oruwariye R-So. 6-1 206 * Starting experience in 2015 JOHN REID PHIL'S TAKE If their largely rebuilt defensive front is able to put suffi- cient pressure on op- posing quarterbacks, I believe the Nittany Lions' secondary will be the team's No. 1 strength on this side of the ball. Coming out of spring practice, Penn State is five-deep at cornerback. Grant Haley and John Reid are the projected starters, with Christian Campbell, Amani Oruwariye and Garrett Taylor providing depth. Watch Taylor closely, because he had a tremendous spring. At safety, Marcus Allen and Malik Golden are the projected starters, with Koa Farmer, Troy Apke, Nick Scott, Ayron Monroe and Jarvis Miller providing depth. Scott had an excellent spring at free safety after moving over to the position from his running back spot on offense. This is quite possibly the most ath- letic secondary I've ever seen at Penn State. Now it needs to produce more turnovers. The defensive backs finished with only six interceptions in 2015. Steve Manuel