2 0 1 6 P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L
GOLDEN RULE
Malik Golden brings veteran experience to a deep PSU secondary
P
enn State had been a double-digit
underdog heading into its 2013 season
finale at Wisconsin, but when Adam
Breneman caught a 68-yard first-quarter
touchdown pass, the longest completion
of the season against the Badgers, it sud-
denly looked as though the Nittany Lions
might just have enough offense to make
things interesting. But did they have
enough defense? That was a more vexing
question, especially after Wisconsin an-
swered Breneman's touchdown with two
of its own.
The Lions had experienced their share
of defensive problems throughout the sea-
son, but this was essentially a bowl game
for the sanction-ridden program, a chance
to go out in a blaze of glory. There was no
reason to hold anything back, so with
Penn State trying to keep up with the
14th-ranked Badgers in the second quarter,
safeties coach Anthony Midget turned to
redshirt freshman backup Malik Golden.
"[He] told me words I'll never forget,"
Golden recalled. "He said, 'Look, I'm just
going to hand this over to you and I'm
not taking you out regardless of what hap-
D E F E N S I V E B A C K S
SAFETY FIRST Gold-
en started four games
for the Lions last year,
filling in for Jordan
Lucas after the senior
suffered a season-
ending injury.
Photo
by Steve Manuel
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