Blue White Illustrated

sive scheme. He has 4.5-second 40-yard speed, is physical against the run and can cover a running back or tight end in the pass game. Last season Bowen had his redshirt re- moved in the opening game against Tem- ple when Nyeem Wartman-White was lost for the season with an ACL injury. He went on to play in all 13 games, total- ing 18 tackles including a tackle for loss. With Penn State likely to play its 4-2-5 defensive scheme close to 50 percent of the time this fall, there is no question that Bowen will play a much bigger role on defense than he did as a true fresh- man in 2015. At times you might even see Brandon Bell or Wartman-White or Jason Cabinda playing the two box line- backer positions with Bowen at the star outside linebacker/strong safety spot. For more on that scenario, let's look at the most signi5cant battles of Penn State's preseason drills. TOP POSITION BATTLES NOAH BEH vs. BRENDAN MAHON and/or PARIS PALMER With Andrew Nelson moving back to right tackle, which is the spot where he began his ca- reer, no one has a clear idea who will play le7 tackle. Early on, Beh was mak- ing a bid for the starting job. The 6-6, 300-pounder may have the best feet of any tackle on Penn State's roster, but Mahon might have the inside track. NYEEM WARTMAN-WHITE vs. JASON CABINDA With Wartman-White coming o6 an ACL injury that caused him to miss all but a handful of plays last season, Cabinda appears to have the in- side track at the Mike position. If he holds onto the spot, Wartman-White will move over to the Will position, which is the other box linebacker posi- tion in Penn State's alignment. But when the Lions employ their 4-2-5 defense, Bell could move inside to a box LB spot, and either Wartman-White or Cabinda could come o6 the 5eld. ANTOINE WHITE vs. CURTIS COTHRAN or KEVIN GIVENS or TYRELL CHAVIS It really doesn't matter who wins this starting job. What Penn State needs is to 5nd two three-tech- nique defensive tackles to help form a solid four-man rotation at the two inte- rior positions. White, Cothran, Givens and Chavis could all see playing time. If he's physically ready to go, Chavis has the ability to play both defensive tackle spots. EVAN SCHWAN vs. TORRENCE BROWN Both Schwan (6-6, 268) and Brown (6-3, 257) have gotten bigger. It appears that Schwan has the inside track for the starting nod at the defensive end position opposite redshirt junior Garrett Sickels. Penn State needs another de- fensive end to emerge in preseason camp to have a four-man rotation at these po- sitions. Ryan Buchholz and Shareef Miller are the leading candidates, and they're not the only redshirt freshmen who could 5nd themselves playing key roles throughout the lineup this fall. Which brings us to… TOP REDSHIRT FRESHMAN CONTRIBUTORS JUWAN JOHNSON Even though Penn State is seven-deep at wide receiver, Johnson is just too talented to not have an impact this fall. He's 6-4, 218 pounds, and his 4.5-second 40 speed gives him home run potential. RYAN BATES In my opinion, Bates won the starting le7 guard position in spring practice. He could be the best freshman o6ensive lineman to play at Penn State since Stefen Wisniewski. GARRETT TAYLOR Taylor missed the 2015 season while rehabbing an ACL in- jury he su6ered as a high school senior. He was one of the top 10 cornerbacks in the Class of 2015 despite not playing his senior year and has received high praise from Penn State assistant coach Terry Smith. Expected to be the Nittany Lions' fourth cornerback, Taylor might be the best press man-to-man coverage spe- cialist on the roster. KEVIN GIVENS He still needs to add weight, but the 275-pounder will be part of the rotation at the three-tech- nique defensive tackle position this fall. ■

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