Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/717693
RELOADING ZONE Spencer is accus- tomed to replacing talented players. This year's task: find three new starters to step in for Carl Nassib, Austin John- son and Anthony Zettel. Photo by Ryan Snyder GREAT EXPECTATIONS Sean Spencer has high hopes for Penn State's retooled defensive line ean Spencer isn't a man lacking in confidence. From his debut with head coach James Franklin and the rest of the Nit- tany Lion assistant coaching staff in January 2014, the defensive line leader has approached his job with high stan- dards. Coming off back-to-back seasons in which his group has been arguably the team's strongest and most productive, it should come as no surprise that Spencer's expectations haven't faltered, even after sustaining the loss of four players who are now competing on NFL rosters. "I'm always anticipating it to be great," he said. "No one rises to low expecta- tions. The group before leaves, and then I expect the next group to rise to the ex- pectation that the other one set forth, and be better." For Spencer and the Nittany Lion de- fensive line, so far, so good. Taking over for Larry Johnson Sr., a mainstay assistant who helped produce 15 first-team All-Big Ten selections in his 18 seasons with the Nittany Lions, Spencer arrived to find a roster that, de- spite the NCAA's major scholarship penalties, was fully stocked with high- end talent. He hasn't squandered the opportunity, either. Mentoring the nation's No. 3 rushing defense and No. 2 total defense in 2014, Spencer helped Anthony Zettel trans- form himself from a relative unknown into a first-team All-Conference defen- sive tackle with 17 tackles for loss and eight sacks. In addition, Austin Johnson developed into the No. 43 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, while Carl Nassib went from walk-on obscurity to the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and JUDGMENT CALL S