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Penn State's 13th consensus first-team All-American. In his first season at Penn State, Spencer had to replace fourth-round draft pick DaQuan Jones, and last year there were vacancies at both defensive end spots after the departure of Deion Barnes and C.J. Olaniyan. Frequent per- sonnel turnover is fact of life in this sport, so as far as Spencer is concerned, there's no reason not to embrace the challenge. "Every year, it's been something else. When Deion and C.J. left, what are you going to do? Who is Carl Nassib? He's a walk-on. And Carl was pretty good last year," Spencer said. "This year it's: What are you going to do inside? And obvi- ously, there are some questions. I under- stand them. You graduate three guys who got drafted, that's awesome, and then another guy is a free agent. So you lost four NFL guys on your line. "What we do is, we're going to reload, we're not going to rebuild. Rebuild has a negative connotation to it, I don't like saying it. I say reload, because those guys come into this program with the expectation that we will be great." Though lacking name recognition, the players vying for that opportunity are plentiful this season. Defensive end Garrett Sickels returns as the group's most experienced veteran, having started 12 games last season and played in 25 games during his first two years of eligibility. Fellow "old head" Evan Schwan is the only senior in the group, with Torrence Brown, Curtis Cothran, Parker Cothren, Colin Castagna and Antoine White all bringing some experience to the table. Meanwhile, junior college transfers Tyrell Chavis and Brenon Thrift are big bodies in the interior. Redshirt freshmen Ryan Buchholz, Shareef Miller, Kevin Givens and Robert Windsor are all red- shirt freshmen poised to see action for the first time this fall, and true freshmen Daniel Joseph, Shane Simmons, Shaka Toney, Ellison Jordan and Antonio Shel- ton are attempting to make an immedi- ate impact. For all of the personality and experience that Nassib, Zettel and Johnson brought to the group, Sickels has tried to help bridge the gap without missing a beat. "Nothing has really changed. Everyone comes ready to work every day and is ready to get better for the team," he said. Noting that there are asterisks by many of their names this preseason, de- fensive coordinator Brent Pry has backed up Spencer's assertion that the wealth of quality depth should create a competition that leads to production this season. "This isn't the first time in my career that we've been in a situation where we've lost some good football players who were All-Conference-type guys. Not always to the NFL, but that's one of the challenges as coaches," Pry said. "I think we've got great depth. It's unproven depth, but the roster in that unit right now looks better than it has since we've been here. There's talent. There's just not a lot of experience. There are young guys, highly recruited. There are old heads who just haven't played a lot because they've played behind those NFL guys. So there are some challenges, but we're excited about where we can go this camp." Sickels acknowledged that he's heard all of the questions this off-season. He doesn't take umbrage at them, but they do prompt an occasional smirk. The Nittany Lions have established a strong track record over the years, one that Spencer has helped to perpetuate. Sick- els said he's confident that the opener against Kent State will provide the group with an opportunity to "make a state- ment" about its worth. "We come ready to work every day. We don't rebuild, we reload. That's our mantra. That's what we do every year," Sickels said. "People said the same thing when Deion and C.J. left. So we're not really concerned with it. We hear about it, but we don't really pay attention to it because we know what we're doing at the end of the day and we're getting ready to win games." If recent history is any indication of what's to come, Penn State's defensive line is likely to quell fan fears and media criticisms in short order. ■ 111 E. Beaver Ave s State College, PA 16801 www.The-Phyrst.com 814.234.4406 137 Elmwood St. s State College, PA 16801 www.HappyValleyBeer.com Wood-fire Grill 12 Beers on Tap 200 Year Old Barn 821 Cricklewood Dr. s Toftrees, State College www.AmericanAleHouse.net 814.237.9701 s Piano Bar s Sommelier 814.238.1406 814.234.7700 s 1611 Atherton St. s State College 814.941.7788 s Plank Rd. Exit s Altoona www.ChampsSportsGrill.net s Best Game Bar s Large Groups Welcome c lc e W We s p u o r G e g r a L s a e B m a st G e B s S n S h 1 A 1 6 1 0 0 7 7 4. 3 2 4. 1 8 me co r a l l C S r G s rt o p S s p m a h C . www s t i x . E d k R n a l P s 8 8 7 7 1. 4 9 . 4 1 8 S s . t n S o t r e h t 1 A 1 6 1 s 0 0 7 7 4. 3 2 4. 1 8 t e n . l l i r na o o t l A e g e l l o C e at t S

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