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game last season. McSorley can take some of the credit for that; he's a lot more mobile than Christian Hacken- berg. But you would like to think that the line had something to do with it, too. And with that in mind… GRADE C DEFENSIVE LINE This unit entered the bye week riding high after a strong performance against Maryland – a per- formance in which the Terps were held 130 yards below their per-game rushing average and were forced to turn to their backup quarterback after starter Perry Hills bowed out with an injury late in the first half. Defensive ends Garrett Sickels and Evan Schwan played arguably the best games of their respective careers, and redshirt freshman linemen Kevin Givens and Shareef Miller were disrup- tive in a way that they hadn't been since the season opener against Kent State. In an attempt to avoid recency bias, however, let's bear in mind that before the Maryland romp, this unit had taken a step back due to the departure of four NFL-bound players. Pitt pushed the Lions around in week two, Michigan totaled more than 300 yards on the ground and its quarterback wasn't sacked once in week four, and Minnesota went for over 220. Heading into its bye, Penn State ranked 12th in the Big Ten in rush defense, allowing 208.8 yards per game. But, as evidenced by the Maryland game, there are reasons for optimism looking ahead to the sec- ond half of the season as this deep unit gains more experience. Through six games, PSU ranked second in the Big Ten in tackles for loss. It also ranked third in sacks, even though no individual ranked in the top 10. Which means that the Nit- tany Lions need someone to separate from the pack. Who's that going to be? How about Torrence Brown? Only one other player in the Big Ten has forced more fumbles, and he was leading this unit with 18 tackles including four tack- les for loss. GRADE C+ LINEBACKER Franklin emphasizes the point every chance he gets: This unit has been ravaged by a wave of injuries that is unlike anything he has seen in his two- decade-plus coaching career. That being the case, we're going to give a deferred grade. The list of injured players, arranged according to the date of their exits, is as follows: Jason Vranic, Jason Cabinda, Brandon Bell, Nyeem Wart- man-White, Jan Johnson and Jake Cooper. Even former walk-on Brandon Smith, who has been a hero in relief this season, has missed action due to an in- jury and also because of a targeting penalty at Michigan that the Big Ten later admitted was issued in error. While there have been many glimmers of hope, including sophomore Manny Bowen's gradual rise, true freshman Cam Brown's flashes and Smith's early storyline, the continual misfortune this group has suffered lately can't help but spill over to the field. Where it shows most is in the big plays. Only one other team in the Big Ten has allowed more chunk plays (gains of 10-plus and 20- plus yards), and a lot of that has to do with the inability of the young LBs to track down the play and put themselves in position to make the initial tackle. Penn State's leading tacklers are its two safeties. The coaches are hoping to get a few names off the disabled list later this sea- son. The return of veteran starters Cabinda and Bell, combined with the ex- perience gained by the young players who have been called on in the past month, might give Penn State a boost right when it needs one. GRADE Incomplete DEFENSIVE BACK They would prob- ably like to have more turnovers to their name, as Malik Golden and John Reid are the only two regular starters with an in- terception thus far. But other than that, you've really got to nitpick with this group. Golden has come on strong his senior year, and he had a career game in the overtime victory against Minnesota. Reid has been his sturdy self, and the same goes for Grant Haley when he's been healthy. The other cornerbacks have made important plays in limited time, as Jordan Smith and Amani Oruwariye both have interceptions, while Christian Campbell was playing the best football of his three seasons be- fore getting hurt in week six. The developing star here is Marcus Allen, who leads the Big Ten with 9.5 tackles per game, including 30 solo stops. Allen gets a lot of flak for his tack- ling style, and while he might have missed a few here and there, especially earlier in the season, he makes them at a higher rate than anyone in the league. Another thing to keep in mind: It isn't so PSUtixman@gmail.com www.PSUtixman.com Get your PSU Football Tickets at go t ti cke t s? k c i t t t e k man@g .PSUtixm www. at ootba Get yo k c i t t o gm .PSUtixman.com all ur s t s e k

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