F O O T B A L L
Linebackers' return boosts PSU's defense
Injuries had never really been a prob-
lem for Jason Cabinda at any point in his
football career, so when his left hand
was hurt prior to Penn State's game
against Pitt in week two, it was an unfa-
miliar and unpleasant experience.
"It was tough sitting out, there's no
doubt about it," the junior middle line-
backer said. "You want to be out there
and you want to be making plays along-
side your brothers."
But Cabinda is also a student of the
game, and in that respect, having to
watch from the sideline was not entirely
without its upside.
"Being able to kind of sit back, you
kind of get put into coach mode and you
get to see how offenses are attacking you
and you get to help out the young guys,"
he explained. "And you try to be as
available as you can, try to be around as
much as you can. Being at practice,
being around, being right there next to
Manny and Coop and those guys as soon
as they have a question in practice or
whatever it may be, and trying to help
those guys out as much as you can, is
what I went through during that time
and what I learned about myself going
into coach mode."
As evidenced by his impressive return
to action – and by the ongoing develop-
ment of sophomores Manny Bowen and
Jake Cooper – Cabinda put his five-
game layoff to good use. Wearing a
heavy wrapping around his thumb and
NEWS & NOTES
TRAP
PLAY
Cabinda helped
Penn State keep
the
heat on Ohio
State quarter-
back J.T. Barrett.
Photo by Steve
Manuel
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