Blue White Illustrated

P O S T S E A S O N P R E V I E W >> P E N N S T A T E As the linemen became more familiar with what they were seeing, more accus- tomed to the speed of the game and better able to quickly identify their keys, they didn't find themselves being gouged quite so often. Although Michigan ran for 340 yards in the Big Ten opener, the defense clamped down from that point on. After allowing an average of more than 213 yards per game in September, Penn State held op- ponents to fewer than 113 over the next two months, including an average of 72 in November. All it took was a little seasoning. "I'm going to play nine or 10 guys," Spencer said in early October. "I don't have a dominant guy. Don't have Carl Nassib, [about whom] you say, he's got to be in there at this point in time. I think the closest to that is Garrett Sickels, but the rest of those guys are doing a great job understanding their role, and I think as the season goes on" they'll improve. And they sure did. After Minnesota rushed for 228 yards, 115 of which came in the first half of a game that eventually went to over- time, Penn State held its next seven op- ponents to fewer than 170 yards on the ground. Three of those opponents were held below 50. The reason? "It's not real profound," Franklin said. "They are gaining experience. They were inexperienced guys at the beginning of the year. We have guys like Parker [Cothren], who has played a decent amount of football, and Brown and Sick- els have played a decent amount of foot- ball for us, but, really, the other guys lacked experience. Robert Windsor is a redshirt freshman [who] has had a big role for us this year. Guys like that are coming on for us. You look at Shareef [Miller] – there's another guy. Those guys were red- shirts last year. I think that is the biggest difference from the beginning of the year until now – the experience that they've gained by playing week-in and week-out. ... Also, they've realized that they can be good. Individually and collectively, they can be pretty good. When you have suc- cess, your confidence grows every single day, and those guys are doing that." While the players were becoming more comfortable with their responsibilities, the coaching staff was developing a better understanding of their skill sets and learning how best to use them in various game situations. In transitioning from every-down thoroughbreds like Anthony Zettel, Austin Johnson and Nassib to a ro- tating cast of mostly underclassmen, the staff had to assemble and reassemble dif- ferent combinations, figuring out who worked best alongside whom. On the Friday night or Saturday morn- ing before a game, Franklin and his defen- sive staff would sit down and try to figure out which sets of tackles and ends would match up best against the opposing of- fensive line. The aim was to pair one young tackle, such as Givens or Windsor, with a more experienced lineman such as Cothren or Antoine White. As juco trans- fer Tyrell Chavis continued to develop and overcame what Spencer described as "the soreness of the regimen at a Division I program," he, too, became an integral role player. Adding to the complexity, the Lions use different looks for different down-and- distance scenarios. "If it's a passing situ- ation, we have a look where we're going to have three defensive ends on the field, [with] one of those defensive ends playing at the defensive tackle position," Franklin explained. "Then we also have situations where, say, we're playing a team like Pitt that wants to run the ball. We may have Windsor and Parker Cothren on the field at the same time, two guys who are tech- nically both noses, but put Windsor at the three-technique [spot] to get a little bit more size on the field." Another key to the improvement of the defensive line midway through the season was the return of Curtis Cothran. The redshirt junior had missed the team's first four games due to an unspecified suspen- sion, but he quickly made an impact and was inserted as the starter at the three- technique spot one week later. "We were really excited about getting him back," Franklin said. "He did a great job for us on the scout team early in the season. He's a guy who made the move [from end to tackle], very similar to what we did with Zettel a few years ago." Even though he hadn't played the posi- tion before – and even though redshirt freshman Kevin Givens, another con- verted defensive end, was holding his own early on – Cothran's contributions made a big difference. "We're all very excited about [Givens], but he's still a redshirt freshman playing in the Big Ten," Franklin said. "Being able to get Curtis back, an older guy, a guy who is able to get in there and able to take some of the reps off of Kevin, Antoine White and some of the other guys we have play- ing, [puts the defensive line in] a great sit- uation. We have about a three-deep rotation in there at the defensive line at multiple positions. It's been helpful." ■ HOT PURSUIT Windsor was part of a stellar second-half defensive ef- fort in the Nit- tany Lions' win over Ohio State. Photo by Steve Manuel

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