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A T T H E 2 0 1 7 N I T T A N Y L I O N S smart, so that's going to help him a lot." Not to be overlooked is Alex Gellerstedt, a tackle who enrolled early alongside Mc- Govern. Weighing less than 270 pounds when he arrived on campus, Gellerstedt focused most of his energy on his physical development, and position coach Matt Limegrover said he made as much progress as any of the unit's freshmen. Limegrover said Gellerstedt "has the most to gain and is making up that ground," adding that the Ohio native has "as high a ceiling, because of his athletic ability and frame, as any guy in the pro- gram. He's starting to grow into that and understand that and has embraced that." At the team banquet, Gellerstedt was named Scout Team Offensive Player of the Year. DEFENSIVE LINE Penn State signed seven defensive linemen last year, and only one – juco transfer Tyrell Chavis – saw game action in 2016. The rest either spent much of the season recovering from injuries or helping the starting offense sharpen its game plan. Tackle Ellison Jordan enrolled with a knee injury and was held out the entire season while he recovered. Likewise, a leg injury sidelined end Daniel Joseph for the majority of the year. Juco transfer Brenon Thrift spent the season as a reserve but has two remaining years of eligibility. While those players had limited roles, freshman ends Shane Sim- mons and Shaka Toney and tackle Anto- nio Shelton routinely gave the first-team offensive line all it could handle, and their elder teammates took notice. "Guys like Shaka, Antonio Shelton, Daniel Joseph and Shane Simmons, just watching them in practice and seeing what they do on the scout team defense and especially when we come together in individual or one-on-one periods, I'm just excited for the future to watch them grow and play," Schwan said. Known for a lightning-fast first step, Toney was named the Scout Team Defen- sive Player of the Year at the team banquet. LINEBACKER Brown was the only line- backer to sign with Penn State in 2016. At 215 pounds, he was originally penciled in as a redshirt, but his position group was thinned by a series of injuries, and Brown was on the field by week two, earning his first start in week five. He finished the year with 33 tackles to lead all PSU fresh- men. He also had a blocked punt. DEFENSIVE BACK Zech McPhearson was one of the coaching staff's favorite defensive back prospects in last year's cycle, and he made a strong case for play- ing time in his first season – not just be- cause of his coverage ability, but because of his potential impact on special teams. The position unit is going to become even more competitive in the coming year, but upperclassman Grant Haley sees a bright future for McPhearson "He comes to practice and works hard every day," Haley said. "I look over at the scout team field and I see that he's being successful. I kind of took him under my wing because he was my roommate in camp. I think he's been great. I'm so excited to see his transition next year. Seeing the bowl prac- tices that we've had, he's been doing tremendous, and I can't wait to see his next step." T.J. Johnson was a late addition to Penn State's '16 class, com- mitting on signing day last Feb- ruary almost immediately after earning his scholarship offer. It had been expected that his first season would be a developmen- tal year, and that turned out to be the case. But he still managed to catch Haley's eye. At 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, Johnson has a different build than the 5-11, 180-pound McPhearson, but his unique skill set adds a different dynamic to the unit and has helped boost the overall competition level within the meeting room and during in- dividual drills. "T.J. is practicing with corners," Haley said. "He's a guy who is lengthy and is figuring out his body, but I think he's going to be tremendous as well. We have different assets in the corner room. Some are long, fast, quick, so T.J. brings his own ability and it's going to be very exciting to see his progression." SPECIAL TEAMS Gillikin was a starter from day one and was responsible for all but a couple of Penn State's punt at- tempts in 2016, averaging 42.8 yards to rank third in the Big Ten. He wasn't the only specialist to sign with Penn State last year, though. Kicker Alex Barbir spent the season as a redshirt, practicing behind starter Tyler Davis and Joey Julius. At the Rose Bowl, Barbir was in attendance but wasn't dressed in pads. ■ MILES AHEAD Sanders played a key role on special teams as a true fresh- man. He had 33 kick returns, av- eraging 20.9 yards per at- tempt. Photo by Steve Manuel

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