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T H E M O N T H I N . . . After breaking through under coach James Franklin last season, the Nittany Lions will try to stay neck-and-neck with Michigan and Ohio State in the Big Ten. Penn State went into spring practice needing to find big-play receivers and pass rushers. Juwan Johnson and DeAndre Thompkins seem capable of helping replace Chris Godwin's production on offense, and end Shareef Miller and linebacker Jarvis Miller look like guys who can get to the quarterback. As long as quarterback Trace McSorley and tailback Saquon Barkley stay healthy, the Nittany Lions should be a CFP contender for the second straight season. MARK SCHLABACH ESPN.COM Every coach must think about the second and third and fourth contingencies at every position. Last year, Franklin had to actually implement them at a couple of position groups – OL and LB. One of the few positions that wasn't so tested was QB. When asked about Stevens, the coach immediately referenced him as a con- tingency in the way of LB Jan Johnson who found himself on the field as an emergency replacement in that decimated second defensive layer at Michigan before he himself left with a season-ending knee injury. Of course, no one wants to see Penn State dealt such a blow at quarterback. Then again, based on what we saw Saturday, the Lions might be the most equipped side in the league to withstand it. DAVID JONES PENNLIVE.COM The 2017 NFL draft was only the second draft since 1951 that a Penn State player coached by Joe Paterno — who arrived as an assistant in the spring of 1950 and was fired as head coach in the fall of 2011 — was not selected. (2016 picks Anthony Zettel and Carl Nassib both were on the '11 squad, as were 2015 picks Donovan Smith and Adrian Amos.) The first time was in 2005, when not a single Nittany Lion was selected as Penn State had just come off a 4-7 2004 season and a five-year, 26-43 skein. The second time was this past week. That's a string of 67 years, interrupted only once by that shutout a dozen years ago. MIKE POORMAN STATECOLLEGE.COM It's ultimately just attitude. Honestly, when the ball is in the air, it just has to be your ball. It's not a 50-50, it's a 100-to-zero. You have to have that attitude and that focus and that con=dence to go up and get the ball. JUWAN JOHNSON I would have a hard time doing it. But I'm not going to sit here and say I would never do it. I don't know. I could be in a situation next year where I have close to two broken ankles, God forbid, or something going on in my upper body, and I can't play in a game if I'm considering playing in the NFL. SAQUON BARKLEY, talking to SI.com about whether he would sit out a bowl game to ensure that he's healthy heading into the NFL Draft You must have a "Championship Lifestyle," it must be a part of everything you do! How you think, eat, sleep! JAMES FRANKLIN T W E E T S O P I N I O N S Q U O T E S be an easy task, as the Lions have two snappers on their roster. Veteran Don Muhlbach has played in at least 15 games in each of the past 10 seasons, and while he may be approaching retirement at age 35, the Lions have lined up a potential replacement in Jimmy Landes of Baylor, whom they took in the sixth round of this year's dra?. NFL teams typically do not devote more than two roster spots to snappers, so if Yazujian is to =nd a home with the Lions, he'll need to outperform one those two players. ■ =rst round. The 6-6, 253-pounder has terri=c hands and catches everything in his vicinity. There were three tight ends taken in the =rst round of this year's dra?, so this position is a com- modity. Gesicki shows every sign that he'll be able to =ll it ably. GRANT HALEY Haley has been an e>ective starter for the past two sea- sons for the Nittany Lions, but his size – 5-9, 183 pounds – is going to be a concern for some teams. Of the cor- nerbacks in CBSSports.com's top 25, none were listed below 5-10, and 13 were 6-0 or taller. DaeSEAN HAMILTON Hamilton probably won't match his freshman numbers (82 catches for 889 yards) on a team that's as deep at wideout as Penn State will be this coming season. But he'll have a chance to make his case that he can be an e>ective pos- session receiver at the next level. BRENDAN MAHON We don't know yet where Mahon is going to be play- ing this season. He might line up at guard, or tackle, or both. He was very e>ective at tackle before getting hurt last season. Assuming he's healthy, he'll have a chance to impress the scouts again this fall no matter where he ends up. ANDREW NELSON A senior o>en- sive tackle, Nelson has started 27 games for the Lions over the past three years. But he's also had some signi=cant knee problems, including a season-ending injury last year. A healthy senior season would do a lot to boost his stock. ■

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