Blue White Illustrated

him. It was just [a question of] when that light was going to go on for him, and it has come on. I think he has a very bright fu- ture for us." The issue was, of course, a matter of tim- ing. Although Farmer had been considered one of the team's most athleti- cally gifted players, a for- mer standout prep running back at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, those tal- ents went unharnessed. Beginning his career at safety for his red- shirt season, he moved into Penn State's hybrid Sam outside linebacker spot the following spring and performed well in the 2015 Blue-White Game, boosting Franklin's optimism. "Koa Farmer is a young, exciting guy, and there's a lot of enthusiasm about him," Franklin told BWI that summer. "But he's still really learning. He's never even played the position before." The move would not stick. Farmer started preseason practice with the linebackers but within weeks was back at safety. When the 2015 season began, his role was confined primarily to special teams duty as a kickoff returner, although he did see limited action as a third-team safety, too. It wasn't for lack of trying as a line- backer. Admittedly frustrated with his in- ability to grasp some of what had been required of his position change the first time around, Farmer described the process as "arguably one of the toughest times" in his life. "Obviously I love the sport of football," he said. "There were just certain times where I was so frustrated with myself, saying to myself, 'I just want to get it, I want to be out there, I want to be making plays.' " At the same time, Farmer was dealing with the difficulties of being so far from his close-knit family. "It was really tough," he said, "but that's what I think playing sports is all about – overcoming certain obstacles and just getting to that turning point and overcoming that turn- ing point." After opening the 2016 season at safety, Farmer's turning point soon arrived. Penn State was hit with a wave of early-season injuries at linebacker, and with Jason Cabinda, Brandon Bell and Nyeem Wart- man-White all sidelined indefinitely, the coaches were forced to improvise. One of their moves was to shift Farmer back to the Sam outside linebacker spot. He earned his first career start in the Lions' game against Maryland, making five tackles including a sack in Penn State's 38-14 victory against the Terrapins. As a backup to sophomore Manny Bowen, he saw his playing time increase, and he fin- ished the season with 29 tackles, includ- ing 4.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and a forced fumble. With Bowen suspended for the Rose Bowl, Farmer started against Southern California and finished with a pair of solo tackles. Franklin had seen a lot of this coming. The coach had been expecting him to blossom eventually, and as far as Franklin was concerned, it was no surprise that Farmer's breakthrough occurred after he abandoned the safety spot for good. "I've had a lot of conversations and ar- guments with Koa about this, where I felt was the right place for him, but we weren't going to force him there. He has been fighting genetics for a long time," Franklin said this spring. "He's finally embraced linebacker and he's about 240 pounds right now. Honestly, I think he's 239 right now by not trying to be a safety anymore. It's just naturally happened." Following the lead of that natural evo- lution, Farmer said he tried to be as dili- gent as possible this spring. He watched more film, took better notes and did all the things necessary to master the posi- tion. As a result, he's become a more re- fined player, both physically and mentally, and he should be a critical com- ponent in the Lions' defense this coming season. Asked whether he had fully trans- formed – not just accepting his new role but developing a passion for the position – Farmer revealed the mindset that drove him this spring. "Growing up, I've always been the ath- lete. I never really mastered a position. And I think that's where it kind of got me," Farmer said. "I love defense. I think that defense is really challenging and I love how it's challenging, how it chal- lenges me on the field. I think that's where the passion comes in now, because I feel like when you've been challenged, you want to be passionate so you can suc- ceed to overcome those obstacles." Farmer has continued to turn in 4.4- second 40-yard times even as he's added weight and has developed into one of the strongest pound-for-pound linebackers on the team. Fully immersing himself in the playbook, not just at his position but throughout the entire defense, he's de- veloped a new level of comfort and con- fidence as he's matured. "I'm just having fun out there," Farmer said. "I'm not being nervous. I'm not playing slow. I'm just having fun, and I think that's the difference. When guys are having fun, they play faster. When they play nervous, they're playing a lot slower." Likely to be a major contributor to the Lions' defense in 2017, Farmer expects to attack that responsibility at full speed. ■ P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> PUMPING IRON After playing last season at about 225 pounds, Farmer was up to 240 this spring. Despite the added muscle, he still turned in 4.4- second 40-yard times. Photo by Nate Bauer

• Cover