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Lewis's performance in the presea- son was so good that the staff had an extremely difficult time deciding whether to play or redshirt him. The decision was eventually made just be- fore the season opener to sit him out. "It was a really tough decision," Hixon said. "Up until the week before the first game, he was running with the second team." In addition to Lewis, the Lions will return a solid group of backup re- ceivers, including Trevor Williams, Alex Kenney, Matt Zanellato, Christian Kuntz and possibly redshirt freshmen Malik Golden and Jonathan Warner. The situation is just as bright at tight end. Kyle Carter and Jesse James both have three more years of eligibility, and redshirt junior Garry Gilliam has petitioned for a sixth year due to a medical redshirt. Matt Lehman will be back as well, as will redshirt freshman Brent Wilkerson and January enrollee Adam Breneman, who some rated the top tight end in the country for the Class of 2013 before his ACL was torn in June. Carter is the only freshman to be named to the list for the John Mackey Award, given each year to the top tight end in college football. For the season – which was shortened by a right wrist injury – Carter totaled 36 catches for 453 yards and two touchdowns. Lehman, one of the team's "run- ons," performed well above even the most optimistic projections after transferring to Penn State from Divi- sion II Shippensburg. Prior to the In- diana game, Lehman had 19 catches for 228 yards and three touchdowns. James totaled 11 catches for 144 yards and three TDs. Going into the Nebraska game, Penn State's tight ends were leading the country in receptions with 66 and were second with 820 yards. Along the offensive line, redshirt freshman left tackle Donovan Smith, redshirt sophomore left guard Miles Dieffenbach, redshirt junior right guard John Urschel and redshirt jun- ior right tackle Adam Gress return as starters. In addition, redshirt freshman cen- ter/guard Angelo Mangiro, redshirt junior left guard Ty Howle, redshirt junior right guard Eric Shrive and redshirt junior left tackle Nate Cado- gan all saw playing time this fall. Mangiro is projected to be the starting center, replacing Stankiewitch next fall. Redshirt juniors Frank Figueroa and Mark Arcidiacono, plus redshirt freshmen Wendy Laurent and Antho- ny Stanko, will supply depth. The outlook on the defensive side of the ledger isn't as rosy, but it still ap- pears to be manageable. Replacements need to be found for future NFL players Hill, Hodges and Mauti, and also for Stanley at defen- sive end and Morris at cornerback. Backup defensive tackle James Terry is gone, too. Junior DaQuan Jones is back, and redshirt sophomore Kyle Baublitz ap- pears to be Hill's heir apparent, with redshirt freshmen Brian Gaia, Austin Johnson and Derek Dowrey in the mix. At defensive end, redshirt fresh- man Deion Barnes became a starter at the weakside position in the sec- ond game of the season against Vir- ginia. Going into the Indiana game, Barnes was leading Penn State in tackles for loss (nine), sacks (five) and forced fumbles (three). He is one of the leading candidates for Big Ten Freshman of the Year according to Chicago Tribune sportswriter Teddy Greenstein. "Deion Barnes is a uniquely talent- ed guy," O'Brien said. "He's a tall guy. He's got really good athleticism, he's tough, a good team player, a team- mate. His future is limitless." Stanley's likely replacement will be either redshirt sophomore C.J. Olaniyan or redshirt freshman Antho- ny Zettel. Both Zettel and Olaniyan played well this year. Going into the Indiana game, they had totaled 14 tackles, and Zettel had an impressive three sacks in the limited time he saw in nine games. 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