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ground game enjoyed its share of success against Washington. Franklin said he has been impressed with both Thorpe and Miranda. The Nit- tany Lion coach described Thorpe as a "grown man. He was something I think most coaches are looking for. It's hard to 6nd. He's an o7ensive lineman with a nastiness to him. He wants to 6nish it. He wants to be physical. When you 6nd guys like that, they're really valuable." Miranda is considered a brawler just like Thorpe, and he almost played as a freshman. On a related note, one other o7ensive lineman who will bear watching this spring is redshirt freshman tackle Des Holmes. He won't 6gure into the battle at right guard, but he shared O7ensive Player of the Year honors on the scout team and has a chance to see action somewhere this fall. DEFENSIVE TACKLE The projected starters here are redshirt juniors Kevin Givens at the three-technique position and Robert Windsor at the one-tech- nique spot. But even though there are a couple of experienced candidates for the top spots on the depth chart, defensive line coach Sean Spencer likes to play four or 6ve tackles, so the real position battle here will take place between red- shirt freshmen Fred Hansard and Corey Bolds, and redshirt sophomores Ellison Jordan and Antonio Shelton. The big question is Jordan's availability this spring because of a kneecap injury he su7ered in December. LINEBACKER With Cabinda and Smith gone, the box linebacker spots are open. The battle to replace them is going to be unlike anything seen at Penn State pre- viously, as the leading candidates at middle linebacker are both freshmen. Ellis Brooks redshirted last fall a9er ar- riving with the Class of 2017, while Micah Parsons signed this past Decem- ber and arrived in January as an early enrollee. At the Will OLB spot, junior Cam Brown is the leading candidate to take over for Smith, a seven-game starter last fall. Depth will come from redshirt jun- ior Jarvis Miller and redshirt freshmen Brelin Faison-Walden and Brailyn Franklin. Senior Jake Cooper could po- tentially play any of the three linebacker spots. SAFETY We always knew that Allen, a four-year starter, was going to be very hard to replace. But considering how well Apke performed at the NFL Com- bine – he turned in the best 40-yard time of any of the safeties who partici- pated, as well as a 41-inch vertical leap – this could be an even more di8cult job than anticipated. Allen has lauded redshirt freshman Jonathan Sutherland, but there's plenty of competition for the free safety spot, with 69h-year senior Nick Scott and sophomore Lamont Wade also ready to go this spring. At strong safety, the contenders will most likely be redshirt juniors Ayron Monroe, Garrett Taylor and John Petr- ishen, as well as January enrollee Isaiah Humphries. The competition here is wide open. Pay special attention to Sutherland's battle with Scott. Wade could 6gure in here, too; it was unclear as of this writ- ing whether the former 6ve-star prospect will play free or strong safety. CORNERBACK Even with Campbell and Haley both gone, Penn State could be just as solid at both cornerback spots as it was last season. Redshirt junior John Reid is set to retake his starting boundary CB spot a9er missing all of the 2017 season with a knee injury, while 69h-year senior Amani Oruwariye will battle sophomore Tariq Castro-Fields for the starting 6eld CB position. Oruwariye led Penn State with four interceptions last season. Depth should not be a problem this spring. The Lions return redshirt sopho- more Zech McPhearson, redshirt junior Jabari Butler, and redshirt freshmen Donovan Johnson and D.J. Brown, and they've also welcomed January enrollee Trent Gordon. Butler is a transfer from Abilene Christian whose 4.34 40-yard time is the best in Penn State's second- ary. Like Holmes on the o7ensive line, he could be a sleeper who will bear watch- ing in spring practice. This is the deepest cornerback group that I've ever seen at Penn State. ■ !"#!" $%&'( !! "#$%&$' &'' ()* + ! ,-)) +. /-% #$ !"#"$ %$ &' () " & *& +,-,../01

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