Blue White Illustrated

S P R I N G P R A C T I C E R E P O R T TANGLED UP IN BLUE Wade (38) makes a stop in the Fiesta Bowl. After playing cornerback as a true freshman, he has moved to safety this spring. Photo by Steve Manuel backs will definitely bear watching this spring. Their performance will go a long way toward determining the distribution of labor here. Brown has piqued the interest of Penn State fans ever since last January when he became an under-the-radar addition to the Nittany Lions' Class of 2017. He was a track standout in high school with a Pennsylvania state championship in the 100-meter dash. On signing day, Franklin predicted that "he's going to be over 200 pounds and he's going to be able to run." He's not quite there yet, having checked in at 197 pounds on Penn State's most recent roster. But he'll definitely be one of the team's more heavily scrutinized players when he makes his public debut in the Blue- White Game next month. Of course, this will be only the first phase of the competition. During the summer, freshman Ricky Slade will join the fray. The 5-9, 185-pound Slade was rated the No. 2 all-purpose running back in the country by Rivals. 2 How will the Lions' o/ense react to its revamped coaching sta/? With any luck, the change won't be all that noticeable on the field. One of the reasons that Ricky Rahne was promoted to offensive coordinator after Joe Moor- head's departure was that Franklin wanted continuity, especially with Mc- Sorley back for one more season. An outsider would have wanted to install his system, Franklin said, just as Moor- head did two years ago. That made sense in 2016, as the offense needed an over- haul after finishing 13th in the Big Ten in yards per game the two previous sea- sons. But Moorhead's system has been humming along nicely for the better part of the past two years. Rahne might be expected to make some tweaks here and there, and there is one definite change in the works, as he'll be in the booth rather than on the sideline on game day. But there was a reason why Penn State needed only a few days to

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