Blue White Illustrated

P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> also have two redshirt freshmen in Corey Bolds and Fred Hansard, along with three incoming freshmen in Judge Culpepper, Aeneas Hawkins and P.J. Mustipher. So they've got the man- power. Now it's a matter of getting the reps. LINEBACKER NEWS After starting the spring at middle linebacker, early enrollee Micah Parsons was moved to the Will outside linebacker spot. If he stays there, he will compete with veteran Cam Brown for playing time in the fall. FRANKLIN SAYS "Micah is doing re- ally well. Obviously, the position is new to him. He can run. He's got really good instincts. He hasn't really found a stance that's he's comfortable in yet, which I know sounds crazy but it's more challenging than you think. But when he makes a decision, he can flat- out run and he's running by people. There are times when he'll backdoor the play and go two gaps back, and you really shouldn't do that. You're saying, 'No, no, no.' But he makes a tackle for loss in the backfield, so it's, 'No, no, no… yes, yes, yes.'" ANALYSIS Franklin's description of Parsons sounds an awful lot like how Joe Paterno used to talk about another linebacker who wore No. 11. Paterno thought LaVar Arrington was undisci- plined at first, but Arrington was too good to keep off the field. He ended up winning the Butkus Award and was drafted No. 2 overall, so things worked out pretty well. Things will probably work out pretty well for Parsons, too. The learning curve isn't as steep at Will as it is at Mike, and that's a significant factor for a guy who still hasn't completed his first college semester yet. As long as redshirt freshman Ellis Brooks is ready to go at MLB, Parsons' move should be a good one for both player and team. SECONDARY NEWS Veterans Nick Scott and Gar- rett Taylor were the first-team safeties as Penn State headed into the latter stages of spring practice, with Lamont Wade and Jonathan Sutherland behind them. At cornerback, John Reid is re- covered from the knee injury he suf- fered a year ago and is poised to reclaim his starting position, while Amani Oruwariye is set to start at the opposite spot. FRANKLIN SAYS "We've had a man crush on [Sutherland] since he got here, with his approach and his de- meanor. Every play for him is the Super Bowl. It really is. Walk- throughs, jog-throughs, install peri- ods – he's locked in." ANALYSIS The depth that Penn State has built up at cornerback over the past several years is really coming into play. The Nittany Lions lost two quality starters with the graduation of Grant Haley and Christian Campbell, but the CB spots appear to be in good hands with Reid and Oruwariye returning. And the Lions are still pretty deep, too, with Tariq Castro-Fields and Zech McPhearson on the second team. The safety spots appear to be a bigger concern. The coaches will likely be looking for Wade and Sutherland to make a run at starting positions in pre- season camp. One reason to feel positive about Penn State's pass-defense potential is that the defensive ends should be very good. A good pass rush is every defen- sive back's best friend. SPECIAL TEAMS NEWS Redshirt freshman Carson Landis has been honing his place- kicking technique, but he may be get- ting some competition on kickoffs from punter Blake Gillikin. FRANKLIN SAYS "This is great work for Landis, but I wouldn't call it a com- petition because he's really the only true kicker we have in camp right now." ANALYSIS The Lions were never going to definitively answer their ques- tions at place kicker this spring – not with three of the four contenders for the position having yet to receive their high school diplomas. We won't start getting answers here until August. ■ J ohn Reid is ready to go. A year removed from the injury that forced him to watch the 2017 season from the sideline, the redshirt junior cornerback is aiming to complete his return to the field. "If we were playing Saturday, he would be playing," head coach James Franklin said in early April. The Nittany Lions are playing this Sat- urday, and while it was unclear whether Reid would see any action in the Blue- White Game, his readiness to resume his career is a very positive development for the Penn State secondary. "I feel like I'm going to play at a way better level than I've ever played at be- fore," Reid said, "so I'm happy." It's been a little over a year since he suf- fered a noncontact injury to his knee dur- ing spring practice. He was covering a receiver when he saw the quarterback looking in his direction. As the ball came his way, he took a sharp step toward it with the intention of grabbing an inter- ception. "It was a good cut, too," Reid recalled. "I told everybody I thought I got out of the cut and I was picking the ball off. But I went to go break, and as soon as I made the second step I just felt my knee give out. You just kind of knew. Then I met with the trainers, and the doctors told me what was going on after the MRI." The injury was to his ACL, requiring surgery and a lengthy period of recovery. His rehabilitation was slow and arduous at first, but Reid gradually saw advance- ments as the year wore on. Healthy again, Reid eagerly awaiting return to action BY TIM OWEN owen.tim.bwi@gmail.com

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