Blue White Illustrated

Penn State is getting set to wrap up spring practice with the Blue-White Game on Saturday. It will be the last of the Nittany Lions' 15 allotted practices, and while the first 14 of those sessions were mostly held behind closed doors, it's been possible to glean a few things from the team's work this spring. Here's a look at where things stand in several key areas heading into the summer months: 1. Even though the defense has had to replace eight starters, it's still loaded on the edges. With only three starters back, Penn State has had to restock many of its most impor- tant positions. But along the outside – at defensive end and cornerback, specifically – things are shaping up just fine. Although the starting DEs from last season have eli- gibility remaining, a few contributors have been limited this spring. That has allowed Shareef Miller and Yetur Gross-Matos to shine and the depth of the position to pre- vail. "We feel good about that group," coach James Franklin said. "There are a lot of guys who played a lot of football for us [who bring] a lot of athleticism." At cornerback, Amani Oruwariye has continued his ball-hawking tendencies this spring, while underclassmen Tariq Castro- Fields, Zech McPhearson, Donovan John- son and D.J. Brown are all pushing for playing time. With John Reid being eased back into the mix after missing all of last season with an injury, there are many trustworthy options in the cornerback ro- tation. 2. The big questions on defense are in the middle. In contrast to the situation at the outside positions, the interior spots still face a lot of questions. At safety, Nick Scott and Gar- rett Taylor are getting close to locking down the starting spots, but it's uncertain who will be their primary backups. John Petrishen is more involved this spring than he has been at any point since arriving on campus more than three years ago, while redshirt freshman Jonathan Sutherland has a physical presence that gets the offense's attention. But it remains unclear whether either one is ready to handle a full-time role if asked. Lamont Wade, who switched from cornerback to safety this off-season, has the athletic pedigree to make an im- pact. But for now, his experience lends it- self more to a situational role. What would make the safeties' jobs easier would be strong performances by the play- ers directly in front of them: the middle linebacker and defensive tackles. But at both of those spots, Penn State might have to turn to first- or second-year players. Redshirt freshman Ellis Brooks could be the guy at Mike, but if not, look for some- one like Jan Johnson, a redshirt junior walk-on, to take control, as the coordina- tion of the defense is as important here as natural athleticism. Franklin also men- tioned this week that outside linebacker Cam Brown has gotten an audition at Mike – perhaps an indication that the Lions are still seeking answers at arguably the de- fense's most important position. Questions abound at defensive tackle, too. Gone are three seniors from last year, which means the likely starters are juniors Kevin Givens and Robert Windsor. They both have a wealth of big-game experience, but position coach Sean Spencer wants a steady rotation. At this point, however, it doesn't appear as though anyone has reached out and grabbed those No. 3 and 4 spots. Ellison Jordan is the most experi- enced player behind Givens and Windsor, but he's been limited due to a knee injury. After Jordan, it's redshirt sophomore An- tonio Shelton, who is being challenged by redshirt freshmen Fred Hansard, Corey Bolds and Damion Barber. Shelton, Hansard, Bolds and Barber "are showing flashes," Franklin said, but no firm deci- sions have been made. The defensive staff, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 7 SPRING TAKEAWAYS Assessing the most important developments of Penn State's off-season drills T I M   O W E N   | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . C O M Gillikin has been working out as a kicker as well as a punter this spring. The junior hopes to com- pete for the starting kicker spot in preseason practice. Photo by Nate Bauer

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