Blue White Illustrated

| P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> SPRING TAKEAWAYS enn State wrapped up spring practice with the Blue-White Game on April 21. It was the last of the Nittany Lions' 15 allotted prac- tices, and while the first 14 of those ses- sions were mostly held behind closed doors, it was possible to glean a few things from the team's work throughout the 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 important positions. But along the outside – at defensive end and corner- back, specifically – things are shaping up just fine. Although the starting DEs from last season have eligibility remain- ing, a few contributors were limited this spring. That allowed Shareef Miller to shine and the depth of the position to prevail. "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 continued his ball-hawking tendencies this spring, while underclassmen Tariq Castro-Fields, Zech McPhearson, Donovan Johnson and D.J. Brown were all pushing for increased playing time. With John Reid being eased back into the mix after missing all of last season with an injury, there are many trust- worthy options in the cornerback rota- tion. 2 The big questions on defense are in the middle. In contrast to the situation at the out- side positions, the interior still faces a lot of questions. At safety, Nick Scott and Garrett Taylor are getting close to locking down the starting spots, but it's uncertain who will be their primary backups. John Petrishen was more in- volved 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 impact. But for now, his ex- perience lends itself more to a situa- tional role. Defensive coordinator Brent Pry said he hasn't ruled out moving Wade back to cornerback. What would make the safeties' jobs easier would be strong performances by the players 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 someone like Jan Johnson, a redshirt junior walk-on, to take control, as the coordination of the defense is as important here as natural athleticism. P Five observations from an eventful off-season for a Nittany Lion team with high ambitions from sideline duty, he brought to the game all the lighthearted flair of a late night talk show host, glad- handing people in the crowd and clowning with BTN sideline reporter Anthony Adams and actor Keegan- Michael Key, the latter having par- layed his uncanny Franklin impersonation into something akin to a part-time job. With all of the improvisational comedy, there probably wasn't a fun- nier spring game in the country this year. It was certainly a radical depar- ture from the Paterno era, when much of the game's entertainment value came from Joe Paterno's on-air admonitions to his players during the radio broadcast, for which he served as color commentator. As former Nittany Lion great Matt Millen said during BTN's broadcast last month, "Joe would have flipped if he'd seen this stuff." The next time the Nittany Lions set foot on this field – on Sept. 1 vs. Ap- palachian State – the stakes will be higher and the atmosphere a lot more serious. But on Blue-White Saturday, a good time was had by all. "We were able to get some great work in in the stadium, in front of the crowd," said Franklin, with Key seated alongside him at the postgame news conference. "We stayed healthy today, which is obviously a big part of it, as well. And we had a great envi- ronment. I can't reinforce enough how appreciative we are of the fans and how much support we get. … It's special. There are very few places in the country like this. "I thought we got a lot out of today," he added. "I thought we got a lot out of this spring. But we have a lot of work to do between now and training camp to be the type of team that we want to be in the fall." That's undoubtedly true, especially on defense, where eight starters must be replaced. But in McSorley, they have a key piece of the title- contention puzzle in place. That part of the plan is proceeding nicely. ■

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