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STATE COLLEGE – In so many ways, college football began fundamentally changing in the mid-‘90s with press pass defenses and then in the early ‘00s with prevalent spread offenses. But it took a little while for coaches to realize that different body types were needed for positions that never would’ve been dreamt of previously.
And that’s how you’re getting not just faster but quite a bit lighter players fighting for starting positions in the power layers of the defense.
It’s how Shaka Toney is being allowed a real shot to be a contributing Penn State defensive end while listed at 218 pounds. How Koa Farmer (listed at 231) and Cameron Brown (222) are recognized as major factors as PSU outside linebackers.
Less than a decade ago, these would be weights you’d associate with Dave Robinson more than half a century ago. And the Green Bay Packer ended up playing linebacker in the NFL at 245.
But offenses changed the game. And the game has changed the players.
At Penn State football media day yesterday Farmer, speaking of Toney, explained a lot about why:
“Guys who can play multiple positions like that, they’re really dangerous. He looks like a linebacker out there. But when he’s coming off the edge he’s arguably one of the best pass rushers on our team.”
Brown, Toney and Farmer have three things in common that compensate for bulk at what traditionally have been power positions – speed, length and smarts. They are all bright guys. They see what to do, where to be and can get there quickly.
Now, for instance, will Toney be an every-down DE as a redshirt freshman? Highly doubtful. Not this year anyway. But that’s not the point. He’s a player who can be comfortable in virtually any space on the field, ranging into all three layers of the defense. He can be used in a variety of ways against a variety of plays right now.
James Franklin answers questions on Saturday at Penn State football media day.
PennLive/Joe Hermitt
Playing stand-up defensive ends as de facto linebackers is nothing new. But rationalizing one that’s barely 220 pounds is different. That Toney could be legitimized yesterday at such a weight and position by none other than the head coach was a sign of where the game is headed. Said Franklin regarding a question about his D-line in general, without a prompt about Toney:
“Shaka is a guy that everybody is going to say, ‘Well, he's not 260 pounds, so you can't play D-end in the Big Ten.’ I don't know about that.
“I remember walking in during spring ball and telling our coaches, ‘Change your mindset. Don't allow the fact that this guy's not this or that, and you say, Well, he can't play because of this.’
“Watch the tape, and watch how he's straining in the run game now more than he ever has. Watch him in the pass game on his third step before the offensive tackle is taking his first. He's going to bring something to us that we haven't had, to be honest with you.”
Toney talks with a reporter during Penn State media day on Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
One way or another, that’s a guy who’s going to play somewhere – in the game that’s played today.
Toney grasps why there are doubters based on precedent:
“I understand what you’re saying. A lot of people don’t believe an undersized guy can play defensive end. They’re going to use the eye test and some people don’t pass it. But it’s all about your heart and how your teammates support you. And they show me that I’ve got what it takes to do it.”
Toney says he is not his listed 218 but “in the 220s.” Regardless, he is playing alongside like body types who’ve already made major contributions in similar ways – Farmer and Brown prime among them.
“It’s a speed game. I have enough speed and I convert it into power.”
It’s not just about more passing. It’s less about violent contact and more about using and covering space. So, even if he winds up as only a situational DE, used primarily on passing downs, and an outside linebacker otherwise, Toney will be versatile enough to be a guy you want on the field somehow – fast, rangy, sinewy, able to deflect passes and cover large swaths of ground. And a liberal percentage of those situations will be unscripted plays that have come undone.
Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry answers a question on Saturday during Penn State football media day.
PennLive/Joe Hermitt
For traditionalists pining for the days of punishing physical football played in confined spaces, get used to the new day, says PSU defensive coordinator Brent Pry:
“You’re able to downsize and play with guys on the perimeter who maybe don’t have the size you used to want. But at the same time, it’s more about techniques. You go back and watch our defensive ends on game film, those guys stood up [at the snap] a bunch. They’re playing on their feet [rather than with a hand in the dirt] And we’re not playing a 3-4.
“How much blend is there now? Could Cam Brown play defensive end for us? Could Koa?”
The answer is: well, probably.
“When you check the technique box at defensive end now, there are more things that would have a similar technique in the linebacker group.”
Penn State safety Koa Farmer runs a drill during practice at the Lasch fields on Saturday
PennLive/Joe Hermitt
And those linebackers don’t look like they used to, either. Brown is a perfect example of a new-age OLB who looks like he could be at home in a 2-3 zone defense – Jim Boeheim’s.
Brown’s uniform switch from No. 31 – as a famous LB number is PSU lore as there is, used by Shane Conlan, Andre Collins and Paul Posluszny – to No. 6 is a metaphor as much as a reality. Not only does a single digit more suit Brown’s wiry 6-5, 220-pound physique, it more fits a linebacker who can also play like a safety or be employed in special teams and come up with a game-changing punt block. Brown certainly can.
“I understand completely that back in the day I probably wouldn’t be playing linebacker,” said Brown. “I think I’m playing it now because people are looking for linebackers who can get across the field, sideline to sideline. Rangy. And my length definitely helps with that, in passing situations especially.
“It’s not about the big running backs and the big linebackers. It’s about who can get to the flats the fastest, who can cover the field.
“You see linebackers now covering deep middle, running 30 and 40 yards down the field. You’ve gotta run and flip your hips. As a pass rusher, be long enough to get around the bend.”
Penn State head coach James Franklin answers questions during the team's annual media day on Saturday in State College.
PennLive/Joe Hermitt
And both Brown and Toney are still scholastic sophomores. Their bodies will fill out like academic senior Farmer who’s now more than 30 pounds heavier (he claims 237) than he was when he arrived three years ago at 205.
“My Poly-genes are kicking in,” Farmer joked about his half-Polynesian heritage.
Farmer rarely played defense at all in high school. He was inserted only occasionally a position-less “athlete” to shadow offensive threats.
But he is now the prototype for the new-school linebacker – lean, fast and long-armed. I asked if he has watched much football from past decades. Does he think it looks strange?
“I think it was more violent. We have more rules now concerning the brain and targeting. Football back then was
violent – period.
“We don’t have two-a-days anymore. They probably had four-a-days. I think it was a lot tougher. I think football players were a lot tougher, period.
“But football is evolving. More of a passing game. More speed, less contact.”
And in this game, a smaller size can fit all.
