Going into the upcoming 2018 season Penn State's number one strength on defense just might be the quality and depth that exists at defensive end. The Nittany Lions should have 10 scholarship DEs on their 2018 roster.
Shareef Miller and Ryan Buchholz are the projected starters with Yetur Gross-Matos, Shane Simmons, Shaka Toney, Daniel Joseph, possibly Torrence Brown if he's healthy, Brailyn Franklin who now reportedly is 6-2, 247, plus freshmen Nick Tarburton and Jayson Oweh.
Tarburton who enrolled at Penn State back in January has not only impressed James Franklin and Penn State's coaching staff he's also impressed upperclassmen DEs like Miller.
Back in the spring Franklin confirmed that Tarburton was working with the defensive ends. Here is what Tim Owen of our staff wrote in an article in our 2018 Penn State Football Preview about the coaching staff's and Miller's impression of Tarburton's progress since he arrived on campus back in January.
Franklin said that Tarburton weighed 263 pounds when he enrolled in January, so he appeared to be developing into a defensive lineman even before starting his first spring practice. He dropped about 20 pounds in his first couple of months on campus, but the coaches decided that they would be fighting genetics by trying to keep him at linebacker for the duration of his [Penn State] career. Said Franklin, "His greatest potential here at Penn State and down the road is at defensive end."
Since he's made the switch, Tarburton has been impressing Miller and his new position-mates.
"We call him little T. J. Watt," Miller said. "He's going to be real good. He plays real fast and he is real aggressive. He just doesn't have the technique yet. He's still learning, but once he gets the technique he's going to be real good.
"I think it was a real good change for him. He's real raw. He just needs technique and stuff like that. He needs to keep working, and guys like me and [Ryan] Buchholz are going to help him. He's going to be real good. He plays fast and he is aggressive, so once he gets his technique down he's going to be real good."
This is another reason why I'm so high on the play at defensive end for the upcoming 2018 and 2019 football seasons. It looks like Tarburton has found a home at defensive end for his entire Penn State career.
Shareef Miller and Ryan Buchholz are the projected starters with Yetur Gross-Matos, Shane Simmons, Shaka Toney, Daniel Joseph, possibly Torrence Brown if he's healthy, Brailyn Franklin who now reportedly is 6-2, 247, plus freshmen Nick Tarburton and Jayson Oweh.
Tarburton who enrolled at Penn State back in January has not only impressed James Franklin and Penn State's coaching staff he's also impressed upperclassmen DEs like Miller.
Back in the spring Franklin confirmed that Tarburton was working with the defensive ends. Here is what Tim Owen of our staff wrote in an article in our 2018 Penn State Football Preview about the coaching staff's and Miller's impression of Tarburton's progress since he arrived on campus back in January.
Franklin said that Tarburton weighed 263 pounds when he enrolled in January, so he appeared to be developing into a defensive lineman even before starting his first spring practice. He dropped about 20 pounds in his first couple of months on campus, but the coaches decided that they would be fighting genetics by trying to keep him at linebacker for the duration of his [Penn State] career. Said Franklin, "His greatest potential here at Penn State and down the road is at defensive end."
Since he's made the switch, Tarburton has been impressing Miller and his new position-mates.
"We call him little T. J. Watt," Miller said. "He's going to be real good. He plays real fast and he is real aggressive. He just doesn't have the technique yet. He's still learning, but once he gets the technique he's going to be real good.
"I think it was a real good change for him. He's real raw. He just needs technique and stuff like that. He needs to keep working, and guys like me and [Ryan] Buchholz are going to help him. He's going to be real good. He plays fast and he is aggressive, so once he gets his technique down he's going to be real good."
This is another reason why I'm so high on the play at defensive end for the upcoming 2018 and 2019 football seasons. It looks like Tarburton has found a home at defensive end for his entire Penn State career.
