Yesterday, I took a look at Penn State's progress as a program through the first few weeks of spring practice and then examined some of the key story lines to develop on the offensive side of the ball.
Click here to read the team/offense report.
Today, let's shift our attention over to defense and special teams and what we've been hearing coming out of Penn State's practices in Holuba Hall in March and April. Certainly, with the Blue-White game just a little more than a week away, the Nittany Lions now have a better of where they stand heading into the summer months.
Let's start with what might be the biggest story line on the defensive side of the ball this spring, which is linebacker Nyeem Wartman.
First and most important, his move to Mike inside linebacker is important for what it means for Will and Sam, and the ways that Brandon Bell and Jason Cabinda are working in at those spots. Earlier this spring, the move appeared to be going well, Wartman was asserting himself, and a rapport seemed to be developing among a starting trio that initially at least, appears to have the potential to be a pretty nice unit.
Obviously though, Wartman has missed some time this spring due to an unspecified injury. I probably don't need to explain much here, but injury details are kept pretty private in the program, and as such the consistent response I've gotten is that Wartman "is fine." With that in mind, there is little other information to suggest that Wartman will be anything other than Penn State's starting middle linebacker when the season opens at Temple on Sept. 5 in Philadelphia.
In fact, from what I'm hearing, the biggest question at hand is what happens behind Wartman at Mike. So far in practices that the media has been invited to attend, Gary Wooten has been running first team in Wartman's absence, with Ben Kline running with the second team.
As head coach James Franklin has pointed out pretty frequently this spring, the guys coming back from season ending injuries last year were not and are not expected to be able to step right in as though nothing had happened, so Kline's status at present isn't necessarily indicative of what will happen at the position through the summer months and into preseason practice. Whether it's Kline, Wooten or even potentially Troy Reeder, who is a young, raw, absolute beast we're told, they're actively trying to figure out what direction they're going to want to go behind Wartman.
The overall impression here though is that even with the loss of last year's Big Ten Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year in Mike Hull, Penn State feels very good about what it's working with at linebacker. And, this is a bit of a sidetrack from the point, but in a much broader sense the success that Penn State had as a defense last season under Bob Shoop and the rest of the defensive staff has inspired a ton of confidence amongst this group. Some players that might have been a little young, a little immature or inexperienced have turned into film junkies and students of the game. Even for spring ball, a bunch of these guys are dialed in at a level that might not have seemed likely even a year ago at this time.
Along the defensive line, meanwhile, through the course of spring practice the situation has started to settle itself a little more than maybe it had been heading in.
Plain and simple, Carl Nassib has been the guy at end. He's been steady and has performed at the highest level among the whole group, with Garrett Sickels now coming along within the past few days and week and starting to assert himself as that second guy. The takeaway here though is that Nassib is the guy, and Sickels has started to provide a little bit of an assurance as the second guy, but the gap between Sickels and the other three expected contributors there - Evan Schwan, Torrence Brown and Curtis Cothran - is far from significant.
Each kid has a little bit of a different style about him, from Schwan as a big, strong and fast kid who can bring some power to the position, to Brown's steady progression and unique shiftiness and ability to make people miss, to Cothran's freakish athleticism. The key for Cothran's continued improvement is the light switch that has started to come on simply shining brighter as he "gets it" more and more. Athletically, we're told, he might be one of the most impressive players Penn State has across the board and within the past couple of weeks, he's started to play that way - a positive indication for his future, no doubt.
What's interesting here is that, for as much of a consistent presence as C.J. Olaniyan and Deion Barnes brought to the position last season, Nassib, Sickels, Schwan and Cothran all saw enough reps to not make this year a huge transition. For as good of a football player as Barnes was, there is now a ton of athleticism there at the position.
In the secondary, the big story lines have been Jordan Lucas being really good at playing football as a safety - which probably shouldn't have come as much of a surprise. In fact, really of the guys who have played in the past across the board in the secondary - Lucas, Marcus Allen, Malik Golden, Trevor Williams, Christian Campbell, Grant Haley - the unit has really turned into one of the strengths of the defense in short turnaround from what it had been just a couple of seasons ago.
The question is figuring out a fourth guy at corner. There's a sense of hope that Daquan Worley can step in as a redshirt freshman this season and be that guy, but he's not there yet and still needs to grow into it a bit, we're hearing. Early indications are also that the services of either incoming true freshmen John Reid or Garrett Taylor could be needed there to really provide better depth in the unit. With assumed good springs and summers for those guys, it's a smaller concern that is alleviated a bit with the understanding of what a little time and progression should be able to do for them.
Finally, special teams this spring have been a little bit of a mixed bag, both positive and negative.
The good news first is that Joey Julius has had a very strong spring. Based on this spring performance, it looks like Julius is going to be able to handle himself on field goals, which is essential following the steady foot that Sam Ficken provided being gone. Kickoffs appear to be the same deal with Julius seemingly capable of maybe even bettering Ficken's abilities in that department.
Punting is still a concern, we're told, as inconsistency through the 2014 season hasn't completely resolved itself. The challenge there is that, in terms of this spring in State College, there haven't been many spring-like qualities about it. Not only has it stayed relatively cold, but the snow remained late in to the season and, even once it melted, the fields have been soggy in the aftermath or it's been raining. The end result is a punting game somewhat stunted by the limitations of the indoor facilities, even though the group kicks outside every day.
That said, seeing Julius progress this spring in field goals and kickoffs has been a pleasant surprise for the program as it moves into the rest of the spring and summer months while developing a consistent punting game remains a bit of a work-in-progress.
Click here to read the team/offense report.
Today, let's shift our attention over to defense and special teams and what we've been hearing coming out of Penn State's practices in Holuba Hall in March and April. Certainly, with the Blue-White game just a little more than a week away, the Nittany Lions now have a better of where they stand heading into the summer months.
Let's start with what might be the biggest story line on the defensive side of the ball this spring, which is linebacker Nyeem Wartman.
First and most important, his move to Mike inside linebacker is important for what it means for Will and Sam, and the ways that Brandon Bell and Jason Cabinda are working in at those spots. Earlier this spring, the move appeared to be going well, Wartman was asserting himself, and a rapport seemed to be developing among a starting trio that initially at least, appears to have the potential to be a pretty nice unit.
Obviously though, Wartman has missed some time this spring due to an unspecified injury. I probably don't need to explain much here, but injury details are kept pretty private in the program, and as such the consistent response I've gotten is that Wartman "is fine." With that in mind, there is little other information to suggest that Wartman will be anything other than Penn State's starting middle linebacker when the season opens at Temple on Sept. 5 in Philadelphia.
In fact, from what I'm hearing, the biggest question at hand is what happens behind Wartman at Mike. So far in practices that the media has been invited to attend, Gary Wooten has been running first team in Wartman's absence, with Ben Kline running with the second team.
As head coach James Franklin has pointed out pretty frequently this spring, the guys coming back from season ending injuries last year were not and are not expected to be able to step right in as though nothing had happened, so Kline's status at present isn't necessarily indicative of what will happen at the position through the summer months and into preseason practice. Whether it's Kline, Wooten or even potentially Troy Reeder, who is a young, raw, absolute beast we're told, they're actively trying to figure out what direction they're going to want to go behind Wartman.
The overall impression here though is that even with the loss of last year's Big Ten Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year in Mike Hull, Penn State feels very good about what it's working with at linebacker. And, this is a bit of a sidetrack from the point, but in a much broader sense the success that Penn State had as a defense last season under Bob Shoop and the rest of the defensive staff has inspired a ton of confidence amongst this group. Some players that might have been a little young, a little immature or inexperienced have turned into film junkies and students of the game. Even for spring ball, a bunch of these guys are dialed in at a level that might not have seemed likely even a year ago at this time.
Along the defensive line, meanwhile, through the course of spring practice the situation has started to settle itself a little more than maybe it had been heading in.
Plain and simple, Carl Nassib has been the guy at end. He's been steady and has performed at the highest level among the whole group, with Garrett Sickels now coming along within the past few days and week and starting to assert himself as that second guy. The takeaway here though is that Nassib is the guy, and Sickels has started to provide a little bit of an assurance as the second guy, but the gap between Sickels and the other three expected contributors there - Evan Schwan, Torrence Brown and Curtis Cothran - is far from significant.
Each kid has a little bit of a different style about him, from Schwan as a big, strong and fast kid who can bring some power to the position, to Brown's steady progression and unique shiftiness and ability to make people miss, to Cothran's freakish athleticism. The key for Cothran's continued improvement is the light switch that has started to come on simply shining brighter as he "gets it" more and more. Athletically, we're told, he might be one of the most impressive players Penn State has across the board and within the past couple of weeks, he's started to play that way - a positive indication for his future, no doubt.
What's interesting here is that, for as much of a consistent presence as C.J. Olaniyan and Deion Barnes brought to the position last season, Nassib, Sickels, Schwan and Cothran all saw enough reps to not make this year a huge transition. For as good of a football player as Barnes was, there is now a ton of athleticism there at the position.
In the secondary, the big story lines have been Jordan Lucas being really good at playing football as a safety - which probably shouldn't have come as much of a surprise. In fact, really of the guys who have played in the past across the board in the secondary - Lucas, Marcus Allen, Malik Golden, Trevor Williams, Christian Campbell, Grant Haley - the unit has really turned into one of the strengths of the defense in short turnaround from what it had been just a couple of seasons ago.
The question is figuring out a fourth guy at corner. There's a sense of hope that Daquan Worley can step in as a redshirt freshman this season and be that guy, but he's not there yet and still needs to grow into it a bit, we're hearing. Early indications are also that the services of either incoming true freshmen John Reid or Garrett Taylor could be needed there to really provide better depth in the unit. With assumed good springs and summers for those guys, it's a smaller concern that is alleviated a bit with the understanding of what a little time and progression should be able to do for them.
Finally, special teams this spring have been a little bit of a mixed bag, both positive and negative.
The good news first is that Joey Julius has had a very strong spring. Based on this spring performance, it looks like Julius is going to be able to handle himself on field goals, which is essential following the steady foot that Sam Ficken provided being gone. Kickoffs appear to be the same deal with Julius seemingly capable of maybe even bettering Ficken's abilities in that department.
Punting is still a concern, we're told, as inconsistency through the 2014 season hasn't completely resolved itself. The challenge there is that, in terms of this spring in State College, there haven't been many spring-like qualities about it. Not only has it stayed relatively cold, but the snow remained late in to the season and, even once it melted, the fields have been soggy in the aftermath or it's been raining. The end result is a punting game somewhat stunted by the limitations of the indoor facilities, even though the group kicks outside every day.
That said, seeing Julius progress this spring in field goals and kickoffs has been a pleasant surprise for the program as it moves into the rest of the spring and summer months while developing a consistent punting game remains a bit of a work-in-progress.
