Monday, we touched on some of the buzz surrounding Penn State’s offense through the first half of the Nittany Lions’ spring practice session.
Let’s turn our attention to some of the standout storylines on the defensive side of the ball today:
- Beginning in the secondary, one of the early themes to emerge out of spring practice has revolved around the position group most depleted from its starters from a season ago.
With Christian Campbell, Grant Haley, Marcus Allen, and Troy Apke all headed to the NFL later this month, what type of play would emerge from the backups this spring?
Head coach James Franklin’s announcement that Lamont Wade was moving from corner to safety probably should have immediately set expectations, and that seems to be how the spring has played out thus far. Namely, that the returning corners have appeared solid while the safeties are still aiming to find their footing more solidly as a group.
During his midweek Q&A session with reporters following practice last week, Franklin noted that the staff feels “really good” about Nick Scott and rising redshirt junior Garrett Taylor has “separated himself from the pack,” making those two the projected starters if the season were to begin today. However, Franklin also acknowledged that Ayron Monroe - one of the breakouts of the spring session in 2017 - has been missing reps. What that has left then is a group of younger guys fighting to make their marks.
“I think there is some really good competition with that next group of guys,” said Franklin, touching on Wade, redshirt freshman Jon Sutherland and early enrollee Isaiah Humphries. “Sutherland, as you guys know, we’ve had a man crush on him since he’s got here with his approach and his demeanor. Every play for him is the super bowl. It really is. Walkthroughs, jog through, install periods, he’s locked in. We love him so I think all those guys are going to play.”
Realizing that he missed mentioning one of his safeties, Franklin also made note of the progress that John Petrishen is making as he is also a rising redshirt junior for the season ahead.
“Petrishen is a guy who is really coming on for us. He had a really good winter, has had a really good spring. I know coach Banks has a lot of confidence in him right now,” said Franklin. “So it is a good group. I don't think we'll make any decisions obviously until camp but if we're playing Saturday right now it would be Garrett and Nick.”
- During his post-practice press conference two weeks ago, Franklin left no room for misinterpretation regarding his expectations for linebacker Koa Farmer.
“I would say probably the biggest thing with Koa is this is his year,” said Franklin.
Well, through the spring, indications out of the program are that Farmer is standing out and stepping up to the task. He’s got young players behind him, and across the board at linebacker, young players that are pushing to make an impact. Farmer has impressed at times this spring as he's been able to start to settle in and have a command of the position.
Reportedly giving Penn State’s young tight ends fits, Farmer is bringing an approach to the spring that reflects what he is: A rising fifth-year senior. And though he still has plenty of room to grow, Franklin reflected excitement for the opportunity ahead of Farmer.
“He's one of the guys that's going to test really well when that time comes, but he's gotta play like it. At this point, he hasn't really played up to his speed, and I think that's what this spring and this summer will allow him to do,” said Franklin.
- While Franklin is hoping to see Farmer step up from a good backup into a dominant starter, the announced move of Micah Parsons from Mike linebacker to Will might signify a few things.
Describing Ellis Brooks as experienced and “natural” to the position, plus crediting Jan Johnson and Jake Cooper as guys that have been developing and are fighting for their opportunity, Penn State appears to like its options on the inside.
Meanwhile, Parsons’ move to the Will doesn’t mean expectations are lowered. Just the opposite, in fact, as indications through the first half of Penn State’s spring practices are that the early enrollee linebacker draws plenty of attention from the coaching staff during the course of a practice.
Call it demonstrative instruction, to put it diplomatically.
With his athletic ability clear and demonstrating itself constantly, it’s simply a matter of Parsons putting the pieces together to learn the position and read the entire field. As Franklin described last week, Parsons has a tendency to find his man and lock in rather than reading the entire field, which can lead to trouble at this level that might not be the case while freelancing in the high school game.
“Micah is doing really well. Obviously, the position is new to him. He can run. He’s got really good instincts,” said Franklin. “Little things like stance and start. He hasn’t really found a stance that’s he’s comfortable in yet which I know sounds crazy but it’s more challenging than you think… But when he makes a decision he can flat out run and he’s running by people. There are times when he’ll backdoor the play and go two gaps back and you really shouldn’t do that. You’re saying no no no but he makes a tackle for a tackle for loss in the backfield, so it’s no, no, no – yes, yes, yes.
"He has a lot of ability. He learns really well. We moved him. We had him at the Mike position but we moved him over to the Will position which is our other box linebacker. It just takes a little bit off his plate for right now, so it’s going to help him grow and evolve the way we need him to, but so far so good.”
- Up front, there just hasn't been a ton of chatter. Which isn't to say that there aren't story lines to watch: Certainly, Ryan Buchholz dropping 25 pounds to be down at 255-260 this spring is going to be a major one to watch. He likes end, and I think there's a possibility he still appears as that three-tech DT on some obvious passing downs, but he made it pretty clear that he feels more comfortable at this new weight and wants to give it a go for the season ahead.
"They wanted me to be at both (the first year) just because most of our D-tackles were the bigger guys that we would need on first and second down. So I guess it was helpful to be a heavier defensive end at that point," he said. "But with last year, we had plenty of depth at defensive tackle, so I wasn't really needed as much. But this year coming up, I guess it's just another toss-up. It'll depend on injuries, it'll depend on where they need me. Just like last year, I would be mostly at end, but I guess it just depends. We'll see where it goes. I have no idea. I think it's just how the week is going or what team we're playing, anything like that."
- Asked about the defensive tackles today, specifically the young guys up front beyond Kevin Givens and Rob Windsor, Nick Scott offered a little insight into the type of competition that has taken hold.
"These young D-tackles are competing their butts off. It’s a really tight race. You can’t really say who’s better than who at this point, because they’re all hungry and all are going hard and want that top spot, which you couldn’t ask for anything better than that," said Scott. "They’re all working their butt off, and I’m just excited to see who is the quote-unquote starter turns out to be. The reason I say quote-unquote is because these guys are working so hard that I can’t see a situation where it is just one guy in there who [plays] all the reps."
Clearly, with Antonio Shelton making his move toward the end of last season, plus the additions of Damion Barber, Corey Bolds and Fred Hansard coming off their redshirts, DT is going to be a situation to watch through the rest of the spring and summer.
- And then, just a couple of notes from the Blake Gillikin call that stood out as worthy of mention here:
First, he understands the challenges, but thinks it's feasible - and he's mature enough - to take on extra roles. He's doing punting, kickoffs, and field goals every day this spring. He still wants to improve his punting, but he also wants to be ready and able to do all three, regardless of whether or not he's the starter or the backup.
Gillikin, because he's watching so much as practices have mostly been inside due to the lousy weather here this spring, offered his own insights into who is stepping up this spring. He likes the offensive line, he likes Mac Hippenhammer and some of the other young guys. The long snappers, including Kyle Vasey, have really improved. Also, Blake mentioned that he's currently the starting holder for place kicker Carson Landis.
Let’s turn our attention to some of the standout storylines on the defensive side of the ball today:
- Beginning in the secondary, one of the early themes to emerge out of spring practice has revolved around the position group most depleted from its starters from a season ago.
With Christian Campbell, Grant Haley, Marcus Allen, and Troy Apke all headed to the NFL later this month, what type of play would emerge from the backups this spring?
Head coach James Franklin’s announcement that Lamont Wade was moving from corner to safety probably should have immediately set expectations, and that seems to be how the spring has played out thus far. Namely, that the returning corners have appeared solid while the safeties are still aiming to find their footing more solidly as a group.
During his midweek Q&A session with reporters following practice last week, Franklin noted that the staff feels “really good” about Nick Scott and rising redshirt junior Garrett Taylor has “separated himself from the pack,” making those two the projected starters if the season were to begin today. However, Franklin also acknowledged that Ayron Monroe - one of the breakouts of the spring session in 2017 - has been missing reps. What that has left then is a group of younger guys fighting to make their marks.
“I think there is some really good competition with that next group of guys,” said Franklin, touching on Wade, redshirt freshman Jon Sutherland and early enrollee Isaiah Humphries. “Sutherland, as you guys know, we’ve had a man crush on him since he’s got here with his approach and his demeanor. Every play for him is the super bowl. It really is. Walkthroughs, jog through, install periods, he’s locked in. We love him so I think all those guys are going to play.”
Realizing that he missed mentioning one of his safeties, Franklin also made note of the progress that John Petrishen is making as he is also a rising redshirt junior for the season ahead.
“Petrishen is a guy who is really coming on for us. He had a really good winter, has had a really good spring. I know coach Banks has a lot of confidence in him right now,” said Franklin. “So it is a good group. I don't think we'll make any decisions obviously until camp but if we're playing Saturday right now it would be Garrett and Nick.”
- During his post-practice press conference two weeks ago, Franklin left no room for misinterpretation regarding his expectations for linebacker Koa Farmer.
“I would say probably the biggest thing with Koa is this is his year,” said Franklin.
Well, through the spring, indications out of the program are that Farmer is standing out and stepping up to the task. He’s got young players behind him, and across the board at linebacker, young players that are pushing to make an impact. Farmer has impressed at times this spring as he's been able to start to settle in and have a command of the position.
Reportedly giving Penn State’s young tight ends fits, Farmer is bringing an approach to the spring that reflects what he is: A rising fifth-year senior. And though he still has plenty of room to grow, Franklin reflected excitement for the opportunity ahead of Farmer.
“He's one of the guys that's going to test really well when that time comes, but he's gotta play like it. At this point, he hasn't really played up to his speed, and I think that's what this spring and this summer will allow him to do,” said Franklin.
- While Franklin is hoping to see Farmer step up from a good backup into a dominant starter, the announced move of Micah Parsons from Mike linebacker to Will might signify a few things.
Describing Ellis Brooks as experienced and “natural” to the position, plus crediting Jan Johnson and Jake Cooper as guys that have been developing and are fighting for their opportunity, Penn State appears to like its options on the inside.
Meanwhile, Parsons’ move to the Will doesn’t mean expectations are lowered. Just the opposite, in fact, as indications through the first half of Penn State’s spring practices are that the early enrollee linebacker draws plenty of attention from the coaching staff during the course of a practice.
Call it demonstrative instruction, to put it diplomatically.
With his athletic ability clear and demonstrating itself constantly, it’s simply a matter of Parsons putting the pieces together to learn the position and read the entire field. As Franklin described last week, Parsons has a tendency to find his man and lock in rather than reading the entire field, which can lead to trouble at this level that might not be the case while freelancing in the high school game.
“Micah is doing really well. Obviously, the position is new to him. He can run. He’s got really good instincts,” said Franklin. “Little things like stance and start. He hasn’t really found a stance that’s he’s comfortable in yet which I know sounds crazy but it’s more challenging than you think… But when he makes a decision he can flat out run and he’s running by people. There are times when he’ll backdoor the play and go two gaps back and you really shouldn’t do that. You’re saying no no no but he makes a tackle for a tackle for loss in the backfield, so it’s no, no, no – yes, yes, yes.
"He has a lot of ability. He learns really well. We moved him. We had him at the Mike position but we moved him over to the Will position which is our other box linebacker. It just takes a little bit off his plate for right now, so it’s going to help him grow and evolve the way we need him to, but so far so good.”
- Up front, there just hasn't been a ton of chatter. Which isn't to say that there aren't story lines to watch: Certainly, Ryan Buchholz dropping 25 pounds to be down at 255-260 this spring is going to be a major one to watch. He likes end, and I think there's a possibility he still appears as that three-tech DT on some obvious passing downs, but he made it pretty clear that he feels more comfortable at this new weight and wants to give it a go for the season ahead.
"They wanted me to be at both (the first year) just because most of our D-tackles were the bigger guys that we would need on first and second down. So I guess it was helpful to be a heavier defensive end at that point," he said. "But with last year, we had plenty of depth at defensive tackle, so I wasn't really needed as much. But this year coming up, I guess it's just another toss-up. It'll depend on injuries, it'll depend on where they need me. Just like last year, I would be mostly at end, but I guess it just depends. We'll see where it goes. I have no idea. I think it's just how the week is going or what team we're playing, anything like that."
- Asked about the defensive tackles today, specifically the young guys up front beyond Kevin Givens and Rob Windsor, Nick Scott offered a little insight into the type of competition that has taken hold.
"These young D-tackles are competing their butts off. It’s a really tight race. You can’t really say who’s better than who at this point, because they’re all hungry and all are going hard and want that top spot, which you couldn’t ask for anything better than that," said Scott. "They’re all working their butt off, and I’m just excited to see who is the quote-unquote starter turns out to be. The reason I say quote-unquote is because these guys are working so hard that I can’t see a situation where it is just one guy in there who [plays] all the reps."
Clearly, with Antonio Shelton making his move toward the end of last season, plus the additions of Damion Barber, Corey Bolds and Fred Hansard coming off their redshirts, DT is going to be a situation to watch through the rest of the spring and summer.
- And then, just a couple of notes from the Blake Gillikin call that stood out as worthy of mention here:
First, he understands the challenges, but thinks it's feasible - and he's mature enough - to take on extra roles. He's doing punting, kickoffs, and field goals every day this spring. He still wants to improve his punting, but he also wants to be ready and able to do all three, regardless of whether or not he's the starter or the backup.
Gillikin, because he's watching so much as practices have mostly been inside due to the lousy weather here this spring, offered his own insights into who is stepping up this spring. He likes the offensive line, he likes Mac Hippenhammer and some of the other young guys. The long snappers, including Kyle Vasey, have really improved. Also, Blake mentioned that he's currently the starting holder for place kicker Carson Landis.
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