Penn State roster reset: Cornerback

On3 imageby:Thomas Frank Carr02/04/23

ThomasFrankCarr

Kalen King Penn State Football On3
Kalen King of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates after a play against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the first half at Beaver Stadium on October 29, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

If you don't mind indulging me on a personal journey, I'd like to discuss the Penn State cornerback room with you. The rotation at cornerback was one of the most frustrating positions to understand and evaluate under new defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. While the top of the depth chart was straightforward, how they classified the two positions was less so. The team did not play field and boundary designations, leaving left and right as the likely classification for each position. But throughout last season, I approached the secondary with an unsettled apprehension of uncertainty thanks to what felt like an indecipherable puzzle of who lined up where and by what criteria. That's because players would not line up on a strict side, either. The problem with left and right is that they are arbitrary to what perspective you view things from. Are we basing right and left off of the defensive view? If so, that didn't fit either. Was it from the quarterback's left or right? Not consistently. Trusty shortcuts like PFF's snaps alignment tool were also producing mixed results.