Point-Counterpoint - Which position group made the biggest strides during spring practice?
Penn State head coach James Franklin made it clear following the Blue-White Game that he was happy with the growth he saw from his roster during spring practice. However, a few positions made more progress than others. Our staff gives their thoughts on where the Nittany Lions made the most progress this spring.
Greg Pickel: It feels a little silly to even slightly suggest that there should be a level of concern about the Penn State cornerback room considering the track record of associate head coach Terry Smith at the position. But, it’s undeniable that a changing of the guard is occurring with Kalen King, Johnny Dixon, and Daequan Hardy all now NFL-bound.
The good news is, the handing off of the proverbial baton seemingly happened seamlessly. Despite some hiccups in the Peach Bowl, junior Cam Miller is ready to lead the group as the oldest returning member of the roster, and second year Lions Zion Tracy, Audavion Collins,and Elliot Washington II are ready for bigger roles.
They’ll have to earn them though, of course, as transfers AJ Harris, a sophomore who started his college career at Georgia, and redshirt senior Jalen Kimber, who came from Florida by way of Georgia, are here and expect to play, too. The competition overall has propelled the group to make the biggest stride of any position room during spring practice.
“It’s been amazing,” Harris said this spring. “I feel like once you do bring some new faces on campus, it just naturally pushes that competitive nature within the room. Everybody’s constantly pushing each other to do extra work. Just making sure that we’re all in here making sure that we’re ready for Saturdays
“Because, we understand that we’re a question mark, that people wonder how the young corners are going to do on Saturdays. So, the only thing we can worry about is the little details. Don’t feed into the outside talking. We just work.”
The only thing to disagree about with Harris’ statement is the question mark part. Are they relatively unproven on the field? Yes. Will the cornerbacks who play make that irrelevant by the time the West Virginia opener arrives in late August? Absolutely.
Ryan Snyder: I’ll go with defensive ends for my pick. On one hand, when you lose two excellent players like Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac, you almost have to expect some sort of regression the next year. On the other hand, when you have a player as talented as Dani Dennis-Sutton, and then you move arguably your best overall athlete on the team, Abdul Carter, from linebacker to edge rusher, expectations should still be high.
But regardless of how athletic Carter may be, that move is still a big change. Fortunately for fans, James Franklin made clear the week leading up to the Blue-White Game that he’s very happy with Carter’s overall approach
“The transition has probably gone better and faster than I thought it would. It’s a different world up there [at defensive end]. Sounds good, but it’s a major difference and he’s really transitioned very, very well.”
When you add in solid depth pieces like Amin Vanover and Smith Vilbert, who Franklin has also praised, plus the potential Jamieal Lyons has flashed, fans should feel good about a group that felt like it was losing two major pieces back in December.
But when it’s all said and done, don’t be surprised if Dennis-Sutton is the one who shines the most this fall.
“We need him to take a step this year and from everything we’ve seen so far, I think he will,” Franklin said about Dennis-Sutton.
