Penn State Football: Position Grades versus Akron

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - SEPTEMBER 02: Alvin Davis #1 of the Akron Zips knocks Mike Gesicki #88 of the Penn State Nittany Lions from his feet during the second half on September 2, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. Penn State defeats Akron 52-0. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - SEPTEMBER 02: Alvin Davis #1 of the Akron Zips knocks Mike Gesicki #88 of the Penn State Nittany Lions from his feet during the second half on September 2, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. Penn State defeats Akron 52-0. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 03: Bradrick Shaw #7 of the Wisconsin Badgers is tackled by Jason Cabinda #40 of the Penn State Nittany Lions during the second quarter of the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 3, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 03: Bradrick Shaw #7 of the Wisconsin Badgers is tackled by Jason Cabinda #40 of the Penn State Nittany Lions during the second quarter of the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 3, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Linebackers

It’s tough for a linebacker group to get judged when a defensive line and secondary dominated the way Penn State football did. It shouldn’t be an indictment on the unit, especially because they cleaned up well. Nevertheless, it’s not fair to hand them the highest grade if they didn’t have to make all the plays.

Still, Manny Bowen, Cameron Brown, Jarvis Miller, etcetera did a nice job of containing things. If anything got past the D-Line, they were quick to shut it down. They’ll need the linebackers to continue to play at this level and rise up when the team needs them.

Although the offense didn’t get on the linebackers a lot this week, they’ll see more reps against better teams. Luckily for Penn State football, this team’s strength lies in the front seven.

Grade: A-