Penn State Football: New breed of linebackers taking over
The linebacking corp for Penn State football features a different look. The Nittany Lions could have three guys see time with a quicker, rangier build.
Converted safeties and hyper-athletic linebackers have taken over the traditional run stuffers. Entering the 2018 season, Penn State football looks like a speedy bunch in the middle portion of their defense. In the past, college linebackers usually stood anywhere from 6-feet to 6-foot-2 on average and weighed 235-plus pounds.
Through much of the “Linebacker U” days, the defenses needed guys that could stop the run first. The linebackers needed to be able to play the pass as well but not to the level they do now. Offenses have progressed and moved into the spread-happy era.
In order to combat this spread trend, defenses became thinner and faster. Linebackers needed to have near defensive back-speed in oder to cover these quick inside receivers. The answer has obviously come with a different type of linebackers. Penn State carries multiple of these new types.
Starting off, former safety Koa Farmer leads the list. After seeing an impressive preps’ career and two years of college ball in the secondary, he shifted into the middle portion of the defense. Farmer responded by becoming a sideline-to-sideline sweeper for Penn State.
He launches himself at runners and corralled them to the tune of 76 tackles and 10 tackles for loss over the last two seasons. He moved into the starting role last year and helped a defense that allowed just 16.5 points per game.
Cameron Brown started his career at linebacker, but isn’t built-in the normal linebacker mold. At 6-foot-5, 226 pounds stands out as the lanky backer on the list. The four-star linebacker earned his role early on as a downhill thumper at the line of scrimmage. He can cover a lot of ground and get after quick passes to the perimeter. As he moves into a starting role, he should help the tackling range of this linebacker group.
Although the other player in this group won’t start, Jarvis Miller represents another converted safety that’ll see time this year. Much like Farmer, he transitioned from safety to linebacker and became an athletic force. He stands 6-foot-2 and weighs just 220 pounds, but he can play. He takes excellent pursuit angles and should add more pass coverage to the backers.
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With all of these guys back for 2018, Penn State has option especially in pass coverage. The linebackers can defend the run and pass with an increase in athleticism.