Penn State Football 2018 Position Preview: Linebackers

Only one starter returns to the linebacking corp. Fear not, Penn State football faithful this group has plenty of players back to fill in the gaps.

Behind a dominant, deep defensive line stands a linebacking corp ready to make a statement. This fall, Penn State football won’t have two of its biggest reliable players in Jason Cabinda and Brandon Smith. Both players were productive and key leaders in getting Penn State back to the top of college football. Now, it’s up to senior Koa Farmer to take up torch and carry this group of young backers into another season of high expectations.

Starters

First and foremost, this list starts with the veteran Farmer. He started his first full season last year at linebacker and made 47 tackles, 5.5 for loss while also recording a sack and a fumble recovery. He’s truly the all-purpose linebacker for the Nittany Lions. He started off his career as a safety and converted to linebacker in 2016.

His speed carried over making him a tough player to stop in the run game. He can squeeze by blocks, react quicker to the play and explode for the tackle before players on offense can blink. He’s a sneaky pass rusher as well. In 2016, he picked up three sacks as a situational pass rusher for the Lions. He’ll start again this season at outside linebacker.

Penn State doesn’t have the other two spots settled just yet. However, it’s likely that Cameron Brown will fill in one spot. The true junior is a two-year reserve that already has 63 tackles to his name. He has played in 24 career games and started two as well. Brown is the biggest player on the list at 6-foot-5, 226 pounds.

Micah Parsons is most likely going to get in the starting mix somewhere. The five-star true freshman linebacker can make an instant impact. He led the Blue Team in tackles at the Blue and White Scrimmage.

Reserves

This portion of the roster has loads of potential. Starting off, Manny Bowen is back on the team, which bodes well for the unit. The senior linebacker is the active tackle leader with 136 total and 12 tackles for loss. I’d put him in the starting unit, but his off-the-field problems and dismissal last year may set him back for a bit. Head coach James Franklin may opt for someone else early and plug him in as the season progresses.

Either way, he’s the most experienced linebacker on the roster and the most productive. He’ll see time regardless of if he’s a starter or not.

Bowen is the biggest name, but the team has a lot of returners. Jake Cooper, Jan Johnson and Jarvis Miller come to mind. The trio has 69 combined tackles and loads of game action to help the team out. Redshirt freshman Ellis Brooks has yet to record a tackle, but he had three tackles in the scrimmage and will provide depth as well.

The group is stacked with talent and depth. It may not have the same game starts as the defensive line, but it completes a loaded front seven.