Penn State Football position grades after back to back wins

Defensive Backs

Grade: B+

The secondary endured a few tough weeks early in the season after being torched by Ohio State and Maryland but has bounced back in a big way, and done it on the back of a youth movement at cornerback.

Senior Tariq Castro-Fields has not played the last four games due to injury so the burden has fallen squarely on freshman Joey Porter Jr., sophomore Keaton Ellis, freshman Deaquan Hardy and sophomore Marquis Wilson at cornerback. Hardy recorded a sack in both games, including forcing a sack fumble in Ann Arbor, while Porter Jr. was honored as the Big Ten defensive freshman of the week in the win at Rutgers, recording seven tackles and a tackle for loss while blanketing Scarlet Knights receivers in coverage.

The young guys have stepped up in a big way the last two games, holding Rutgers to 122 yards passing, and the Wolverines to 112 the week prior. The coverage has been tight, and more importantly has had no breakdowns on the back end like we saw in games earlier in the season.

Senior safety Lamont Wade has been a bit of a disappointment this season, but fellow safety Jaquan Brisker has put together a quality season, playing with more confidence each game. Brisker has nine tackles the past two games, including a key pass breakup against Rutgers on a deep pass down the sidelines, where he came over and delivered a big hit on the receiver, breaking up the pass.

The future is very very bright for this position going forward, just as it might be for the Penn State Football program in 2021 and beyond.