Jaquan Brisker Announces Return to Penn State Football

Penn State Football safety Jaquan Brisker joined receiver Jahan Dotson in announcing his intentions to return to the Nittany Lions in 2021.

Penn State Football safety Jaquan Brisker announced Monday that he’ll be returning to Happy Valley next season, deciding the NFL can wait.

Brisker, a JUCO recruit in the 2019 class, was suppose to run out of eligibility after this season. That changed when the NCAA gave every athlete an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic. Brisker attended Lackawanna Community College, a pipeline for the Nittany Lions for junior college players. He was a 4-star and the top rated JUCO safety in the 2019 class.

With Brisker back, the Nittany Lions have one less question mark in the defensive backfield in 2021. Penn State now only has to replace one safety, instead of both of them, with Lamont Wade not expected back in 2021.

Brisker was one of the more productive players on Penn State’s defense this past season. He recorded 57 total tackles with an interception and four pass defends.

Brisker received plenty of notoriety this off season when he was named a Second Team All-American by CBS Sports and was First Team by Pro Football Focus. He was all third team All-Big ten by the coaches.

After these awards, many thought that Brisker would enter the draft, so this news is a pleasant surprise for many Penn State fans.

Brisker is not the only Nittany Lion defensive back to announce he will return for a fifth year, cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields did the same earlier this week. With the addition of Johnny Dixon via the transfer portal, Penn State’s defensive back group is filled with experience and depth.

Penn State is hoping that the return of Brisker, Castro-Fields and Dotson, along with the transfers they’ve brought in, will help the team improve after a rough 4-5 season in 2020. It’s certainly beneficial to have fourth and fifth year players out there instead of freshmen.