Penn State Football: 3 under the radar players poised for a breakout season
As Penn State Football continues spring practice they will need a few under the radar players to breakout if the 2021 season is going to be the turnaround year the program needs
Penn State Football endured the worst start to a season in program history last year, beginning the 2020 campaign 0-5, ultimately finishing up 4-5.
the Nittany Lions began the season ranked inside the top-10 of all the national polls, and even despite the opt out of Micah Parsons and injuries to Journey Brown and Noah Cain, it was a majorly disappointing season for head coach James Franklin’s squad.
The finger can be pointed to a lot of areas for what went wrong, however it boiled down to a lack of players stepping up and bursting onto the scene the way some maybe hoped they would. Any good team needs a few guys to surprise.
Last year, some of the freshman like Parker Washington and Keyvone Lee were players to burst onto the scene, however this season the Nittany Lions will need more from a few players along the defensive line and at playmaker on the offensive side of the ball.
Let’s take a look at three under the radar players that are poised to breakout next season for Penn State Football:
3. Nick Tarburton
Redshirt sophomore Nick Tarburton has battled through injury after injury in three years at Happy Valley, but this year he appears poised to finally prove what he can do on the field.
Penn State Football will have to replace both starting defensive ends, Shaka Toney and Jayson Oweh from last season with them both off to the NFL Draft this April.
Tarburton has already been praised by the defensive staff and defensive line coaches this winter for his work ethic in winter workouts, but head coach James Franklin had more praise to heap on the defensive end.
"“I’m a big Nick Tarburton fan for a lot of different reasons and with how he’s gone about his business,” Franklin told the media. “For us right now, not only from a from a health perspective, but from a physical perspective and from a leadership perspective, as well, we’re expecting him to have a significant role on our defense and on our team. This spring ball will be really important for him, but he’s had a tremendous offseason.”"
Tarburton appeared in seven games last season, and nine in his career and has only tallied two total tackles. Despite the lack of production, at six-foot-three and 253 pounds the Green Lane, Pa native looks the part of a Big Ten defensive end.
Franklin went out and brought in Arnold Ebiketie, a talented defensive end from Temple in the transfer portal who figures to start next season. Opposite Ebiketie, Tarburton will compete with former big-time recruit Adisa Isaac, who has three sacks for his career.
If Tarburton can provide competition at the end position and be solid depth at worst, he will be a valuable member of the defense. If Tarburton can get after the quarterback and becomes a player who is pushing for starting time, the Nittany Lions defense can take the next steps to being elite.