Healthy Nick Tarburton emerges as breakout candidate for Penn State
James Franklin is a Nick Turburton fan.
Franklin made that declaration on Monday, meeting the media before the onset of Penn State's spring practice schedule, and he's not alone.
Tarburton is a popular pick to be a breakout contributor among the Nittany Lions' coaching staff, and he's impressed Franklin with his work over the offseason.
"He's had an unbelievable offseason for us right now, not only from a health perspective, from a physical perspective, from a leadership perspective as well," Franklin said. "We're expecting him to have a significant role on our defense and on our team.
"This spring will be really important for him, but he's had a tremendous offseason and we're really excited about him."
The Nittany Lions recruited Tarburton as a linebacker, but have since moved him to defensive end. He weighed in at 250 pounds as a recruit, and the Penn State official website lists him at 253 this spring.
That positional transition is one that the Penn State staff hasn't hesitated to make. They're doing something similar with Zuriah Fisher as he comes into his second season in State College.
"He's another one of those guys, probably very similar to Zuriah Fisher that we recruited as a big linebacker that could grow into a defensive end possibly," Franklin said. "We'd just see how the genetics work out once he gets on campus and how his body reacts to the strength and conditioning program and the nutrition program and all those types of things."
Three years and a position change removed from his arrival, Tarburton has played in only nine games for Penn State, but that small number has little to do with Tarburton's ability. In fact, Franklin expressed a desire to use Tarburton late in the season back in 2018 — his true freshman year — to cover up some bumps and bruises other Nittany Lions had at the time.
Those snaps never came about, and Tarburton missed the entirety of the next season due to an injury that was undisclosed at the time. However, Penn State strength and conditioning coach Dwight Galt said last week that Tarburton has fought through some issues with his lower back and his hip since arriving on campus.
In 2020, he appeared in seven of Penn State's nine games, contributing in spurts on both special teams and defense. He took 34 snaps at defensive line last season, and played 50 more on various special teams units.
Now, the Penn State staff thinks he's ready to do more.
"One guy who we're really proud of is Nick Tarburton," Galt said. "...We feel really, really strongly about what he can provide to the program."
"Here he is in a position to have a big year for us and we need him to," Franklin said.
Penn State lost both of its starters at defensive end from a season ago, with Jayson Oweh and Shaka Toney both off to the pros.
That will make progress from players like Adisa Isaac and the ongoing health of Tarburton crucial, even after the addition of transfer defensive end Arnold Ebiketie.
Said Franklin, "I think the biggest point for him is he's as healthy as he's been since he's gotten on campus."
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