Impressions from Friday night's practice in Beaver Stadium

BWI analyst Thomas Frank Carr was at Penn State’s final scrimmage of the spring football season on Friday. He breaks down what stood out to him during the Nittany Lions second and final public practice in Beaver Stadium.

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Curtis Jacobs continues to stand out as an exceptional football player. While he’s known as a coverage linebacker, Jacobs was active around the line of scrimmage on Friday night with two would-be sacks of Sean Clifford at the goal-line, and then for a safety in a later period. While he was a free rusher both times, he timed his blitz very well and made the most of the play design to get points for the defense. He also had a great run-blitz to tackle John Lovett in the backfield for a loss.

It’s early to anoint anyone a savior, but Jacobs could be a missing piece for the defense that struggled to cover the field last season with Brandon Smith manning the position. He’s dripping with instinctive plays and is showing that he can be a presence in the run game as well as in the passing game as a blitzer. His movement skills in coverage are superb and his ability to recognize and react to routes is also very good. Having a player that can make positive plays in every phase of the game would give Brent Pry another versatile chess piece to use creatively.

Keyvone Lee looked notably quicker this spring and much more confident on the field. He took a backfield pass 20 yards, down to the two-yard line, beating Jonathan Sutherland in man coverage and breaking two tackles along the way. It’s the second weekend in a row that Lee has been a standout on offense. He’s notably quicker through the offensive line and decisive with his cuts when he finds his read.

If there was one glaring weakness in his game in 2020 it was that he was an upright runner who was robotic in his motions at times. This spring he looks more dynamic and fluid in his movements. Along with an uptick in quickness and fluidity, he’s maintained his ability to lower his shoulder at the end of runs making him tantalizingly close to what you might think of in a feature back.

Ta'Quan Roberson had another poor outing in front of the media on Friday despite not throwing an interception during the live scrimmage period. What stood out most during the evening was his erratic downfield accuracy and ball placement. On a third down from roughly the 40-yard line Roberson found newly minted receiver Marquis Wilson breaking free from coverage toward the pylon.

Unfortunately for the offense, Roberson double clutched on the throw and didn’t release the ball when he saw the route develop. If he had, he might have had a beautiful touchdown. Instead he took an extra hitch and released an inaccurate pass out of rhythm that sailed over the head of all parties involved. Later he threw a vertical route out of the back of the end zone which hit the stone wall at the base of the bleachers. In total, Roberson had zero on-target balls on passes 15 yards or more downfield on the night.

It’s another blow to the Penn State offensive depth chart which is searching for answers outside of the embattled Sean Clifford, who had a low-key night. Clifford rushed for a touchdown and had a beautiful completion to Cam Sullivan-Brown on a similar throw that Roberson missed the series after. It’s only two spring practices, but any plans that Roberson would push Clifford for starting reps at any point should be put to bed.

The rumors about Keaton Ellis finally moving to safety were confirmed this week as he took reps with the first- and second-team defense at field safety on Friday. He had a couple of missed tackles on the night but overall did not seem to drop many coverages and wasn’t beaten in man coverage. He also lined up in the star or nickel role several times during the evening.

It’s possible that the former Little Lion may follow a similar path to Lamont Wade, who started outside, then moved to safety, before finally finding his home in the slot. Ellis is similar in that he’s a good tackler, but offers more size and deep coverage speed than his former teammate. No matter where he lines up, Ellis faces a stiff competition from other players ahead of him on the roster and will have to find his home before he is passed over.

Tyler Elsdon did not participate Friday night after making several good plays last Saturday in the run game. Head coach James Franklin knew he could be a downhill player, but he’s been impressed by his progression elsewhere this spring.

“The thing I thought he did this spring was one of the things we had a question on. He was running sideline-to-sideline, making plays. He looked very quick, very explosive. He made as many strides as anybody,” Franklin said after the scrimmage.

His progression at linebacker is a great relief for the Nittany Lions who are exceedingly thin in terms of depth. Freshman Kobe King made a handful of good plays on the night, but was running primarily with the third-team defense. Beyond that, Charlie Katshir is likely the lone realistic backup at the Sam linebacker position for Brent Pry and his defense. Yet, with that said, Elsdon’s appearance at middle linebacker may have opened the door for a veteran to make a position switch.

“There’s also some discussions with Jesse [Luketa] about playing some other position as well that we think he has the ability to play," Franklin said. "I think it’s not only going to help our defense, but also his future at the next level.”

If Luketa does make a switch to defensive end,, it would add another former linebacker to the group, to go along with Nick Tarburton and freshman Zuriah Fisher.

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