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Published Apr 17, 2021
Impressions from Penn State's open practice
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Ryan Snyder  •  Happy Valley Insider
BWI Recruiting Analyst
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@RivalsSnyder

BWI's Ryan Snyder was inside Beaver Stadium Saturday to watch Penn State's open practice. He recaps some of the key takeaways from the event below.

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1) Kalen King is the real deal. Period.

James Franklin has spoken highly of the freshman all spring, even calling him “the most advanced freshman” they’ve had since coming to Penn State. My first impressions when I heard that was that he's putting a lot of pressure on this kid, but his classmates and the media got the opportunity to see why Franklin is so confident Saturday. You’ll hear about his two interceptions, and both were nice plays, but it’s all the other stuff that impressed me the most. His tackling was excellent, his coverage was consistent. He looked like someone that's been in the program for a few years now. We watched multiple defensive backs get caught out of position or miss tackles Saturday, yet I can’t think of any glaring mistakes that King made. He also played more than just about any other defensive back, rotating with the first- and second-team. It’s clear he’s going to play a lot this upcoming season.

“He is physically ready. He’s a guy that’s come in and is already physically developed from a weight standpoint and from a strength standpoint,” James Franklin said after the practice. “He’s also very mature. Him and his twin brother. They’re both very mature. They know how to prepare, they know how to compete, they know how to work. ...On top of that, he’s got ball skills. You want to recruit guys that can play both sides of the ball. He’s got tremendous confidence in his talents.”

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