Penn State notebook: Updates on progress of transfer corners, Kalen King

Penn State Nittany Lions football head coach James Franklin has called the secondary he will carry into the 2021 season the best he's had while at Penn State.

Given the influx of new exciting names, it's not difficult to see why Franklin feels that way.

At cornerback specifically, Penn State didn't lose any of its key contributors from last season, and added a pair of talented defensive backs from the transfer portal in AJ Lytton and Johnny Dixon.

On top of that, true freshman cornerback Kalen King was one of the stories of the spring for Penn State, including an impressive performance at Penn State's open practice inside Beaver Stadium.

"I feel like I have a lot of depth," Cornerbacks coach Terry Smith said at Penn State media day last weekend. "There's six guys that have played a lot of college football, including Johnny Dixon, who played at South Carolina a lot."

So, how are some of those new exciting names getting on in camp?

Fellow cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who claimed one of the starting jobs last season as a redshirt freshman, provided some updates on Wednesday night.

RELATED: Takeaways from Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin's press conference

As Smith alluded to, Dixon arrived this offseason from South Carolina, having started the majority of the games last season for the Gamecocks as a sophomore.

That gives us a pretty significant sample to pull from as we try to extrapolate what Dixon could bring to the Nittany Lions. Pro Football Focus labeled his best asset as his tackling last season, where he achieved a 67.8 grade.

Lytton's attributes are a bit more of a mystery, arriving in the summer after Dixon arrived in time for winter workouts and spring ball.

He did not play college football last season, and saw the field only occasionally with Florida State during the first two seasons of his collegiate career spent in Tallahassee.

For his part, Porter Jr. has been impressed so far.

"Both ballplayers," he said. "They both stepped in and started making plays right away. AJ's got to learn the playbook a little bit more, but I feel like once he gets comfortable, he's going to be a baller. I mean, he's making plays now and we're not really in a defense. Same with Johnny Dixon. They're both making plays. I'm so proud of both of them."

The praise King garnered from Franklin this spring is well-known by now among Penn State fans.

Franklin considers him to be the most advanced freshman he's coached while with the Nittany Lions — advanced praise from the Penn State head coach, who rarely speaks in absolutes.

Porter Jr. offered plenty of additional praise for King based on what he's seen in camp from Penn State's spring takeaway leader.

"I think Kalen King is an outstanding corner, to be so young and come in and make so many plays, just adapt to the college scenery so fast," Porter said. "Not many freshmen are able to do that. How he did it and how he stepped in and made a big role on the defense is really impressive.

"He's been doing nothing but skyrocketing in my eyes, so big ups to him."

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