Penn State spring position preview: Cornerback and Safeties
To cap off our spring position previews, we move on to Penn State's cornerback and safety rooms. Last season, the Nittany Lions had one of the country's best secondaries but will lose key players like Joey Porter Jr. and Ji'Ayir Brown this offseason. How will Penn State be able to replace both players? We take a look below.
CORNERBACK
There is no beating around the bush, losing Joey Porter Jr is a major loss for Penn State's secondary. Last season in 10 games, he totaled 27 tackles and 11 pass deflections as well as one forced fumble. Over his Penn State career, he developed into one of the coutnry's best cornerbacks and is an expected first-round draft pick in this month's NFL draft.
It will be hard to replace Porter Jr. in the cornerback room but the Nittany Lions have the talent and depth to do so.
With Porter gone, Kalen King steps into the No.1 cornerback role, one that is well deserved. An argument could be made that King is the better cornerback between the two and he'll have a chance to prove that next fall. Last year, the junior defensive back recorded 30 tackles, three tackles for a loss, three interceptions, and 16 pass deflections.
Also in the secondary for the Nittany Lions will be Johnny Dixon, Daequan Hardy, and Storm Duck as the Nittany Lions' main rotation. Dixon was solid for the NIttany Lions last season with 23 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks, and two interceptions while totaling 10 pass deflections as well.
Hardy, mostly the Nittany Lions' Nickelback has been solid throughout his career and will be expected to be once again next fall. The highly experienced Pennsylvania native had one interception and four pass deflections last season. Finally, Storm Duck enters the program after spending the first portion of his career with North Carolina. Duck has two years of eligibility left but could play his way into being an NFL Draft pick next year. Last season he had 46 tackles, one tackle for a loss, three interceptions, and nine pass deflections.
Beyond those four, Cam Miller, Elliot Washington II, and Zion Tracy are all names to know as well as Lamont Payne Jr. Miller showed promise when on the field last season while Washington, Tracy, and Payne are all freshmen. Don't be surprised if Washington is a frequent contributor as a freshman while Tracy's elite speed could make him a factor as well.
SAFETY
Penn State's safety room is rich with depth and expects to return key contributors from last year's 11-2, Rose Bowl-winning squad.
Fifth-year Ji'Ayir Brown is the biggest loss for the position group, as he was both an important leader to the defense and a productive player. Brown led the Nittany Lions with 74 total tackles, had the most interceptions on the team with four, and also racked up 4.5 sacks which were third best on the team.
The Trenton, New Jersey, native's contributions will be missed in Manny Diaz's defense, but Penn State certainly has the names to fill Brown's production and then some.
Zakee Wheatley is primed to make a big leap entering his redshirt sophomore season after impressing in practice throughout his Penn State career. Wheatley played in all 13 games last season, finishing with 27 total tackles and two interceptions. Named the defenses' turnover king both last spring and fall camps, don't be surprised if Wheatley comes up with several interceptions next season.
Two other returning safeties, junior Jaylen Reed and senior Keaton Ellis could be candidates to be starting in week one. Reed finished with 31 total tackles and three pass break-ups last season, while Ellis had 24 tackles and seven pass breakups.
It's a toss-up as to which of these three safeties will get the most playing time, but all three figure to be important contributors in the secondary and will certainly all see starting level reps.
One name to watch out for is Tyrece Mills. The Lackawanna Community College transfer committed to the program as a safety before seeing time at linebacker last season but now is back at the safety position. After being banged up for most of last season, Mills is in line to see playing time this fall and should be a consistent contributor in the rotation.
Penn State also has some talented safeties waiting in the wings, including two four-stars in redshirt freshman Mehki Flowers and sophomore Kevin Winston. Both have played sparingly in their careers, but certainly, have the talent to push into the starting lineup, Winston has especially been impressive in camp this spring.
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