Taking Stock: Defensive Backs
Blue White Illustrated continues its multi-part series examining the Nittany Lion roster as it proceeds through winter workouts and eventually into spring practices. Today, we'll continue with a look at Penn State's defensive backs:
DEFENSIVE BACK
KEY RETURNEES
CB: D.J. Brown, Tariq Castro-Fields, Trent Gordon, Donovan Johnson, John Reid
Saf.: John Petrishen, Jonathan Sutherland, Garrett Taylor, Lamont Wade
KEY LOSSES
CB: Jabari Butler, Zech McPhearson, Amani Oruwariye
Saf.: Isaiah Humphries, Ayron Monroe, Nick Scott
NEWCOMERS
JaQuan Brisker, Keaton Ellis, Joey Porter Jr., Tyler Rudolph, Marquis Wilson
OUTLOOK Before examining what the Nittany Lions return or welcome to the secondary for the 2019 season, what’s been lost must first be understood.
In Nick Scott, Penn State loses a constant presence on the defensive side of the ball, finishing the season with a team-high 872 snaps according to Pro Football Focus. His 65 tackles were also fourth on the team and his three interceptions tied for tops.
The second piece of that two-man puzzle is currently in Indianapolis preparing for the NFL Combine in the form of corner Amani Oruwariye. Oruwariye finished the season with the second-most snaps (769), he equaled Scott’s three picks, and he’s now hoping to hear his name called in the first round of the upcoming 2019 NFL Draft.
A departing first-team All-Big Ten selection and Senior Bowl participant, Oruwariye represents what Penn State assistant coach Terry Smith believes will be a trend in the Lions’ secondary.
“It would be a blessing for us at Penn State. We’re trying to build a DB nation here. We’ve got seven or eight guys in the league right now that we’ve coached over the last five years,” Smith told reporters late last year. “This thing is growing and growing fast. We’re trying to get the best guys in and develop those guys. Amani would be a huge step for the program.”
Continue to listen to Smith, though, and it becomes clear that some even bigger hopes reside in players that are still at Penn State.
Senior John Reid represents the most veteran of Penn State’s returning corners as he embarks on his fifth year with the Nittany Lions. In fact, with 27 starts to his career, Reid trails only Steven Gonzalez for the most returning starting experience on Penn State’s roster for the 2019 season. Reid finished his redshirt junior campaign with a pair of interceptions, 24 tackles, and eight pass breakups.
Garrett Taylor, meanwhile, returns at safety with 12 starts through the 2018 season (missing one half due to a targeting ejection) and is the third name at the top of Penn State’s interception chart last year. He was also credited with 71 tackles, seven breakups and 2.5 tackles for loss.
And though Oruwariye is off to the NFL, the Nittany Lions believe they have a virtual third returning starter in rising junior Tariq Castro-Fields.
“We have a lot of depth at the secondary position. Every now and then, a freshman will come in and contribute, like a few years back, John Reid came in and started his first game of freshman year. Now we don’t have to require a guy to come and step in right away unless he’s blessed and talented that way,” said Smith. “We have a lot of depth. Amani will step out, Tariq will step right in. We have more freshmen coming in and some guys already in the program. There’s quite a lot of depth, even at the safety position. We’re in a much better position than five years ago.”
Penn State’s situation at safety, as evidenced by Smith’s pre-New Year’s statements, was boosted significantly by the decision of Lamont Wade to return for his junior year after entering his name in the NCAA’s transfer portal.
Wade featured prominently on the Nittany Lions’ special teams units as a sophomore and filled in behind Scott and his defense-leading snap count while Jonathan Sutherland picked up Taylor’s vacated reps and finished with 204 snaps, 38 tackles, and a pass breakup.
“Lamont continues to get better. He’s a major factor on special teams for us, both as a freshman and a sophomore,” said Smith. “He’s given us great depth this year in the secondary and continues to grow. Obviously, with the departure of Nick Scott, we’re looking for Lamont to step up.”
Whoever ends up winning the starting safety spot opposite Taylor, be it Wade or possibly Sutherland, the Nittany Lions have confidence in the depth that will exist behind its projected starters in 2019 even if Isaiah Humphries, Zech McPhearson, and Ayron Monroe all sought transfers this offseason. Humphries headed to Cal while McPhearson and Monroe have not yet announced their next destinations, though both would be eligible to play immediately as grad transfers.
Donovan Johnson returns for his third season in the program while Trent Gordon looks to build upon a redshirt freshman campaign in which he appeared in three games.
“At the cornerback position, we have Donovan Johnson. He’s going to get an opportunity to play… Trent Gordon will get an opportunity. Jonathan Sutherland will get a shot at the safety position,” said Smith. “Then, who knows which of those freshmen will come in and be a little more mature and be mentality and physically more equipped.”
“Those freshmen” include early-enrollees Keaton Ellis,Tyler Rudolph, and Marquis Wilson, plus Joey Porter Jr. and Daequan Hardy, and by extension, junior college transfer Jaquan Brisker.
Penn State head coach has high expectations for them and their futures, and given some of the departures through the offseason, this spring and summer will represent plenty of opportunity to fulfill those expectations sooner rather than later.