Up Next: Assessing Penn State's 2021 NFL Draft Class

Friday and Saturday, Penn State put another five players into the NFL Draft in the form of early entrants and top picks Yetur Gross-Matos (38th) and K.J. Hamler (46th), plus John Reid (141st), Cam Brown (183rd), and Rob Windsor (193rd).

So where does that leave the Nittany Lions moving forward when looking ahead to the 2021 NFL Draft?

In spite of a senior class that numbers just eight scholarship players, our guess is that the Nittany Lions will produce their highest overall pick since Saquon Barkley was taken second in 2018 and, maybe more impressive, could produce seven-or-more selections for the first time since 1996's 10-man class.

(Let's set the over/under at seven.)

Granted, uncertainty reigns supreme when it comes to football in the age of COVID-19. If college football is modified in the fall, pushed into the spring, or isn't able to happen at all, there is no telling how those alterations might impact the next crop of players vying for their professional opportunities.

For the time being, though, let's assume that when the 2021 NFL Draft arrives, on-time or delayed. Who are the players with senior or junior eligibility most likely to hear their names announced by Roger Goodell? Let's take a look, in alphabetical order, starting with the seniors:

S Jaquan Brisker - 6-1,205

Though he'd only arrived at Penn State over the summer, Brisker made an immediate in his first year with the Nittany Lions following two seasons spent at Lackawanna College.

Twice he was named to Pro Football Focus' teams of the weeks, and for the season, he was named a PFF All-Big Ten third-teamer. By the Cotton Bowl, Brisker was a frequent contributor, playing in all 13 games last season.

"I thought he had a really good season given that he got there in the summer and had to try to learn it obviously at a quick pace. But he did well," safeties coach Tim Banks said. "Brisker is a worker. He loves to work. He loves to play the game of football. I'm excited. I'm excited about the direction that he's headed."

Whether or not that direction includes the NFL remains to be seen, likely dictated by what Brisker is able to do in the season ahead. Having improved his stamina and strength through the winter, according to Banks, Brisker is poised to have an even bigger impact.

"I think just like anything, anytime you have a chance to have some experience, you typically grow. I know he's really taken it upon himself to try to not just learn the position that he was playing in the fall, which was predominantly to our field side, but now he's learning the boundary side as well as some of our nickel movements," Banks said. "So he's just trying to learn and get a better grasp of the total defense and not just necessarily his responsibility. And based on what we've had in our meetings, I feel like he's headed in the right direction."

CB Tariq Castro-Fields - 6-0, 190

Castro-Fields was considered a possible, if not probable, early entrant to the NFL Draft this past January, but it didn't materialize due to the up-and-down nature of his 2019 campaign.

Joining reporters for a conference call this spring, cornerbacks coach Terry Smith explained what hadn't been detailed previously, that Castro-Fields had been nicked up.

"His season last year was almost like two different seasons. The first half of the season, he came out the gate looking like a first-round draft pick. He played very well and then he suffered an injury," Smith said. "And from that injury on, he was a different player. He wasn't as confident, he wasn't as sure of himself because of the injury. Not to make an excuse, he knows and recognizes it and we've talked about it. It's one of our off-season plans and goals for himself is to make sure that he can be more consistent throughout the season.

"Obviously the first half of the season, he played exactly how we wanted him to play. And in the second half, football's a physical sport. The injuries are going to come, the peaks and the valleys are going to come, but we have to remain consistent through all of that and perform the same way, play in and play out. So he understands that."

The unquestioned leader of the cornerbacks, the bar is plain to see for Castro-Fields next season. Needing to shake off the injury of last season, he'll be asked to make a bigger impact than his third-team All-Big Ten junior campaign, especially in regards to splash plays. Finishing with just two interceptions a season ago, it's an area of which Smith and the Nittany Lion coaching staff are counting on improvement.

"We're looking forward to Tariq having a great off-season and Tariq, not to put pressure on him, needs to have a great year for us. We need a lockdown corner that can handle the best receiver of whoever our opponent is," Smith said. "We expect Tariq to be that guy.

"There's no added pressure to him because it's something he wants for himself. He wants to be a first round draft pick. And so along with that comes a great responsibility of covering the best receiver of the opponent and performing at a high level, making the play when you need to make the play. And our other goal for him is, he's a good cover corner, but now it's time to not just be a good cover corner, go make plays as a cover corner. Get the ball back, make interceptions, force fumbles. Make big, game-changing plays where it impacts the game and gets the ball back to our offense so those guys can go down and score touchdowns."

OL Will Fries - 6-6, 309

In no way has it been sudden, but with the departures of Steven Gonzalez and John Reid this off-season, Fries jumps to the top of Penn State's career games started list for next year's team.

And really, it isn't even close.

Adding No. 33 to his tally with the Cotton Bowl, Fries' next-closest starting presence for the 2020 season will be Michal Menet, with 25. Opting to return for his fifth-year senior season instead of testing the waters of the NFL, with a strong final campaign, Fries is poised to become Penn State's first drafted offensive lineman since Donovan Johnson in 2015.

“He's a guy that came in running a 5.5, not very strong,” strength coach Dwight Galt said of Fries this winter. “He’s in his fifth year and has just done a tremendous job building his body up and getting himself in position to be an elite player.”

OL Michal Menet - 6-4, 304

Fries will have serious competition for the honor from fellow fifth-year senior Michal Menet, who also figures to be a draftable prospect next April.

Look no further than departed offensive line coach Matt Limegrover for an assessment of Menet's value to the Nittany Lions last season, and the likely continuance of that role for the season ahead.

"He's a team captain. He's our center. He understands more than ever, I don't know if he fully did at times last year but he does now, the importance of being the leader at the center position," Limegrover said. "He understands that he's the guy that gets those guys going."

The highest graded offensive lineman on PFF for the Nittany Lions last season, Menet won't be part of the "historic" class of tackles on deck to ascend to the NFL next season, but he is still poised to be a valuable interior addition for some team.

DE Shaka Toney - 6-3, 236

Toney took a hard look at a possible early trip to the NFL this off-season, ultimately deciding in late January to stay at Penn State to exhaust his eligibility in 2020.

He'll look to build on a 2019 campaign in which he was named a second-team All-Big Ten selection, starting all 13 games and finishing with 41 tackles, 8.0 tackles for a loss, and 6.5 sacks to go along with three forced fumbles.

"He's really turned into being one of the better defensive ends. I think for me to say a pass rush specialist, I don't think that's fair. I think he does so much more than that," said Penn State head coach James Franklin last season. "He is a fiercely loyal guy to his teammates, very respected in our locker room. Is fiercely loyal to his teammates. You know, he's really done well. I'm proud of him. I think he's going to continue to do great things here at Penn State. I think he's got a bright future after Penn State.

"I think the thing that probably people don't appreciate enough is how intelligent he is. His football IQ is off the charts. So couldn't be more excited about Shaka and his future at Penn State and very appreciative of how he's gone about his business."

DT Antonio Shelton - 6-2, 315

Unlikely to draw much attention in the way of pro hype, Shelton could still be among the Nittany Lions who lands on an NFL roster after his final season with the Nittany Lions.

Last season, Franklin didn't hesitate to point out Shelton as a true unsung hero on Penn State's defense at the midpoint of the schedule.

"In years past, it's the nose guard that maybe doesn't show up in the stat sheet but is eating up the double-team all the time. So maybe you could say PJ Mustipher and Shelton, probably a combination of those two guys," said Franklin. "I would say they probably fall into that category."

Rotating with Mustipher last season, starting 12 games, Shelton is in line to be the starting one-technique with Mustipher at the three-technique next season.

DB Lamont Wade - 5-9, 188

Following an off-season in which he put his name in the NCAA transfer portal, Lamont Wade decided to come back in 2019 and produced his best season yet as a Nittany Lion. Starting all 13 games, Wade was a force in Penn State's 28-17 loss at Ohio State late in November, and finished the year with 67 tackles, 4.5 TFL, a pair of sacks, and five passes defended.

And when it comes to Wade's pro potential, Penn State safeties coach Tim Banks sees a bright future thanks in large part to his coverage skills.

"I think he has a tremendous upside. He played on the hash but he also showed the ability to play in the slot, which I think is big," Banks said. "If you look at the next level, the NFL looks very similar to a lot of the college programs now, in my mind, a lot of three wide receiver sets, and even you have tight ends and you're flexing them out. So you need to have guys in the game that obviously can cover, but also have enough stout about them to be able to make tackles. And I think Lamont can do that.

"I think the ability for him to blitz and come off the edges sets him apart from some guys. And I think his overall energy that he brings and the passion for the game that he brings is contagious within your defense. So, I think those are traits that will be very attractive to some guys at the next level obviously, once he finishes and helps us continue our goals here, someone will be very fortunate to have him."

Underclassmen and other possibilities

RB Journey Brown - 5-11, 216

Given Brown's finish to the 2019 season, rising from a co-starter at the beginning of the year into the Nittany Lions' primary ballcarrier and stringing together triple-digit rushing performances in four of their last five games, the NFL might be an option following the 2020 campaign.

He put a monster performance on tape from the Cotton Bowl and, maybe more important to running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider, Brown established himself as a legit prospect thanks to his consistency down the stretch.

"The last four or five games, and I know I'm biased, but I thought Journey Brown was playing as good as any running back in the country. He got freakish athletic ability and strength that, he's finally starting to tap into it," Seider said. "I think the thing that I was so impressed in the bowl game is trying to finally get him to play as fast as he is. I thought he finally started to trust his track speed to football now. The way he separated on that one run, what 50, 60-yard run. I mean, that's what I've been trying to bring out of him the last couple of years. And I think now he sees it. I think he carried that over into winter conditioning."

QB Sean Clifford - 6-2, 219

Clifford might currently seem an unlikely candidate to leave early before exhausting his eligibility at Penn State - and we'd share the opinion - but the prospect isn't completely unreasonable.

First, he'll need to improve his completion percentage from his mark of 59.2 percent last season, and to do so, Clifford will need help from an unproven group of receivers.

But given Tanner Morgan's performance last season in Minnesota, it's not a stretch to think new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca could be an instrumental piece to guiding Clifford to some monster numbers next year. Already owning a work ethic matched by few on the team, the young quarterback has the ingredients to find himself as the primary driver of a Penn State offense with the potential to improve on an effort that helped deliver an 11-2 record a season ago.

"The one thing Sean has is, he wants to be great. And he's very eager to learn new things, new approaches, new ways to maybe see a situation," said Ciarrocca. "So he's very open to learning. I'm just excited to see him apply what he's learned and his experiences and let's go from there."

TE Pat Freiermuth - 6-5, 259

That Freiermuth decided to come back this year was, in some respects, a surprise.

Few would argue that he wouldn't have been drafted, since he was eligible after just two years in the program but had already made a huge impact as one of the nation's top receiving tight ends. He finished as an AFCA second-team All-American and a second-team All-Big Ten selection by both the conference coaches and media, grabbing 43 receptions for 507 yards and seven touchdowns.

Now, he just needs to improve on it.

"I just want him to continue improving. And I think he would tell you the same thing," said tight ends coach Tyler Bowen. "I think the big things that we worked on last year coming into his second year were just details and his route running. Just various details. I would say that he's an above the line route runner at the tight end position when you look nationally. And then I think the biggest thing that he's focused on is, how can I be the best all-around tight end in the country, and that's the message to him.

"How can I be the best tight in pass protection? How can I be the best tight end in the run game? How can I be the best tight end in the pass game? How can I be the best tight end in screens? Every facet of tight end play, he has the skill set to excel at."

Continuing, Bowen said that Freiermuth simply needs to put it all together.

"He's been able to put together little bits and pieces in his career. And now, being able to have a little bit of a toolbox to put it all together and be the best all-around tight in the conference and in the country, I think that's his goal. But we're just working on that in every area."

The first tight end off the board in this year's draft was Notre Dame's Cole Kmet, taken No. 43 overall in the second round. Kmet's stat line last season? 43 catches for 515 yards and six touchdowns in 11 games.

DT P.J. Mustipher - 6-4, 305

Mustipher doesn't seem likely to pursue an early trip to the NFL, but the option could be there for the rising junior.

A rare talent, splitting reps as a sophomore with Shelton last season, Mustipher's stat line is likely to grow exponentially as the projected starting three-technique. A leader of the defense and "one of the hardest workers on the team" according to Dwight Galt, Mustipher could find himself as a sought-after prospect at the next level.

LB Micah Parsons - 6-3, 244

Like Freiermuth, this is very much setting up to be Parsons' final season in the blue and white.

Already projected as the 13th overall pick in next year's draft, Parsons has established himself as a premiere linebacker in college football and, with his MVP Cotton Bowl performance to cap the 2019 campaign, is primed for even bigger things next season.

"I'm pleased with his development to this point. He's eager, he's determined, and that never wavers. I think that he's one of those guys that you want to have covering the best back, covering the best tight end, flashing off the edge," said defensive coordinator Brent Pry. "You'd like to have him in a couple different places. So, maximizing what he can do for us each and every snap that he's on the field is important.

"It was certainly brought up quite a bit in our off-season self scout. How can we use Micah more and get him in the best position to be successful for himself and for our unit? He's obviously a rare talent and I think his best football's in front of him and as he continues to grow and develop in the meeting room and work habits and just mature as a college football player, I think we're going to see a better and better Micah Parsons out there each and every week."

*******

• Talk about this article inside The Lions Den

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue-White Illustrated

• Follow us on Twitter: @BWIonRivals, @NateBauerBWI, @RivalsSnyder, @DavidEckert98, @ThomasFrankCarr

• Like us on Facebook