Banks sheds light on Apke's emergence and other standouts at safety

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- From the outgoing and upbeat personality of Marcus Allen to the inquisitive nature of Ayron Monroe, safeties coach Tim Banks has quite a few characters in his meeting room.

"When it's time to turn it on, they understand — whether it's at practice or on game day," Banks said Thursday afternoon during a conference call. "Marcus Allen is the poster child for that. You guys have all seen him laughing, joking and dancing and all those things. But he's one of the guys who practices harder than most. On Saturdays, he plays with great energy and intensity that's unmatched in a lot of places I've been. As long as he continues to do that, I have no problem with him being outgoing."

The Lions will continue looking at Allen to solidify the last line of defense and Saturday afternoon against Akron he'll be joined by senior starter Troy Apke. The former WPIAL standout from Mount Lebanon locked down the starting job after the most consistent camp of his career and James Franklin mentioned a few times this offseason about the potential season Apke could be in line for. Banks echoed those sentiments during Thursday's conference call with reporters. Here are the highlights from the call:

Q: What's impressed you so far about freshman Jonathan Sutherland and what are your expectations for him this season?

A: "Like most freshmen when they get in, it was an eye-opening experience for him. But he came in with a great work ethic, super hungry, very talented kid. I guess the good and the bad of it is, he came here ready to work — but right now, we're pretty deep on the back-end as far as our safeties go. He's working hard. Nothing's in stone right now. He's showing obviously that he's going to be a kid that can help us at some point. Whether that's this year or next year has yet to be determined."

Q: What did Apke need to show you to land the starting job and how did he separate himself from Monroe and Nick Scott? How closely will you guys monitor that starting spot during the season?



A: "Philosophically, you keep an eye on every spot. I know it's somewhat cliche to say that everyone is fighting for jobs throughout camp, but that's where it is. Hopefully you build your program the right way and create some depth that lends itself to great competition. We've had that at the strong safety spot. In practice, he was super consistent. As a senior, you would hope he would play his best football. He came to camp in great shape, not just physically but also mentally. I think a lot of that lends itself to the experience he's gained over the last couple of years. It gave him great confidence that he can go out, execute and play at a high level from the first practice to the last practice. We expect him to pick up where he left off in camp, and hopefully continue to trend that way during the season."

Q: How does the staff determine who will play free or strong safety and what's the  difference with those two spots?

A: "The more I'm in this thing, the more I realize you want similar qualities in both guys. The system has to have enough flexibility to take advantage of whatever unique skill sets that either young man brings to the table. Our boundary safety, or our free safety, typically lines up in the boundary. Our strong safety, or field safety if you will, lines up in the field. But as far as their skill set goes, the free safety has to play man no different than the strong safety has to play it. It's the same in coverage. ... In our system, which man is in which spot dictates how we use them, but to be quite honest, from a skill set perspective, both guys are interchangeable. They're one in the same."

Q: Do you guys plan to rotate all five safeties who are on the depth chart?

A: "We'd love for everyone to have an opportunity. ... It changes based on how guys have progressed and how guys are reading the game. How many snaps are they going to play? There are a lot of variables to decide how many snaps the other guys get. We have multiple packages, whether it's star concepts or dime concepts. ... The amount of reps kids play is really based on the situation. I very rarely go into a game saying, 'This young man is going to get this many snaps.' It's just based on feel."

Q: What does Monroe need to work on or prove in order to take on a bigger role for this defense?

A: "He's still getting better. He's made tremendous strides. He's picked it up from a physicality standpoint. He's a young man who's always had tremendous athleticism. He's passionate about the game. Obviously, he's battled through some things and is healthy now. He's playing with, what I would say, is a little more of a violent mentality back there. As he continues to grow, he'll continue to develop. We're pleased with the direction he's headed right now. It just so happens that he got in a dogfight with another young man who's taken some steps forward, as well, in Troy Apke. I don't know that it's anything he's done wrong. It just had to do with the consistency the young man had in front of him."

Q: You're up in the booth on game day so how much communication do you have with cornerbacks coach Terry Smith during the course of a game?

A: "I've called games on the sidelines; I've called games from the booth. It's great. The thing that benefits me being in the booth is that you're able to see a lot more. You can have some input being the eye in the sky, if you will. Terry Smith and I work extremely close together during the course of the week to make sure we're on the same page. It's not the corners and safeties; it's the secondary. When one's wrong, we're all wrong. When one's right, we're all right. We have to make sure that we really work hand-in-hand and understand combinations the exact same way. Being the eye in the sky, I made sure I'd see what they can't see. I'd get that information and relay it to one of my guys. We work hand-in-hand, and it's been great so far."

Q: We've talked so much about Trace McSorley, but what challenges does he present to your secondary in practice?

A: "He's a tough cover. I can tell you that. He's just one of those guys, from my vantage point, that has very good pocket awareness. He has the keen ability to feel the rush, keep his eyes downfield. He's athletic. He has what you call, 'it,' in my opinion. He's just one of those guys. He's a special talent. ... I'm glad we only have to face him in practice. He's definitely a handful."

Q: Garrett Taylor transitioned from corner to safety in the offseason. How has that transition gone and did he end up leading the defense in interceptions during camp?

A: "He's led us in picks. That's obviously one of the things we want to continue is getting better in that area. Getting our hands on balls, challenging the ball, and he took that to heart. He did a good job. You know, any time you make the transition from one position to the other, there's always somewhat of a learning curve. But I think, based on what I saw in camp, he's trending in the right direction. He understands what we're trying to get done in our scheme. Now, it's just a matter of getting him enough reps to get him comfortable and I think he is. ... We're definitely super excited we have him at the safety spot. We look forward to watching him continue to grow."