Miller finding groove, other observations as Lions look to Georgia State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Shareef Miller is getting used to his first season as a starting defensive end, and after two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss in last week’s win against Pitt, the Philadelphia native said he’s starting to settle in.

“I’m just trying to just come out there and get better each and every day in practice and listen to my coaches,” Miller said after Saturday's 33-14 win against Pitt. “I don’t really pay like a lot of that other stuff no mind. I just listen to coach Spence and let him coach me up and he’ll get me right.”

Getting right within the past week meant Miller, who exited the season opener in the first quarter due to an undisclosed injury, needed to spend extra time taking care of himself in the lead up to the Pitt game. Miller said he was “upset” after being forced out of the season opener and while he sat on the trainer’s table in the rain during the Lions’ win against the Zips, he said he wasn’t concerned about potentially missing more time.



While seeing a healthy Miller take on a larger role for the defense is still a new sight for many Penn State fans, teammate Grant Haley said he’s well aware of what Miller is capable of. Saturday’s performance could be a glimpse of what’s to come from the redshirt sophomore.

“Shareef, man, he’s had a great spring and he had a great redshirt freshman year last season. I’m excited for him,” the senior cornerback said. “He’s a guy that this game means a lot to him. You can tell it every single time he goes out there and the passion that he’s playing with. The role he has on our defense is picking up and we’re going to need him to do better than he did [Saturday] even as hard as that might sound. I’m excited for him and just it’s good to see him grow as a player and as a leader as well.”

One area where Miller, and the rest of the Lions’ defense, will continue to improve is tackling. James Franklin will continue to emphasize that improvement this week in the lead up to Saturday night’s home game against Georgia State.

“We missed some tackles out there, I missed some tackles out there I ain’t gonna lie,” Miller said. “It’s basically like fundamentals like hitting a guy and I should’ve wrapped. That’s all it was. We’ll correct it though. We’ll be a lot better next game. We’ll correct it.”

EXPLOSIVE PLAY TRACKER

Penn State's receptions of 16-plus yards (5)
• Trace McSorley to DaeSean Hamilton, +16 yards
• McSorley to Saquon Barkley, +46 yards
• McSorley to Brandon Polk, +18 yards
• McSorley to Hamilton, +23 yards
• McSorley to Mike Gesicki, +19 yards
Season total: 14

Penn State's rushes of 12-plus yards (3)
• McSorley, +36 yards
• Barkely, +17 yards
• Barkley, +22 yards
Season total: 8

Penn State defense passes surrendered of 15-plus yards (3)
• Browne to Araujo-Lopes, +22 yards
• Browne to Ollison, +30 yards
• DiNucci to Weah, +21 yards
Season total: 3

Penn State defense rushes surrendered of 12-plus yards (4)
• Ollison, +17 yards
• Ollison, +12 yards
• Ollison, +32 yards
• DiNucci, +15 yards
Season total: 5

WHO PLAYED ON WHAT SPECIAL TEAMS?

The return of safety Ayron Monroe was felt in the third phase as one of the team’s top special teams contributors played on the kick coverage, kick return, punt coverage and punt return units.

One name to keep an eye on this week is redshirt junior cornerback Amani Oruwariye. The cornerback limped to the locker room late in the fourth quarter. He was able to walk there under his own power, but he was trying to put as little pressure on his leg as possible. While Franklin doesn’t discuss injuries, this could have a big impact on special teams should Oruwariye not be able to play this week. He's part of the kick coverage, punt return and punt coverage units. Penn State views him as a third starting cornerback so his has a valuable role both on defense and special teams.

Kick coverage: Tyler Davis (kicker), Manny Bowen, Amani Oruwariye, Cam Brown, Brandon Smith, Nick Scott, Tariq Castro-Fields, Ayron Monroe, Irv Charles, Lamont Wade, Josh McPhearson.

In the opener against Akron the Lions used Marcus Allen and Jarvis Miller in this role. With the return of Monroe they were able to pull Allen off of this duty. Miller, who played four snaps on defense, wasn't part of the opening kick coverage unit like he was the week prior.

Other players who also played on kick coverage: Saeed Blacknall, Juwan Johnson.

When Penn State mentions swarming to the ball, pretty sure this is what special teams coordinator Charles Huff has in mind. Should the first player not make the tackle, there are 10 others surrounding elusive return man Quadree Henderson. Even kicker Tyler Davis (95) is in the frame.