No second guesses about Penn State's prized Parsons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- During the recruitment of five-star Micah Parsons, between the back and forth and highly publicized wooing of the linebacker, Penn State's players wanted to know when enough would be enough.

"There got to be a point where some of the players were like, 'Coach, you know, why are we putting up with this?'" James Franklin said Monday at the start of Penn State's spring practice. "I don't see anybody saying that anymore. ... There was some coaches and players questioning if we ought to go on this roller coaster. I haven't had one person question the roller coaster since he showed up on campus."

The reason why Penn State went all in on Parsons was simple: He can help this team win. Penn State's glaring need at middle linebacker is where Parsons will get his first shot at trying to be a difference-maker this spring. During Monday evening's practice in Holuba Hall, Parsons jogged through warmups in his newly-issued No. 11 jersey, the start of an important spring for him and for Brent Pry's defense.

Franklin said Penn State's early enrollees were ahead of schedule when he addressed the media and promptly rattled off their body-fat percentages from two months ago to now, but nobody is needed more in this class than Parsons. It's why Penn State kept pursuing him when others shied away, why the on again, off again relationship has by all accounts been smooth sailing since the Harrisburg High School graduate enrolled in January. Strength coach Dwight Galt spoke glowingly about Parsons during the winter program and Franklin echoed those sentiments on Monday.

"You're talking about a guy that has the body type, the speed, the strength, the quickness, the play-making ability, those types of things, we think he's got a chance," Franklin said. "And really, since he's showed up on campus, has done a really good job. So it's obviously one thing to do morning workouts and another thing to, what you do in the weight room and those types of things, but he's never played the position, so that's going to be a challenge just from a fundamental and technique standpoint and from a read standpoint; but then also the playbook."

And that's where this position switch gets really interesting. Penn State is throwing a lot at Parsons and all at once. There's also not a leader in the room like Jason Cabinda who went down that road and knows the position in and out. Parsons can learn about the other linebacker spots from Koa Farmer and Cam Brown, but the only other middle linebackers he can lean on are Jake Cooper and Jan Johnson. Both have been limited during their careers due to injury which is why this position battle is open in the first place. Redshirt freshman Ellis Brooks figures to factor in as well.

"He's really done a good job of, from a maturity standpoint and from an accountability standpoint, and from a teammate standpoint, he's been very respectful of the older guys and is working like crazy and competing like crazy," Franklin said of Parsons. "Has been really good. But he's got a lot of guys in front of him. I know there's guys like Cooper who has been waiting for this opportunity, and he's going to fight with everything he's got."

Fielding a two-deep at linebacker that they can win with has never been more pressing than it is with this particular group.

NOTES FROM MONDAY'S WORKOUT

• The media was able to watch the first 15 minutes of Monday's practice, which included stretching, special teams work and a little bit of positional drills. Penn State moved practice indoors to Holuba Hall.

• Quarterback Tommy Stevens was not present for the part of the workout that was open to the media. Now, sometimes there are class conflicts that arise or players are in the training room or what not so it could be any number of reasons, but it was Sean Clifford working behind Trace McSorley. Again, Stevens is on campus this semester, in fact I saw him a few weeks ago, so no need to panic about the status of the valuable backup who could be up for a transfer after spring ball just yet.

• Defensive tackle Robert Windsor, who is expected to start alongside Kevin Givens, also was not present during the portion of practice open to the media. Defensive tackle Ellison Jordan, who is recovering from a broken kneecap, didn't have his knee in a brace. He stretched and was in a jersey and shorts. Defensive end Torrence Brown, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, was in street clothes.

• The Lions' punt returners worked with the boxing gloves again just like they did last fall camp. It's always a return back to basics this time of year and again in the summer. The punt returners included John Reid, Mark Allen, DeAndre Thompkins, KJ Hamler and Mac Hippenhammer. Hippenhammer is also a member of the baseball team so surely that timeshare between sports will be extra stressed this month and next.

• Miles Sanders and Brandon Polk, who both have experience as kick returners, worked back there on Monday.

• Holuba Hall got a facelift during the winter, or at least some new curtains with Penn State logos now covering up the shell of the facility.

• DaeSean Hamilton and Trevor Williams took in practice from the side. Hamilton will participate in pro day on Tuesday while Williams, a cornerback for the Chargers, was just back in town. Typically several former players show up to take in pro day so I expect there will be some familiar faces in the crowd in Holuba Hall for the workout. It's unclear who Hamilton and Mike Gesicki will use as their quarterback for the workout.

AUDREY SNYDER GALLERY