UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The holes on Penn State's football depth chart are glaring, and there's no running back walking through the door built quite like Saquon Barkley.
"We need to replace Saquon Barkley with the running backs that we have,"James Franklin said Monday at Beaver Stadium ahead of the Nittany Lions' first of 15 spring practices. "And when I talk about 'replace Saquon,' I talk about his production, but replace it with the group of running backs that we have; but also with the growth of the offensive line and the development of our tight ends."
There also isn't a tight end on the roster with the experience of NFL-bound standout Mike Gesicki, or three defensive tackles ready to step up after Parker Cothren, Curtis Cothran and Tyrell Chavis are all out of eligibility. Middle linebacker Jason Cabinda is gone and so are mainstays in the secondary like corners Grant Haley and Christian Campbell, plus starting safeties Marcus Allen and Troy Apke. Such is life during spring football, a time for all programs to figure out what they have and what they don't, all while inching closer to kickoff of the 2018 season.
Penn State's objectives for spring practice are clear: Make it through healthy, develop depth on both sides, find a kicker and oh yeah, figure out who the middle linebacker is, too. The need for a two-deep at middle linebacker was the first goal Franklin rattled off Monday afternoon, quickly followed by finding a two-and-a-half deep at defensive tackle. One could make the argument those are the two biggest needs and the fact that Franklin mentioned them so soon and later said defensive tackle is a position that behind Kevin Givens and Rob Windsor is "excitement based on potential" was telling.
"A guy that's probably closed the gap as much as anybody is Antonio Shelton," Franklin said. "He's big and he's strong and he's smart. He's closed the gap. ... Ellison Jordan is a guy that's probably played the most football besides those returning starters. He's probably the guy that jumps out. Fred (Hansard) is another guy who is a big body, athletic guy but hasn't gotten a whole lot of reps to see what he can do. Damion Barber is a big, athletic guy that we're excited about what he can do. And then there's really kind of a lot of questions."
And the questions should include whether or not Jordan, who was last seen hobbling around the weight room with his knee in a brace last month is even ready to go this spring. Jordan missed the Fiesta Bowl with what was reported as a fractured kneecap. While his health in August trumps his availability in March, it's worth keeping an eye on. Penn State moved Barber from end to defensive tackle in the offseason, optimistic that coming off his redshirt year he'd be able to contribute to a position of need.
In the mix for the middle linebacker spot is five-star signee Micah Parsons, linebacker Jake Cooper and one would suspect rising redshirt freshman Ellis Brooks, too. Cooper at least has the experience within the defense although it's been limited due to injuries, while Parsons continues making the transition to college. Franklin didn't mention Brooks once, which likely means he's working in at least a limited capacity this spring. Should he miss any time that could help give Cooper or Parsons an edge. That too will be worth monitoring.
Even Penn State's last line of defense has a much different look as Lamont Wade moved from corner to safety this winter, a switch that was as much about the Lions' pressing need as it was the logjam at cornerback. They were excited about Wade last spring, he saw the field as a freshman last fall and now it's about getting him comfortable at a position where both starters are gone. Creating competition there should give way for a winner to emerge at some point between now and August.
"We feel really good the depth we have and are creating at the corner position," Franklin said. "We have a little bit more question marks at safety and Lamont is a football player and although he's not the longest guy in terms of height, he's put together. He'll hit you and we just felt like, you know, it probably played to a little bit more of his strengths."
Penn State's strengths as a team this season will largely include a new identity. The bell cow in the backfield named Barkley is gone, which means defenses should play them more straight up, likely opting for Trace McSorley to try and beat them. Who McSorley throws to -- beyond Juwan Johnson and DeAndre Thompkins, who both won't go live in all the drills this spring since they're proven commodities -- will include a new option at tight end.
"You've got (Nick) Bowers and you've got (Danny) Dalton and you have (Jon) Holland. You have all these guys that have been able to kind of marinate in the fridge and grow and get stronger and kind of watch Mike's successes and learn from them," Franklin said. "As a coach, that's the model that you'd prefer to have. I think those guys are kind of ready to take the next step."
In order for Penn State to get back to where they were with back-to-back 11-win seasons they'll need many of these new faces to step up and help shape the identity of this team. That process will take time, much more than 15 practices.
"We lost a lot of production between Saquon and DaeSean (Hamilton) and Gesicki and Cabinda and the D-tackles," Franklin said.
QUICK HITS
• The Nittany Lions will hit the practice field this evening for the first of 15 workouts and weather permitting they'll be outdoors. I'll have updates off of that as well.
• Penn State's kicking competition will likely heat up in the summer once all the participants, including walk-ons, are on campus. Until then walk-on Carson Landis has a golden opportunity to try and gain a leg up on the competition.
"He's got a great opportunity," Franklin said. "He's going to get a bunch of reps in this camp. He's got a strong leg. I think the biggest thing for a high school player trying to transition into the Big Ten and football at this level is the consistency aspect. He shows flashes of being really good. This spring is going to be important for him to show the consistency aspect, the consistency really, and the accuracy, the consistency in him hitting his sweet spot so he can drive the ball as far and as strong as he wants to."
Remember, they want someone for kickoffs and someone different for field goals. That's the model they've used in the past and it's the one they want to return to, which means two spots will likely be up for grabs during fall camp.
Punter Blake Gillikin also kicked in high school, but the goal for Penn State, which it's been all along, isn't to have Gillikin doing both. They have a scholarship kicker coming in this summer along with walk-ons who will compete with Landis.
• Tuesday, the attention shifts to Holuba Hall where Penn State's pro day takes place. There will be 21 participants working out Tuesday morning and I'll be on hand for all of the Barkley mania and everything else that unfolds. The pro day participants are: Marcus Allen, Troy Apke, Barkley, Saeed Blacknall, Jason Cabinda, Christian Campbell, Colin Castagna, Tyrell Chavis, Curtis Cothran, Parker Cothren, Desi Davis, Tyler Davis, Mike Gesicki, Grant Haley, DaeSean Hamilton, Brendan Mahon, Josh McPhearson, Paris Palmer, Tom Pancoast, Brandon Smith and Mitchell Vallone.
• Hamilton didn't run the 40-yard dash at the combine but should do so on pro day. I think Blacknall, one of the team's top performers in the weight room but whose career was up and down and who didn't earn a combine invite, could impress during the workout. Consistency was the issue there -- and so was a deep receiving corps -- but the former four-star prospect could post some impressive workout numbers.
• Palmer, the offensive tackle who once worked in a peanut factory before taking the junior college route to Penn State, is back to give the NFL another shot. He was out of eligibility this past season but has been around town while training for this next opportunity.
• While Barkley's combine performance wowed the football world, it didn't exactly exceed Franklin's expectations.
"I don't want Saquon to take this the wrong way. I think Saquon had a very average Combine, and he finished No. 1 across the boards," Franklin said. "I know his start wasn't what he wanted it to be. I was very confident that Saquon was going to run a low 4.3, and I thought with training, you never know, he may run a high 4-2. I know that sounds crazy. I've seen him bench press 225 34 times before. So his numbers were solid, but it wasn't like -- I think he even thought he would do a little bit better. But with that, our guys killed it. Our guys killed the Combine."
Barkley said last week during his day in Harrisburg that he wouldn't run at pro day. We'll see if perhaps Franklin might've motivated him to change that idea.
