STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Marcus Allen wasn't surprised when he heard James Franklin and staff moved cornerback Lamont Wade to safety. After all, Wade said many times he was willing to play anywhere and Allen was impressed with Wade's athleticism last season.
“He’s going to bring a different type of style back there,” Allen said. “Although Nick Scott is athletic and everything (too), Lamont played corner so he has a little bit more athleticism in him. He’s going to do his thing out there.”
Moving Wade was the coaching staff's way to try and get their four best defensive backs on the field, a path for Wade that otherwise at cornerback would've been crowded. With a healthy John Reid, plus Amani Oruwariye and Tariq Castro-Fields back there -- and two safety spots up for grabs -- Wade's versatility should help him see the field more while the defense also fills one need.
The depth at corner was something Christian Campbell smiled about while fielding questions after last week's pro day. The goal is always to leave the position in better hands than how they inherited it and while that holds true at corner, both safeties spots being up for grabs is far from ideal.
“(You got) Nick Scott, Jonathan Sutherland, you got JP [John Petrishen], and you got Lamont, they all doing they thing,” Allen said of those vying for both starting safety spots. “I heard nothing but good words, but I’m just excited for all of them.”
Sutherland's work ethic impressed Wade last season, as did his hard hits that left the safety making a "choo-choo" train noise when he was asked about Sutherland's performance in developmental scrimmages. Scott, who Franklin praised last week for positing some of the best testing numbers on the team this winter, is the likely leader to work back there with Wade. Petrishen, who struggled with injuries throughout his collegiate career, should be ready to contribute in some capacity, as should Garrett Taylor.
Still, that's a lot to sort through this spring and summer and there's not a ton of clarity ahead of them at middle linebacker.
Gone is Jason Cabinda and in his place the Nittany Lions’ prized five-star signee, Micah Parsons, is working to land a starting spot this spring.
“We’ll see how he does and test it out in the spring,” Cabinda said. “I think the thing is wherever we put him he’s going to make a difference.”
Winners of position battles are never named in April, but what players do well is often easily recognizable by the teammates who are in the meeting rooms with them regularly and who are on the practice field sizing up their teammates. It’s safe to say all these NFL hopefuls are keeping a watchful eye on who could fill their positions next season. And some will even stop by practices as they continue training in town ahead of next month's NFL Draft.
Like Parsons, Jake Cooper, Jan Johnson and Ellis Brooks will have a chance to claim the starting middle linebacker spot. That key position battle could have huge ramifications as the quarterback of the defense comes down to Parsons, who hasn’t played linebacker before, Cooper and Johnson who have some experience but have dealt with injuries and Brooks, who took a redshirt last season. Again, it's far from ideal but it's also the reality of roster turnover that impacts every college football team.
“I like Ellis Brooks. I like his determination,” Cabinda said. “I think he’s a fine player, and I think he finds the ball. As a linebacker there’s so many things where you have to train your eyes, you’ve got to see pulls and there’s a lot of stuff going on. To be able to be instinctual and just play and play fast is something Ellis does. When his mental catches up in terms of playbook and getting everything down I think he’s going to be a really good player. And then there’s Jan Johnson. He’s a guy who really stepped up for us multiple times over the past year-and-a-half or so, and I think he’s a guy who could really step in here and make a difference as well.”
Parsons will need to lean on those he’s competing with as he learns the defense and figures out the ins and outs of playing middle linebacker. Learning from his peers is what Cabinda said helped him understand the position best. Should Parsons not stick at middle linebacker the staff already expressed no concerns about using him at defensive end.
“I was always asking questions,” Cabinda said. “Asking Nyeem [Wartman-White], asking coach [Brent] Pry, asking Mike Hull question after question after question because I wanted to know. You gotta be smart, you gotta be willing to learn and you gotta be willing to make mistakes. You can’t get too hard on yourself. It’s a position he never played and it’s going to take time and he’s not going to get it Day 1, Day 2 or even Day 7. It’s going to take time and people got to be patient.”