‘Football is like a baseball team in one important way:
‘Up the middle.’
That’s what a smart college football head coach once shared my way.
‘Just like in baseball,’ he said, ‘you can judge the strength of a football team by what they have up the middle.’
Translation, by unit:
On offense, read that to mean the quarterback, the feature running back and the interior guts of the O-line.
On defense, it’s the tackles, middle linebacker and safeties.
On special teams, there’s the punter and field goal kicker — especially the latter, since he’s the one who puts points on the board.
It’s an interesting take, and one that may be especially germane for a reloading/rebuilding Penn State, which just wrapped up its eighth of 14 official spring workouts. (No. 15 is the April 21 Blue-White Game.)
Granted, it’s just one of the many lens through which James Franklin — not the aforementioned HC, btw — is viewing his fairly youngish 2018 squad. Still, in many ways, Penn State’s inexperience — and potential — this year runs right up the middle. (Although the Nittany Lions’ offense rarely does, in fact, run up the middle.)
Its strengths are also up the middle, in quarterback Trace McSorley and an O-line that is experienced as well, losing only guard Brendan Mahon. It’s McSorley’s fifth season in the program, and third as a starter. He’s as veteran as you can get. For comparison, he’s had as many years at Penn State as new running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider and new wide receiver coach David Corley have had at Penn State in months. Combined.
So, McSorley — with his 77 TDs and 8,268 yards — is a definitely an up-the-middle strength. Although in some ways the 2018 season will be a brave new world even for him, with the departure of Saquon Barkley, who opponent keyed on and dared McSorley to beat them. Which he regularly did.
Penn State’s O-line is also a strength. Despite the loss of Mahon, who started 41 games for Penn State, including a dozen at right guard in 2017, the Nittany Lions’ head coach is O positive.
‘We’ve got a two-deep that you can win with in the Big Ten,’ Franklin said. ‘So instead of having six guys that you feel good about that you’re moving parts all over the place, you still may have a little bit of that — (with) guys that create some flexibility. But I think there’s a two-deep where you look across it and you say, ‘You know, the guy that’s actually behind that position to go in and play in the game and you’ve got a chance to play well enough to win in the Big Ten.’ ‘
‘So, we’re bigger, we’re stronger, we’re more experienced,’ Franklin added. ‘We have more depth. We have more length.’
MORE IN THE MIDDLE
Elsewhere up the middle, though, Penn State has some question marks, including:
SAFETY
Gone: Marcus Allen (46 starts, 321 tackles, No. 5 all-time at PSU) and Troy Apke (14 starts, 111 tackles, 2 interceptions). Presumptive 2018 starters: fifth-year senior Nick Scott (49 tackles, 1 start at running back) and redshirt sophomore Garrett Taylor (14 tackles). What CJF says: ‘There’s some time obviously for those other guys to catch up and pass those two guys. But right now, I think it’s a really good group from top to bottom.’
MIDDLE (‘MIKE’) LINEBACKER
Gone: Jason Cabinda (36 starts, 286 tackles, ninth all-time at PSU) and Brandon Smith (6 starts, 117 tackles). Presumptive 2018 starter: redshirt freshman Ellis Brooks (0 starts, 0 tackles), senior Jake Cooper (3 starts, 40 tackles) or redshirt junior Jan Johnson (14 tackles). What CJF says: ‘We have to find a two-deep at middle linebacker. I think that’s a critical question going into the spring, a two-deep that we can win with.’
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Gone: Curtis Cothran (26 starts, 54 tackles, 20 sacks/TFLs) and Parker Cothren (21 starts, 57 tackles, 15.5 sacks/TFLs). Presumptive starters: redshirt junior Kevin Givens (11 starts, 49 tackles, 19 sacks/TFLs) and redshirt junior Robert Windsor (1 start, 42 tackles, 3 fumble recoveries in 2017, No. 4 nationally). What CJF says: ‘We have to find a two-deep at D-tackle. We have a pretty good idea with what we have with Givens and Windsor. But we have to find a two-and-a-half to three-deep at defensive tackle. We have to figure that out…’
RUNNING BACK
Gone: Saquon Barkley (32 starts, 53 touchdowns and 5,538 all-purpose yards, both No. 1 all-time at PSU). Presumptive starter: junior Miles Sanders (1 start, 375 yards rushing, 54 yards receiving, 764 yards kickoff returns, 4 TDs). What CJF says: ‘We need to replace Saquon Barkley with the running backs that we have. And when I talk about ‘replace Saquon,’ I talk about his production — but replace it with the group of running backs that we have. (And) also with the growth of the offensive line and the development of our tight ends, and still be a team that’s difficult to stop because of the firepower that we have at wide receiver and the mobility we have at the quarterback position.’
PLACE-KICKER
Gone: Tyler Davis (261 points, No. 6 all-time at PSU, 39 of 49 field goals overall and 9 of 17 in 2017, perfect on 144 PATs). Presumptive starters: redshirt freshman Carson Landis, incoming scholarship kicker Jake Pinegar from Iowa (9 of 13, with two from 60, as a high school senior) and talented punter Blake Gillikin, who place-kicked in high school (perfect on 54 PATs, made 16 of 26 field goals, including 52, 53 and 56). Gillikin will likely kick off for PSU in ’18. What CJF says: ‘We really don’t have a competition to be honest with you. At kicker, we got Landis. We got one kicker right now. Obviously, I think Gillikin can do it and he did it in high school. We prefer not to do it.’
