Sophomore linebacker Curtis Jacobs is having himself a week.
Sure the Nittany Lions lost to Ohio State last Saturday, but Penn State played hard and in the process nearly upset the No. 5 team in the country. On top of that Jacobs had seven tackles – a career high – en route to one of the best performances of his young career.
And all of that comes down to confidence.
“It’s just believing in yourself,” Jacobs said on Wednesday following practice. “Believing you will be where you need to be. Believing you got this, you can make that happen. That was big for me because I’ll tell you right now honestly, last year, I didn’t really believe in myself. I wasn’t really confident in my decisions while I was playing. So I feel like now that’s really helped me.”
Confidence is a big word when it comes to this Nittany Lion team. Yes they’ve been on the losing end of three-straight games but Penn State came out against Ohio State with the upmost confidence – in no small part due to the fact quarterback Sean Clifford was finally healthy. It might have been one thing if the Nittany Lions lost at full-strength, but they certainty weren’t in the second half against Iowa and Clifford was far from healthy in a loss to Illinois.
A loss is a loss, but how you frame a streak can go a long way towards getting out of it.
“I can’t tell you the exact moment,” Jacobs said of his growing confidence. “But it just came from preparation, watching film, knowing what I’m what I’m seeing. Everyone has that freshman funk, so I wasn’t really surprised. I just took it on the chin and just kept along.”
“I just tried to play fast and play confident,” Jacobs added. “I felt like in the beginning coming out of camp [his freshman year] I wasn’t playing as confident. Once you’re confident in what you’re doing and you play in a framework that’s how you’re gonna make plays.”
It’s a feeling echoed throughout some of the younger Nittany Lions on the roster. Receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who has quietly become a reliable and timely target in Penn State’s offense cited his own growing confidence as a reason for improved play this season. Sometimes the kids just take time to grow up.
Subsequently the losses and the injuries aside, Penn State is a markedly better team on both side of the ball than it was a year ago. The Nittany Lions are solid on offense and field one of the nation’s best defenses. Results aside, the quality of play is a far cry from the uncertainty and struggles that plagued Penn State in 2020, even if the trials and tribulations have now shown their face in the middle portion of the year.
There is something to be said for confidence in moments like this, and knowing you can be better than your record. Penn State is likely a healthier Sean Clifford away from being 7-1 if not better. Certainly any team is just a few changes from having a better record, but it’s not as though the Nittany Lions came out of the gates struggling either.
And in that truth is a confidence and a swagger. A swagger that Penn State’s defense in particular certainly has.
“It is definitely a good feeling,” Jacobs said of being on a great defense. “You can’t take it for granted because it’s not it’s not guaranteed that everybody’s gonna do their job [in football]. But it’s great to have that trust in your brothers to know that he will be there. So I love that about this defense.”
The challenge for Jacobs now is not only to continue his own play but pass down what he has learned to those behind him. It’s fitting that senior safety Ji’Ayir Brown is watching Jacobs’ interview from behind the media contingent like a proud parent, the media savvy Brown watching a younger prodigy take his next steps. One day it will be Jacobs doing the same for another up-and-coming Nittany Lion.
“You got to make sure they don’t forget the little things,” Jacobs said. “And they do what they need to do to prepare for when it’s their turn.”
As for that big week, Jacobs and the Nittany Lions are headed to College Park this Saturday looking to snap their losing streak. Ask Jacobs – a Maryland native – about coming back home on the heels of a great individual performance, and he just smiles.
