Penn State Football: Luketa and Wilson, Two Players, Four Positions

The catch may have only been for three yards, but for corner/receiver Marquis Wilson, it had been a long time coming.

See Wilson found out earlier this year that he might just be playing both ways this season. He might see snaps at receiver and snaps at corner. And by his own admission when he heard that might be the case, he thought the coaches were joking.

But then this spring he played receiver and corner, and then on Saturday against Ball State he did the same. Of course while fans might see a catch, what they didn’t see was the work – and the falling over your own feet to get to that point.

“I’m a clumsy guy. I wear big size shoes so it was kind of, I was tripping over myself,” Wilson said after the game Saturday of his transition to receiver. “I was doing a lot of like – you know, not spectacular things- so I would just be mental, trying to out think my opponent and now I’ve been been trying to be more athletic.”

And athletic Wilson has been, later in the same quarter he picked up his first tackle at corner not long after his first catch. Which was better? Hard to say, because they both felt pretty special.

“I think that’s, that’s a toss up,” Wilson added. “That’s a real good toss up because the tackle was with my brothers, I love that moment. But that first catch was a great feeling to have. So it’s probably tied right now.”

Wilson wasn’t the only Nittany Lion to take snaps at two positions on Saturday as defensive end/linebacker Jesse Luketa did the same – albeit on the same side of the ball – continuing to play at both linebacker and defensive end.

The change has paid big dividends for Penn State so far with Luketa making big plays at both positions and overall looking a far better player than he did in 2020.

All of this culminated on Saturday as Luketa reached up and snatched a pass out of the air, returning it 16-yards for a score. On that play Luketa had lined up at defensive end, a position that is only just now becoming familiar to him.

“I kind of just put my paw out there and I gripped it with my hand,” Luketa said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I might really catch it.’ I got it and I was like, ‘OK, we gotta make a house call.’ … I went straight to the student section, and I just heard the whole place erupt. It was a great feeling.”

In the long run Luketa’s switch to a hybrid role will likely impact Penn State’s season more than Wilson’s, but nevertheless it does showcase the versatility of today’s athlete, and the ability for some players to flip a switch at the drop of a hat and think about the game in a completely different way.

And with both players making an impact this last Saturday, at least partially showcasing the ability for Penn State’s coaching staff to identify a change that could make a player – and the team – that much better.

“I would say this about Jesse,” Penn State defensive line coach John Scott Jr. said earlier this year. “[Luketa] is a heck of a football player. I think Jesse is extremely, extremely intelligent, to be able to do what he did on Saturday. To play defensive end, a lot of people don’t realize the technical skills that goes with that position, with eyes and footwork. 

“To be able to flip a switch and go back and play Mike linebacker where your eyes are different, your techniques are different, and then you’re doing different things within each of the plays at those different positions, you got to be, number one, a super talented football player, and, number two, extremely smart.”