Penn State football is about a month away from opening preseason camp for the 2022 season, and the Nittany Lions will be looking to return to the Big Ten’s upper tier after a combined 11-11 record over the past two years.
Despite the records there was still reason for optimism, but a difficult schedule and a young team in some areas could mean Penn State is still a year or two away. Then again, nobody saw 2016 coming either.
Today we continue our look at each area of the team with a linebacker corps that looks a bit thin following two key departures.
The Ones To Miss:
The duo of Brandon Smith and Ellis Brooks make for noteworthy absences in the Penn State linebacker room this year as Brooks takes away plenty of experience while Smith brings with him unmatched athleticism and speed at the position. With both setting their sights on NFL futures, it’s hard to blame any NFL hopeful for making the jump, but Smith in particular may have seen a Micah Parsons level jump in play had he stayed around for one more season. Whatever the case might be, Penn State finds itself fairly thin at linebacker this year and the departures of Smith and Brooks played a big part in that.
The Ones To Watch:
This is Curtis Jacobs’ room to run. The junior linebacker had a solid sophomore campaign in 2021 and was a reliable force on the defensive side of the ball each and every game. While Jacobs might not have the flash that Smith brought to the table, his consistency will go a long way for a group looking to find itself in 2022. Longtime Nittany Lion Jonathan Sutherland made the switch from safety to linebacker this offseason as well and will be hoping to make the same sort of position change strides that former linebacker Jesse Luketa made when he switched to defensive end last year. Outside of Jacobs and Sutherland, it’s really an open competition to figure things out the rest of the way. Dominic DeLuca, Charlie Katshir and Kobe King round out the more familiar names in this grouping of new faces to watch.
The New Ones:
Four star prospect Abdul Carter and former three star Keon Wylie are the two new freshman faces in the linebacker room this summer, but both appear to need to make serious strides early to have an impact on Penn State’s 2022-23 season.
The Bottom Line:
This group hasn’t been quite the same since Micah Parsons left but that’s not all that surprising. Brandon Smith may not have lived quite up to the hype and could very well blossom in the NFL, but his absence makes this group Curtis Jacobs and friends. Jacobs has a lot on his plate with this group, but Penn State has never really had bad linebackers under James Franklin. Then again, this is mostly a Manny Diaz problem now.
