Givens determined to continue string of DL success

In Kevin Givens’ three years of football at Penn State, he has lined up alongside six defensive line teammates previously or currently in the NFL.

Anthony Zettel, Garrett Sickels, Carl Nassib, Austin Johnson, Tarow Barney, and Evan Schwan, have all appeared on active NFL rosters or practice squads. Another two, Parker Cothren and Curtis Cothran, are likely to get a look themselves this spring and in preseason camp.

Givens, a fourth-year junior with heavy experience in each of the past two seasons, could be the next in line among Penn State defensive linemen to reach that upper echelon of success.

But first, he has to live up to his own expectations as a Nittany Lion in the season ahead.

“It’s definitely a responsibility,” said Givens. “Being here with those guys… it’s definitely a standard that you want to play up to because you don’t want to be the guy that messed up everything.”

The Nittany Lions are convinced that won’t be a problem. In fact, they’re convinced Givens is ready to live up to those standards, and possibly more.

Named the Jim O’Hora winner at Saturday’s Blue-White Game, awarded to the player showing the most “loyalty, positive attitude, and constant improvement” each spring, Givens continued an upward trajectory that has seen him move from linebacker in high school to end at Penn State, then to tackle. Along the way, he’s earned all-freshman team recognition, 10 starts, 49 tackles, and maybe most important, eight sacks and 11 tackles for a loss.

Acknowledging that ascent, Nittany Lion defensive coordinator Brent Pry offered effusive praise for not just the performances Givens brought to the field throughout spring practice, but also for the general way in which the versatile defensive lineman has carried himself.

“Very deserved,” Pry said of the honor. “You talk about a guy that was kind of thrown into it. A little bit raw when he got here, and now you've got a guy that can play defensive end, he can play nose tackle, he can play three-technique, he can go into three-down and play the end spot. He can play the zero. And he makes plays.

“He doesn't say a word. He works, he works, he works. Some of the guys we've pulled off, taken reps off them, but we've soaked him out there and he doesn't complain. He just works. He wants to be great. I can't say enough good things about him right now.”

Givens is wholly appreciative of the props.

Citing the work he’s put in watching film in the past year, the nuances of the game are rapidly coming to Givens. From his comfort level with the approach for both Pry and defensive line coach Sean Spencer to his relaxed inhibitions speaking up in the DL room, asking questions and taking in the details, the resultant product is an admittedly more mature contributor.

That maturation process demonstrated firmly through the spring, Givens is now being asked to back it up on the field. And according to Pry, those expectations could not be more clear.

“I think he needs to go out there consistently, week in and week out, and play a first-team all-conference caliber defensive tackle,” said Pry. “That's what we're looking for, and if we've gotta put him out there at end in some situations because of the opponent we're playing potentially, he's ready to do that.”

The implication, Pry continued, was that maybe the same could not have been said consistently through the duration of the 2017 season.

“I think he's a guy that, his season was a little bit of a rollercoaster, so we look for consistency and that's the way he practiced this spring and that's why he won that award. He was very consistent in his efforts, in his technique, in his production,” said Pry. “You want to feel really good about what you're putting out there at each of those 11 spots and now, I feel like with Kevin we know what we're going to get putting him out there. There's not going to be a lapse in his play. He's in a good place and he's gotta go out there and do it this fall. That will be an important piece for us defensively for him to play that way week in and week out.”

Aligned in the objective, Givens won’t refute the aspirations for his season ahead.

A veteran presence on a defensive line backloaded with younger players, that Givens earned the spring’s O’Hora award is, in his mind, just a beginning.

“It means a lot,” said Givens. “I came out this spring with a mindset that I was going to get better. I wanted to work and that’s what happened. I’m happy the coaches noticed it.”