Who is standing out in the race to start at safety beside Jaquan Brisker?
Penn State has a preseason All-American in Jaquan Brisker at one starting safety spot a handful of practices into summer camp.
How is the first-team battle beside the Pittsburgh native shaping up?
Head coach James Franklin and new Nittany Lions safeties coach Anthony Poindexter were both asked to address that very question on Wednesday night during a post-practice media session held on ZOOM, and a few players have moved to the forefront.
"It's been pretty impressive, to be honest with you," Franklin said.
The eighth-year leader of the Lions went on to rattle off four names: Keaton Ellis, Ji'Ayir Brown, Jonathan Sutherland, and Tyler Rudolph.
Ellis moved from corner to safety this past offseason while Brown played some after transferring in from Lackawanna College in 2020. Sutherland is the most experienced member of that particular group but has seen most of his snaps on special teams to date, and Rudolph is a former four-star recruit who has made just one tackle in eight games over two seasons.
"Those guys are battling, whether it is to back up Brisker or whether it's to compete for that other starting job, and then there's obviously some other packages, whether it's dollar or nickel or STAR, that will factor in there too," Franklin said.
"Obviously Brisker has put himself in a position that, he's obviously a guy that we think is going to have a significant opportunity to make huge plays for us at the starting safety position, so it's really figuring out who's that other guy, and you could really right now at this stage you could make arguments for a number of them."
Poindexter went on to share how happy he is to see the proverbial light come on for Rudolph on the field, even if he's only coached him for six months. The College Football Hall of Famer is active on the practice field, and he feels good about what he has seen from the group as a whole so far.
"Watching those guys, I think a lot of these guys will be able to play and help us out, and they're doing a great job of competing with each other but at the same time helping each other learn the plays and encouraging each other when the other person is out there," Poindexter said.
"I'm excited with the whole group. They come to work. They got a workman-like attitude every day they show up and they have fun and are good kids to be around."
Just three Saturdays remain until the opener at Wisconsin, which means the upcoming live scrimmages and 7-on-7 work as camp progress will be key in determining who takes the field first versus who comes on later in the game.
Poindexter went on to say that he'll play as many members of his group that are ready for game action, whether that's two, four, or more. However, how many it ultimately ends up being will not be determined for a few more weeks.
"The good thing is, some guys like Tyler, who hasn't played a whole lot of football but we think is extremely talented, the light's starting to come on for him right now, so it's a legitimate competition," Franklin said. "Sutherland's kind of the vet, has been there and done it, and obviously been a huge contributor on special teams
"It's a really good competition. I think we'll be in a position where we'll have four safeties that we feel good about playing."
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