7/29/2021 football Edit

Inside the Den: Penn State secondary emerges deeper, stronger in 2021

Nate Bauer • Happy Valley Insider

Senior Editor

@NateBauerBWI

Is in his 17th year covering Penn State football and men's basketball for Blue White Illustrated.

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We've surveyed the program this offseason for a better understanding of the Nittany Lions' potential in the secondary as preseason camp nears:

Catch up on our series of insider notebooks:

Inside the Den: At quarterback, two themes dominate this offseason

Inside the Den: Penn State running backs, tight ends take steps forward

Inside the Den: Next steps necessary for at least one Penn State receiver

Inside the Den: Experienced OL has opportunity to become a strength

Inside the Den: Penn State DL looks to translate talent to production

Inside the Den: Nittany Lion linebackers regain confidence as season nears

Leading into the 2020 season, the Detroit Free-Press ranked Penn State’s secondary third-best in the Big Ten.

Welcoming the return of seniors Tariq Castro-Fields and Lamont Wade, plus the anticipated bigtime breakout of Jaquan Brisker and a greater contribution from Keaton Ellis, the media outlet expected the back end of the Nittany Lion defense to be among the conference’s strongest.

The results were, of course, much less rosy.

Though Brisker evolved into a stabilizing force in the second half of the season, the Nittany Lions’ secondary played a significant role in allowing 36 points per game to begin the season 0-5. Letting opposing quarterbacks finish with a passer efficiency rating of 131.06, the Nittany Lions ranked 49th nationally in the category despite also finishing the year 24th in passing yards allowed at just 198.6 yards per game.

Making matters worse, the Nittany Lions struggled to stay healthy. Castro-Fields was sidelined for the season’s final two-thirds. Ellis missed the first three games and the win at Michigan. Joey Porter missed the finale against Illinois. And at safety, the Nittany Lions were forced to rely on only four real contributors in Wade, Brisker, Jonathan Sutherland and Ji’Ayir Brown.

Have circumstances, and expectations, changed for the 2021 season?

We surveyed the program this summer to get a better grip on where the Nittany Lions’ secondary stands as preseason practices quickly approach:

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