With freshman safety Troy Apke set to make his Nittany Lion debut on Saturday, secondary coach Terry Smith dished out the goods on his young and talented defensive back.
“Troy is an extremely athletic kid. He is very explosive. He is very fast. He has very good size. He’s also a bright kid. He’s going to bring added athleticism to us,” Smith said. “He’s working really hard in practice to get caught up on his special teams assignments and his secondary assignments. He just brings a wealth of athleticism to us.”
So far the changes Penn State has had to make in the secondary have yeidled positive results since the loss of Ryan Keiser to a season ending injury. Freshman Marcus Allen made 10 tackles and had two pass deflections in Penn State’s double overtime loss to Ohio State last week. Even so, the loss of Keiser means losing the quarterback of the defensive secondary. That kind of role isn’t easily replaced but as a senior, Keiser was going to be replaced in only a few short games anyway.
May has well learned the ropes now.
“Keiser is the quarterback. He helped us stay in the right call. He is a terrific communicator,” Smith said. “Now, with a freshman safety back there, Marcus (Allen) did a really good job back there this past week against Ohio State. He’s communicating a lot better each day as we speak. He’s getting more reps. There is a little more demand on his communications skills, and he is doing a terrific job. All of the other secondary guys – Adrian Amos, Jordan Lucas and Trevor Williams – they have to increase their communication as a whole. It was very loud in the game against Ohio State. We just have to do a better job as a whole, verbally and physically, communicating our signals.”
For the most part Penn State’s secondary held strong against a lethal Ohio State passing attack that can strike at any moment. This weekend the Nittany Lions will face one of the best receivers in the league in Stefon Diggs. The kind of target that takes a team effort to keep covered.
“In the passing game, they have a tremendously athletic (group) on the perimeter,” Smith said. “Stefon Diggs is a very explosive athlete. He leads them with 46 catches. I think he has scored in the last four games. We need to keep him out of the end zone and keep his explosiveness away. Deon Long is a guy who can stretch the field. He is a good-sized athlete who has a lot of playing experience. And then they have another couple guys. Marcus Leak is a guy who can stretch the field. He’s very fast. We’ve got to make sure we contain his speed.”
“And then Jacquille Veii – he’s kind of a do-everything guy. They try to get him some touches for him. We have to be able to contain their athletes on the perimeter when they run quick screens and bubbles. If we can contain them, obviously the No. 1 goal for the defense is to stop the run, but at the perimeter and in the secondary, we need to contain their athletes and not let them have explosive plays.”
If Penn State’s growing youth movement in the secondary can keep the likes of Diggs and Long under control that will be a good sign for the Nittany Lions’ chances not only on Saturday, but in the future as well.
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