Penn State Football: Is Koa Farmer the Nittany Lion’s secret weapon?
Position flexibility keeps players on the field. Could Koa Farmer‘s unique skill set make him Penn State football’s answer to the spread offense?
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Koa Farmer is hardly a household name, even for the most fanatical college football fans.
For context, there are only two pictures of Farmer in the entire Getty Images database used for photos on FanSided, whereas a player like Saquon Barkley, arguably Penn State’s most popular current player, has over 120 available pictures.
While this disparity in photo quantity is striking, it shouldn’t degrade Farmer’s value to the Lions next season, far from it in fact. Koa Farmer could very well be just as essential to Penn State’s success in 2017 as star running back Saquon Barkley.
If you’re wondering how a player who could be so potential relevant is such an unknown, it’s simply because he hasn’t had very many opportunities to showcase his unique skill set. Farmer stands 6-foot-2, weighs 222 pounds and runs an impressive 4.4 40 yard dash.
Koa committed to Penn State as a 4-star athlete from Sherman Oaks, California. However, after arriving in Happy Valley in the fall of 2014 he never really found a position that allowed him to play to his strengths. ,
Find his own place on the defense
After redshirting during his first year on campus, Koa appeared in all 12 games for the 2015 Nittany Lions as a reserve safety and special teamer, leading the team with an impressive 128 all-purpose yards as a kick returner. Though Koa did play well in limited action for PSU, the team’s depth at safety made it hard for Farmer to find his way onto the field. For that reason Farmer began the conversion process to transition from safety to linebacker entering 2016.
After gaining 15 pounds over the off-season, Koa started the 2016 year as a reserve linebacker, but unfortunately for the team, a string of injuries at linebacker forced Farmer onto the field sooner than expected. While Koa’s trial by fire wasn’t without its faults, he was able to improve each week and eventually became an important cog in Brent Pry’s 4-3 defense. After failing to record a single defensive stat in 2015, Koa ended the 2016 season with 29 total tackles, 3 sacks and a forced fumbles in 12 games, including 2 starts.
What to expect in 2017
Going into 2017, Koa Farmer looks primed to spend the season as Penn State’s starting weakside linebacker, but he could end up playing an even bigger role for the Nittany Lions going forward than his predecessor Brandon Bell.
Penn State is often called Linebacker U, but Koa Farmer could serve as the Lion’s first true moneybacker.
Moneybacker is a moniker used to describe a linebacker with the speed and fluidity of a safety. Ever since the Arizona Cardinals drafted Deone Bucannon in the first round of the NFL draft and converted him to a cover linebacker, teams have been actively seeking out linebackers who can remain on the field on obvious passing downs without becoming a liability in coverage.
Players like Su’a Cravens, Shaq Thompson and even, to an extent, former Big Ten standout Jabrill Peppers have had great college careers as hybrid players whom were all drafted high by NFL teams. Having a linebacker who can cover sideline-to-sideline is essential to success in modern football, with players like Ryan Shazier and Jordan Hicks wreaking havoc on opposing ball handlers, and its possible that Koa Farmer could develop into a player of that caliber.
Can Farmer really be that good?
At 6-foot-2, 222 pounds, Koa Farmer possesses a similar size to all of the players previously mentioned. He’s faster too, running a quicker 40 yard dash (4.4) than all six players. His experience at safety and knowledge of different coverage schemes make him an ideal player to stay on the field for both passing and rushing downs and remain effective. Pairing a rangy athlete like Farmer with a player like senior linebacker Jason Cabinda, a hard-nosed middle linebacker who excels between the tackles, could give the team a unique one-two-punch that few other Big Ten teams have an answer for.
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In an age where the spread offense is king and opposing squads can field as many as five wide receivers on any given play, having the ability to keep key players like Farmer on the field instead of replacing him with a sixth or even seventh defensive back simply makes the team better. If Farmer can continue to develop as a player during his redshirt junior season he could very well become an essential player for the 2017 Nittany Lions squad and continue the trend of star Penn State linebackers in the NFL.