Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Penn State Football: Projected 2-deep depth chart for 2017

By Ryan T. Smith

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 02: Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin looks on against the USC Trojans during the 2017 Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 2, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 02: Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin looks on against the USC Trojans during the 2017 Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 2, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 7
Next
STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 10: Marcus Allen #2 of the Penn State Nittany Lions reacts after sacking Zander Diamont #12 of the Indiana Hoosiers in the first half during the game on October 10, 2015 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 10: Marcus Allen #2 of the Penn State Nittany Lions reacts after sacking Zander Diamont #12 of the Indiana Hoosiers in the first half during the game on October 10, 2015 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Secondary

Starting safeties: Marcus Allen, Tony Apke
Backups: Nick Scott, Garrett Taylor

The secondary is led by Allen, a tremendous talent with a nose for the ball who put up triple-digit tackles last season. The departure of strong safety Malik Golden, however, leaves an empty spot next to him.

The best candidate to fill it is Troy Apke, a fellow senior, but there are a handful of options. Perhaps the most intruiging of the bunch is former star recruit and redshirt freshman Garrett Taylor, who received praise from the coaches in the spring. Taylor will likely get his chance sooner rather than later, but the starting spot is Apke’s to lose.

Starting cornerbacks: Grant Haley, Christian Campbell
Backups: Amani Oruwariye, Lamont Wade

What looked like an absolutely loaded unit has become frighteningly thing after stud junior John Reid tore his ACL in the spring, but there’s a lot of talent here. Haley and Campbell are seniors who played in a combined 25 games last fall, and Oruwariye has some experience, but there’s very little beyond that. Wade is a five-star true freshman — but he is a true freshman.

Home/Penn State Nittany Lions