Penn State Football: 3 bold predictions vs. Georgia State

2. Shareef Miller will double his career sack total

Last season, Shareef Miller recorded two sacks as a supplemental player in Penn State’s defensive line rotation, largely spelling starting defensive ends Garrett Sickels and Evan Schwan, but with both leaving Happy Valley for the NFL after last season, 2017 could be his opportunity to take center stage.

As a 6-foot-5, three-star redshirt sophomore from Philadelphia, Miller’s game is built around an impressively quick first step that allows him to fly past unsuspecting right tackles in defensive coordinator Brent Pry’s wide-9 scheme.

And he’s found near immediate success in the spotlight.

After Penn State’s first two games of the season, Miller leads the team in total sacks with two, an impressive feat considering he missed the majority of the Nittany Lions’ Week 1 victory over Akron due to an apparent leg injury.

Lined up next to senior defensive tackle Curtis Cothren and junior defensive tackle Parker Cothran, both returning starters from last season, Miller matched his 2016 sack total in the Lions’ Week 2 bout against Pitt.

And going into week three, Miller will surely have an absolute field day against the Georgia State Panthers’ offensive line.

In the Panthers’ first game of the year, Georgia State’s offensive line gave up three sacks against the against the Tennessee State Tigers.

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While Penn State isn’t traditionally known for having one of the best defense in the nation, they have already amassed an impressive eight sacks in the first two weeks of the season alone, and Pry’s squad should be able to feast on an incredibly under-matched Georgia State offense.

Since arriving in Happy Valley in 2015, Miller has recorded four sacks as the Nittany Lion’s left defensive end, and it’s entirely possible that the edge rusher could match this total Penn State’s Week 3 game alone.