Penn State Football: 5 reasons Nittany Lions will repeat as Big Ten champs

3. Marcus Allen enforcing the defensive backfield

Saquon Barkley may not be the only Nittany Lion destined to hear his name called in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

After cracking the Nittany Lions’ starting lineup on October 25, 2014, midway through his true freshman season, safety Marcus Allen has become an institution in Happy Valley, as Penn State as Baby’s or the Berkey Creamery.

Over his 42 career games as a Nittany Lion, 39 of which came as a starter, Allen has stuffed his resume with tackles, sacks and hits — oh so many hits.

As you can see above, Marcus Allen shoots out of the defensive backfield like a heat-seeking missile, zooming through traffic to find his target with relative ease, and laying the hammer down on unsuspecting ball handlers.

And as the Nittany Lions prepare to face off against high-powered offenses lead by savvy signal callers like J.T. Barrett, Brian Lewerke and either Wilton Speight or John O’Korn, depending on who’s healthy, Allen could be the key to the Nittany Lions’ maintaining their defensive dominance and neutralizing the opposing team’s best players.

Allen has proven that he is more than capable of making plays around the line of scrimmage, and has shown the high football IQ needed to effectively defend against read-options plays as well as on the run-pass option, something Penn State will surely see over the next six weeks.

While his coverage skills aren’t going to make anyone forget about Darrelle Revis anytime soon, Allen has excelled in Penn State’s Cover 2 scheme, and has yet to give up a single touchdown in coverage in the first half of the season.

After Penn State lost a heart-breaker at the Rose Bowl to end its 2016 season, Allen decided to forgo the NFL, and a probably day two draft selection, in favor of finally leading the Nittany Lions back to their former glory.

Here’s hoping he delivers upon this goal.