Penn State was supposed to hold its spring game today and, considering there was snow on the ground in State College yesterday and temps are set to be in the mid-40s this afternoon, maybe it’s for the best that everyone will be stuck inside all day. (Okay, nevermind. It’s not for the best.)
Still, the Nittany Lions are doing their best to make this day as normal as possible by holding a virtual tailgate, and that includes unleashing the depth chart as if the team would have taken the field today.
As pointed out by our own Kevin McGuire, James Franklin listed star linebacker Micah Parsons as his top kick returner.
This is a big move, literally. Parsons is listed at 6-foot-3 and 244 pounds, while his compatriots at the position -- running backs Journey Brown, Caziah Holmes and Devyn Ford -- average 5-foot-11 and 208 pounds.
Such is the talent of Parsons, the former 5-star recruit who is already tied for seventh in Penn State history with six forced fumbles after just two seasons on campus. He recorded 83 tackles, five TFLs and 1.5 sacks as a true freshman, then upped all those numbers in 2019: 109 stops, 14 TFLs and five sacks, plus five passes defended, four forced fumbles and one recovery. Those numbers earned him consensus All-America honors, as well as the Defensive MVP of Penn State’s Cotton Bowl win over Memphis, a game in which he stuffed the box score with 14 tackles, three TFLs, two sacks, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one quarterback hurry.
There’s no reason to think those numbers won’t keep skyrocketing in 2020, and it looks like the Penn State coaches want to get him the ball in space as well.