The position that was hit hardest by graduation at Penn State was the secondary. Penn State's defense gets young pretty quickly in the backfield after losing Drew Astorino, D'Anton Lynn and Chaz Powell roaming the secondary, so naturally the staff placed an emphasis on the positions in recruiting this season.
Here is a look at Penn State's incoming defensive backs in the Class of 2012 and how they may fit in to the team moving forward.
Defensive Backs
Da'Quan Davis
- Towson, MD
- Calvert Hall
- 5'11" 175 pounds
Jake Kiley
- New Hampton, NH
- New Hampton Prep.
- 6'-1" 176 pounds
Jordan Lucas
- Worcester, MA
- Worcester
- 6'-1" 195 pounds
The incoming defensive backs will get a chance to compete for a starting job early on with light upper classmen manning the positions right now.
Da'Quan Davis is a former teammate of Penn State defensive back Adrian Amos and Class of 2012 wide receiver Trevor Williams. Davis had 48 tackles and six interceptions in his senior season and was named an All-Met player by the Baltimore Sun. He is said to excel in man-to-man coverage, which should be a nice fit under new defensive coordinator Ted Roof's defensive style. Davis had originally committed to West Virginia but accepted an offer from Penn State following coaching changes at both schools. Davis and high school teammate Trevor Williams both were headed to West Virginia before the staff changes.
Jake Kiley is a two-star recruit but was named Gatorade Player of the Year in New Hampshire last season and was named to the Boston Globe's All-Scholastic Team. Kiley was a late addition to the staff, being offered shortly after Bill O'Brien was named head coach so this could end up being a pretty nice grab after considering UConn and Boston College. Other than Penn State the only offer extended to Kiley was from FCS New Hampshire.
Jordan Lucas is another quality player out of the New England area. The Massachusetts product was named to the Class A All-New England Team last season and accepted an offer from Penn State just before he officially enrolled at Temple this semester. Some consider him to be a solid sleeper pick in Penn State's Class of 2012, so with some proper coaching he could have a near-immediate impact on the defensive side of the football once he gets on the field. He should be a good fit at one of the safety positions for the Nittany Lions, and that could lead to some early playing time.
Penn State only has two players on scholarship at safety or hero (Stephen Obeng-Agyapong and Malcolm Willis), and with a new staff it is likely that no starting job will be assumed or guaranteed to an upper classman. Of the new defensive backs heading to Penn State, Lucas has the most realistic shot at a starting job in 2011, at some point during the season, but it also means that the positions are shallow on depth in 2011.
Defensive Backs On Scholarship
Senior Eligibility (1): Stephfon Morris
Junior Eligibility (4): Derrick Thomas, Mike Wallace, Malcolm Willis, Stephen Obeng-Agyapong
Sophomore Eligibility (1): Adrian Amos
Class of 2012 (3): Da'Quan Jones, Jake Kiley, Jordan Lucas
Kevin McGuire is a national college football writer for Examiner.com and the host of the No 2-Minute Warning podcast. He can be reached at cfbexaminer@gmail.com.
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