Penn State freshmen defenders standing out in camp
Penn State freshman cornerback Elliot Washington showed up in January ready to go. After quickly taking to the strength program, teammates found out that he brought some of that mythical southern speed with him from Florida to Happy Valley.
He still had plenty to learn, however.
“In the spring, he hit 24 [miles per hour],” cornerbacks coach Terry Smith recalled on Monday, referencing the speed reached on the team’s Catapult tracking software. “But he lost in a head-to-head race with Dae Dae [Hardy].
“The OG, you know you can’t mess with old people. Dae Dae got in his head a little, you know old people… that’s what wisdom is.”
Going fast isn’t an issue for Washington. The same can be said for class-and-position-mate Zion Tracy. The pair of true freshmen have separated themselves and are pressing for playing time this fall. First, though, Smith must slow them down.
“They’ve just got to study the game more and get it to slow down,” Smith said. “They’re extremely talented and if they can slow this game down, they’re as athletic as the top two guys [Kalen King and Johnny Dixon]. I’m just trying to get them more reps to slow the game down and they can see it more clearly and they’ll make some more plays.”
Freshman safety King Mack one to watch for Penn State
Smith also pointed to Mississippi State transfer Audavion Collins and true freshman Lamont Payne as doing some nice things at camp, but Washington and Tracy have emerged from that group to push for time. The same can be said at safety, where upstart freshman King Mack has turned heads in live action through the first two weeks of camp.
“King is explosive and he can run,” said Smith. “This kid loves football and any time you have a passion for the game like he does you’re gonna be successful. He’s going to make an impact with us rather quickly.”
Mack has picked things up quickly and right now is running ahead of classmate DaKaari Nelson, who also arrived this summer.
“DaKaari has been pretty good,” said Smith. “It’s hard for those freshmen to learn the system, so he’s been slowed by that a little bit. We’re very, very happy that we have him. He’s got a bright future here and he’s picking it up day by day.”
Other Nittany Lion freshmen standing out on defense
While Penn State’s freshman class won’t likely match its predecessor in terms of first-year contributors, Smith sees some early promise in a few new arrivals.
“Tony Rojas is going to be a guy that is going to emerge at some point. He’s had a nice camp, good spring ball,” said Smith. “Jameial Lyons is going to be a guy that is going to emerge as well, he’s pretty special. To be honest, I think I’ve got two young corners who have a chance to be pretty dynamic in Elliot and Zion.
“It’s a good group of guys, but those guys I think have a step ahead of all the others.”
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