‘He’s going to have a huge year for us.’ Why Penn State football’s defense is elite again

STATE COLLEGE — One of the most imposing Penn State football players somehow came up with the football.

Amin Vanover, a 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive end, made the most unlikely play of this Blue-White Game when he plucked a pass out of the air and clutched it as he rolled to the ground. He quickly got up and jogged toward the end zone in celebration with teammates and coach James Franklin close behind.

It was a moment to savor during an otherwise easily distracting spring football day in Beaver Stadium, with those wicked wind gusts and that weird running game clock and backups starring everywhere …

Look at it this way: At one of Penn State’s traditionally most dominating positions − one in immediate need of reloading − Vanover showed something important on this day.

So did his teammate on the other side of the defensive line, Abdul Carter.

Penn State defensive end Amin Vanover comes down with an interception during the Blue-White game at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, April 13, 2024, in State College. The White team defeated the Blue team, 27-0.

One guy who’s never got to star in five years here.

The other playing an entirely new position this spring.

Their defensive end work may have been the most intriguing revelation of this intrasquad scrimmage, a 27-0 victory by the White over the Blue.

How important?

Franklin began his postgame press conference, without any prodding, by expounding upon Vanover.

Amin Vanover expects to have a “huge year” for Penn State’s defense, according to head coach James Franklin. Vanover, a fifth-year senior, is getting his first chance to truly star as a rush-end.

He is the senior who endured the toughest of life beginnings. Vanover talked Saturday about being born prematurely, weighing less than two pounds. He stayed in neonatal intensive care for the first six months of his life and…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/hes-going-huge-us-why-235420368.html

Author : York Daily Record

Publish date : 2024-04-13 23:54:20

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