Tag: Arnold Ebiketie

Penn State names Deion Barnes defensive line coach

Penn State announces its new defensive line coach

As Penn State gathers for the start of spring football practices, the search for a new defensive line coach has officially come to a close. On Monday, Penn State announced [autotag]Deion Barnes[/autotag] will take on the role on the coaching staff.

“We are excited to have Deion represent his alma mater as our defensive line coach,” head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] said in a released statement. “I have really been impressed watching him grow as a coach and leader these last three seasons. Deion’s passion for Penn State and the defensive line room has been a differentiator. It is clear to me that he wears his pride for this University through his work.”

Barnes, a former Penn State defensive lineman from 2012 through 2014, has spent the past three seasons on the Penn State coaching staff as a graduate assistant. During that time, he has helped to develop [autotag]Arnold Ebiketie[/autotag], [autotag]Jesse Luketa[/autotag], [autotag]Odafe Oweh[/autotag], and [autotag]Shaka Toney[/autotag]. All four were drafted by NFL teams, including Oweh as a first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2021.

“I am thrilled and honored to be the defensive line coach for my alma mater,” Barnes said in a released statement. “I am extremely grateful to Coach Franklin for giving me this opportunity to lead a room of tremendous young men who have worked so hard each and every day. I have a lot of pride and passion for Penn State University, and I am excited to go to work with this coaching staff, this team, my letterman brothers and the best fans in college football.”

Barnes will fill the spot on the coaching staff previously occupied by John Scott Jr., who left the program for an opportunity with the Detroit Lions.

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Penn State opens spring football practices on Tuesday, March 14. The annual Blue-White spring game is scheduled for Saturday, April 15.

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Seahawks take Arnold Ebiketie over Boye Mafe in this ESPN 2022 re-draft

There’s still time for Mafe to catch up, but for now Ebiketie appears to have the higher ceiling in the NFL.

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. That’s the energy that Brady Henderson brought into ESPN’s 2022 NFL re-draft. In the first round, he had the Seahawks going the same route they did last year, selecting Mississippi State left tackle Charles Cross with the No. 9 overall pick.

In the second round of ESPN’s re-draft, Henderson picked Michigan State running back Ken Walker in the spot (No. 40 overall) that had gone to Minnesota outside linebacker Boye Mafe.

With the very next pick, Henderson went in a different direction. Instead of taking Mafe, he went with a different edge defender: Penn State’s Arnold Ebiketie:

“The Seahawks loved Ebiketie but never got a chance to take him in the actual draft, ending up with Boye Mafe instead. With Mafe off the board in this scenario, they could take Ebiketie, who had similar production during his rookie season but a much better pass rush win rate — 17.6% compared to Mafe’s 10.2%.”

You’ll hear no argument from us. There’s still time for Mafe to catch up, but for now Ebiketie appears to have the higher ceiling in the NFL.

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PSU recruiting: Transfer receiver has Penn State in his top 5

If Penn State ios looking for a veteran transfer wide receiver, here’s one who has his eye on the Nittany Lions.

Penn State will be heading to the Rose Bowl to take on Utah to start off the new year. After that, it’s the offseason, and when it comes to the transfer portal, [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] is no stranger to that.

The past two offseasons, the Nittany Lions have utilized the transfer portal and have found great benefits from it. Last season, they brought in Temple transfer defensive end [autotag]Arnold Ebiketie[/autotag], who went on to be a second-round draft pick to Atlanta Falcons in the 2022 draft.

This season, they brought in Maryland defensive lineman [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag], Western Kentucky wide receiver [autotag]Mitchell Tinsley[/autotag] and Cornell offensive lineman [autotag]Hunter Nourzad[/autotag].

As of right now, there is a player that has Penn State in the mix for his latest list of top schools.

We’re staying on the offensive side of the ball for another pass-catcher. South Florida wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. is down to four schools: Colorado, Penn State, Houston, and Texas A&M.

According to his social media posting, it appears Horn Jr. anticipates announcing his transfer decision on Christmas. It is worth a reminder the early signing period opens up on Dec. 21. And with Colorado making a major splash hire with Deion Sanders recently, the Buffs could suddenly be an attractive candidate for almost any transfer right now.

As mentioned, the Nittany Lions brought in Tinsley, who really started to find his groove in the offense throughout the second half of the season. He finished the regular season with 528 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

Horn Jr. finished this season with 551 receiving yards and three touchdowns. South Florida also hired their new head coach over the weekend in Tennessee offensive coordinator Alex Golesh.

With [autotag]Parker Washington[/autotag] and Tinsley potentially leaving for the draft, that leaves a receiver room full of youth. The next guy in line would be [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag]. But, if Penn State can add another veteran player to pair with him, that would be a big help for [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] in his first year starting at the collegiate level for the Nittany Lions.

There are already a few pass-catchers in the transfer portal, some of which could help the Nittany Lions quite a bit. Oregon wide receiver Donte Thornton Jr. is one of them, and USF receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. is another.

With players entering the transfer portal left and right, it will be interesting to see if Penn State brings in another pass-catcher. With the Nittany Lions in his top five, Horn Jr. is a key guy to watch for Penn State transfer portal players this offseason.

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Falcons Week 13 inactives: LB Arnold Ebiketie OUT vs. Steelers

#Falcons rookie LB Arnold Ebiketie is one of seven players ruled OUT vs. the Steelers in Week 13

The Atlanta Falcons (5-7) have released their Week 13 inactives list, ruling out seven players for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-7).

Linebacker Arnold Ebiketie and offensive lineman Chuma Edoga, both of whom were listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report, have officially been ruled out. Cornerback Rashad Fenton, who Atlanta traded for at the deadline, is inactive for the second week in a row.

Check out the team’s full Week 13 inactives list below.

Arnold Ebiketie’s pass rush win rate is second among rookies in 2022

#Falcons LB Arnold Ebiketie has the NFL’s second-highest pass rush win rate among rookies this season

It feels like forever since the Atlanta Falcons last had a productive edge rusher. When the team hired head coach Arthur Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot back in 2021, the top edge rushers on the team were Dante Fowler and Steven Means.

After two drafts under Smith and Fontenot, it looks like the Falcons have found a good one in rookie Arnold Ebiketie. Drafted in the second round out of Penn State, Ebiketie has been a welcome addition to the defense.

After 12 weeks, he is second in pass rush win rate among all rookies. Ebiketie’s 12.6 percent average only trails Giants rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Ebiketie’s three sacks are also tied for second with Jacksonville’s Travon Walker. Lions rookie Aidan Hutchinson leads the 2022 draft class with six sacks.

But while Ebiketie’s win rate is impressive, the rookie still has considerable work to do if he wants to become an impact player in the NFL. When looking at the entire league and not just the rookie class, Ebiketie is rated 42nd among players with at least 300 snaps this season in win rate.

One thing the rookie linebacker must work on is wrapping up when tackling. Ebiketie has a missed tackle percentage of 20, which is third highest among rookie edge rushers who have played at least 200 snaps in 2022. Improving in this area would likely lead to higher sack numbers.

Nonetheless, Ebiketie is a good potential building block who’s already shown enough to be apart of the team’s long-term future. Below are a couple of examples where Ebiketie uses his athletic ability to break free from the opposing offensive line and disrupt the play.

Ebiketie still has a long way to go before he’s an elite pass rusher, but the rookie is among the most promising players in the 2022 draft class. His continued progression will go a long way in turning this defense around.

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Ji’Ayir Brown accepts Senior Bowl invitation

Ji’Ayir Brown will have a great opportunity to improve his draft stock in the Senior Bowl

The Senior Bowl has long been one of the best tools for college players looking to make the jump to the NFL to make an impact on their draft stock. Over the 75-plus year history of the game there have been 128 Penn State players to represent the Nittany Lions in Mobile, Alabama and this year they are adding another.

[autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] is officially going to Mobile, Alabama in January and into February to perform in front of 32 NFL teams as he looks to prove why he is worth the investment from a team. On Sunday, the Senior Bowl announced Brown had accepted his invitation to the 2023 Senior Bowl.

Upon coming to State College as a JUCO transfer, expectations weren’t really set for the incoming junior. It was the heart of COVID-19 in 2020 when he made the transfer but that didn’t stop him from making adjustments and making an impact right away.

His second year on the team in 2021 saw his biggest impact. Brown would end up being tied for the lead in interceptions with five and would be a member of the All-Big Ten team.

Brown would follow that up with strong final season in State College where he would emerge as an overall player making plays both in the run and pass game. He would end up totaling 145 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 3 sacks, and nine interceptions.

Brown now heads to Mobile as the first of potentially many Nittany Lions to be named to the Senior Bowl roster. Last year the team sent [autotag]Tariq Castro-Fields[/autotag], [autotag]Arnold Ebiketie[/autotag], [autotag]Jesse Luketa[/autotag], and [autotag]Jordan Stout[/autotag]. All four players would end up hearing their name called during the 2022 NFL Draft and the same can be said for Brown heading into the 2023 NFL Draft season.

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PSU in NFL: Week 11 moments from former Penn State players

Here are the top NFL moments from former Penn State players from Week 11.

We are through 11 weeks of the NFL regular season. With some former Penn State players on bye weeks, we still saw plenty of exciting games from the ones that did play this week.
With some key teams coming out on top in the NFC East, that division just got a lot more interesting to finish off the regular season.
[autotag]Adrian Amos[/autotag] continues to be one of the most productive players on the Packers defense. However, the team continues to struggle, and at the rate they’re playing right now, this will likely be the first time the Packers have missed the playoffs under head coach Matt LaFleur since hiring him after the 2018 season.
We also saw some productive games from key Penn State rookies like [autotag]Jaquan Brisker[/autotag] and [autotag]Arnold Ebiketie[/autotag].
Another struggling team is the Rams. With Cooper Kupp out for the season, they turn to veterans like [autotag]Allen Robinson II[/autotag].
It was another productive week for former Penn State players.
Here are the top moments from former Nittany Lions from Week 11 of the NFL regular season.

PSU in NFL: Week 10 NFL recap from former Nittany Lions

Here are the top standout former Penn State players from Week 10 of the NFL season.

We are through 10 weeks of the NFL season. That’s pretty crazy to think about. We are seeing some teams, like the Green Bay Packers, trying to keep their playoff hopes alive after an overtime win on Sunday over the Dallas Cowboys.

Other former Penn State players, like [autotag]Saquon Barkley[/autotag], continue to impress, playing their way into a contract extension.

In general, it was a pretty exciting week of NFL football. We started with the wild ending to the Vikings–Bills game.

Then, we made our way to Green Bay, where the Packers snapped their five-game losing streak, beating the Cowboys 31-28 in overtime. It was a game where rookie receiver Christian Watson had three touchdown receptions. However, this has also been a season for the Packers where the production of former Penn State safety [autotag]Adrian Amos[/autotag] has not gone unnoticed.

So, how did the rest of the former Nittany Lions do this week? Let’s take a look.

PSU in NFL: Week 6 moments from former Penn State players

Here are the top Week 6 moments from former Penn State players.

We are through six weeks of the NFL season, and former Nittany Lions are continuing to show out. It’s not just the veterans, but the rookies like [autotag]Jaquan Brisker[/autotag] for the Chicago Bears are also performing well.

Sure, we have seen the struggles from certain players. But those, like Allen Robinson and even [autotag]Mike Gesicki[/autotag], were a part of their team’s offensive success in Week 6. Yes, the Dolphins did lose to the Vikings.

We also have two former Nittany Lions running backs in the top five rushing category. Those two are [autotag]Saquon Barkley[/autotag] and [autotag]Miles Sanders[/autotag]. What makes it interesting is that both are under their final years of their contract.

Others like rookie wide receiver [autotag]Jahan Dotson[/autotag] did not play this week against the Bears due to an injury.

So, let’s a more in-depth look at some of the former Penn State standouts.

Here are the top moment from former Penn State players from Week 6 of the NFL season.

PSU in NFL: Week 3 NFL recap from former Nittany Lions

Here is a look at how former Nittany Lions did in the NFL in Week 3.

Week 3 of the NFL regular season has concluded and Week 4 is already nearly upon us.

It was still a very solid week for former Penn State players. [autotag]Saquon Barkley[/autotag] continues to shine. Not only that, but he was able to experience white out in a Giants uniform once again.

He was also able to go up against a former Nittany Lion in Micah Parsons.

It was also a bit of a quiet week for some of the rookies, which we will get to. But again, they are rookies. You shouldn’t expect stand-out weeks from them every week.

However, overall, it was still a good one. Let’s not discredit the amount of success Penn State players have put out over the years.

Despite the quiet weeks from some players, it was still a solid week overall.

Let’s take a look at some of the top moments from former Penn State players from Week 3 of the NFL season.

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