Jaylen Reed should be a physical force in the Penn State secondary in 2023.
Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.
Continuing this effort is a look at one of the rising stars and potential key players on the defensive side of the football, safety [autotag]Jaylen Reed[/autotag]. Reed is entering his third season with the program, and he could be locking down a key role in a new-look defensive secondary.
There are some key spots to fill in the Penn State secondary this spring.
Penn State is normally known as “Linebacker U,” but recently their secondary players have been making waves at the NFL level.
In recent years, [autotag]Adrian Amos[/autotag], [autotag]Nick Scott[/autotag] and [autotag]Jaquan Brisker[/autotag] have all been featured in prominent roles at the next level. Now, [autotag]Joey Porter Jr.[/autotag] is expected to be the highest Penn State secondary player ever taken in the NFL Draft and [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] is climbing up draft boards.
The current 2023 roster has a bunch of playmakers as well. This will be an experienced group overall and should have a major impact on the success of Penn State’s defense this season.
The headliner in the group is cornerback [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag]. He was a bit overshadowed by Porter Jr. last season, but it’s now his time to shine. Others in the secondary should become a household name this season as well.
Here are some names to watch as spring practices start.
Kalen King
Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
Measurables: 5’11” / 185 lbs.
Year: Junior
Expected Role: Starting cornerback
Kalen King is a flat out star. While overshadowed by the bigger name of Joey Porter Jr., he put together an elite season last year. His PFF grade of 89.0 was 8th best out of 916 corners.
He is expected to be one of the most impactful players on the defense and might be the best player in the program. He showed how good he was in a primary role during the Rose Bowl. If King continues to play like he did last season, Penn State is in good hands at starting cornerback.
Johnny Dixon
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Measurables: 6’0″ 190 lbs.
Year: Redshirt Senior
Expected Role: Starting cornerback
[autotag]Johnny Dixon[/autotag] will have some big shoes to fill this season. The former South Carolina transfer is expected to win the starting role during the spring and summer to play opposite of King.
In the two season he’s been at Penn State, Dixon improved his PFF grade by 10 points. He ranked 260th out of 916 corners in 2022-23, recording 23 total tackles, 10 passes defended and two interceptions. There is potential that this could be a position battle to watch in the spring and summer as James Franklin brought in a transfer cornerback from North Carolina.
247Sports says this Class of 2023 piece could have early impact at Penn State
Penn State’s latest recruiting cycle certainly hit the mark when it came to adding quality depth across the roster. A solid follow-up to the Class of 2022, the incoming Class of 2023 is not short on quality pieces that could have an impact relatively early on for the Nittany Lions. Among those in the class highlighted as a player to watch as early as 2023 could be safety King Mack.
Here is what 247Sports said about one of Penn State’s next big defensive stars;
Penn State’s 2023 safety haul is absurd. The Nittany Lions landed a trio of Top247 four-star safeties from the state of Florida, headlined by King Mack. Not only is Mack the most ready-to-play prospect of the group, but he’s also the highest-upside player. Mack was a defensive and special teams terror this fall for Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas, which got 50 tackles, one interception, two punt blocks, one kick block, one defensive TD, two kick return scores and two punt return TDs. The 5-foot-11, 180 pound speedster has an outstanding track profile which contributes to the excellent athleticism he shows on the field (a 10.69 100, a 21.43 200, and a 46.25 400, which won gold in Florida’s Class 3A).
As referenced by the writeup from 247Sports, Mack is one of three safeties in Penn State’s recruiting class. He is joined by four-star DaKaari Nelson from Alabama and four-star Elliot Washington from Florida. Penn State was close to adding another safety to the mix but Conrad Hussey flipped his commitment from Penn State to Florida State in the early signing period.
Penn State will have at least one starting job open at the safety position in 2023 with [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] graduating and moving on to the NFL. Penn State’s most senior safety heading into 2023 will be [autotag]Keaton Ellis[/autotag]. Potential candidates for starting in Brown’s vacant spot include returning players such as [autotag]Jaylen Reed[/autotag] and [autotag]Zakee Wheatley[/autotag]. But Mack certainly is on the radar coming into the program.
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Ji’Ayir Brown’s return highlights the safety position overview for Penn State in 2022. Position overview…
Penn State is prepping for a season in which the program hopes to redeem itself on the national stage. After back-to-back seasons of mediocre results, Penn State is aiming to bounce back and prove themselves worthy of being in the Big Ten championship hunt, if not a little bit more.
Penn State kicks off the 2022 season with a Thursday night primetime matchup at Purdue on September 1. And for the second straight year, the depth and quality of the defensive secondary appears to be a strength for Penn State. The safety position loses a big-time player in Jaquan Brisker but the return of Ji’Ayir Brown coming off his breakout season is a big plus for the defense this fall.
Here is a look at the safeties on the roster for Penn State coming into the 2022 season.
Penn State defensive back Jaylen Reed will be adding depth to the defensive secondary in 2022.
Penn State may not be as known for it’s defensive back prowess but they are starting to carve out some talent. The next face of the position should be [autotag]Jaylen Reed[/autotag].
Jaylen Reed was a freshman for the Nittany Lions last year but he was able to make appearances in eight games. He never saw a ton of meaningful snaps but he did get to play in some big games such as Ohio State and the bowl game against Arkansas.
This year though he has a chance to be the star safety on the team for new defensive coordinator [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag]. Diaz has produced several star-NFL safeties during his careers at both Texas and Miami, Penn State should be no different.
Keep in mind, the departure of [autotag]Jaquan Brisker[/autotag] there is a hole at the position for Reed to fill.
Inside the box score with some key stats from Penn State’s Blue-White Game.
Penn State’s Blue-White Game showed the Nittany Lions are still a bit of a work in progress in some key areas, but there were still some players and developments worth being optimistic about moving into the summer. And the final box score from a spring scrimmage like Penn State’s can oftentimes be misleading or unnecessarily overanalyzed. Nonetheless, it is a starting point for evaluating just where the Nittany Lions are heading once the 2022 season begins.
So, with the caution of not wanting to get too carried away with the official stats shared by Penn State from the Blue-White Game on Saturday afternoon, let’s dive headfirst into the key stats from the final spring practice of the season before Penn State moves to the next stage of its offseason.
Sean Clifford had some decent production in his time on the field, including the game’s only touchdown pass (to transfer addition Mitchell Tinsley. Clifford also had the best performance from passers in seven-on-seven drills, for whatever that is worth.
Christian Veilleux had the most complete performance among those vying for backup consideration to Clifford. This could have been expected given he already has some in-game experience from last season.
Don’t get too down when reviewing the stat line for five-star quarterback Drew Allar, because he was not given much help at times by his receivers dropping passes or having a ball bounce off their hands. But he did have a number of throws that seemed to be just a tad behind his intended targets. And Beau Pribula also had some freshman moments, which was to be expected.
NEXT: Who were the top running backs in the Blue-White Game?
This could be a big week for Penn State recruiting with a home game against Michigan
We are in the home stretch of the college football season and Penn State heads back home to take on Michigan. Penn State has also entered some crucial moments in recruiting. Let’s take a look at the status of some future Nittany Lions.
Next up, Ohio quarterback Drew Allar has received a great amount of hype since being recruited by Penn State, and he has certainly lived up to it. 247 Sports has Allar As one of the headlines for this week‘s list of high school standout prospects.
Pribula’s teammate, and fellow Penn State commit, wide receiver Anthony Ivey, is also coming off impressive season, surpassing 2,000 career receiving yards.
Penn State has a bright future ahead of them. From a team that lacks depth in their quarterback room, they are certainly getting some talented ones in the 2022 recruiting class, along with some talented receivers for them.
Penn State has updated the jersey numbers for freshmen football players and some new transfer players
While some programs may play some offseason gimmicks of forcing players to earn their jersey number or a helmet decal, Penn State doesn’t mess around with such uniform motivations. And on Friday, Penn State confirmed the jersey numbers to be worn by every incoming freshman or transfer player being added to the roster this fall.
Penn State has already given some new players an official jersey number, including those who enrolled early and participated in spring football. But a couple of new additions to the program this summer now have their official jersey numbers as well.
Here’s a look at the official jersey numbers for a number of the newest Nittany Lions;
No. 4 – CB Kalen King
No. 6 – CB Zakee Wheatley
No. 7 – S Jaylen Reed
No. 9 – QB Christian Veilleux
No. 14 – CB A.J. Lytton
No. 17 – TE Khalil Dinkins
No. 18 – DE Davon Townley Jr.
No. 24 – CB Jeffrey Davis Jr.
No. 28 – LB Dominic Deluca
No. 41 – LB Kobe King
No. 42 – LB Jamari Buddin
No. 52 – DT Jordan Van Den Berg
No. 58 – OL Landon Tengwall
No. 68 – OL Eric Wilson
No. 82 – WR Liam Clifford
No. 85 – WR Harrison Wallace III
No. 90 – DE Rodney McGraw
No. 94 – K Sander Sahaydak
Penn State will begin preseason camp on August 6. Penn State’s season opener will be played on September 4 at Wisconsin. The game will be FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff.
The Georgia Bulldogs have offered scholarships to several 2021 prospects: Kamar Wilcoxson, Jaylen Reed, Nathaniel Wiggins, and Thomas Fidone
The Georgia Bulldogs have offered scholarships to several 2021 prospects: Kamar Wilcoxson, Jaylen Reed, Nathaniel Wiggins, and Thomas Fidone. Kirby Smart and his staff are ramping up their 2021 recruiting and will be looking to land yet another elite class.
Kamar Wilcoxson is currently a Florida Gators commitment. He’s considered an athlete prospect and plays at IMG Academy in Florida. His hometown is Bradenton, Florida. He’s rated as a four-star prospect:
Jaylen Reed is a four-star safety prospect, who plays high school football at Martin Luther King High School. His hometown is Detroit, Michigan. He was excited to get his offer from UGA:
