James Franklin: Penn State continues to search for an ‘eraser’ on defense

For much of his career as Penn State's head coach, James Franklin has seen defensive players such as linebacker Jason Cabinda and safety Marcus Allen, who can make a difference, coming up with big plays or making up for teammates' errors.

Cabinda and Allen are gone, however, and Franklin is still looking for that type of player to take on that role, particularly at the linebacker position, which has seen a number of players rotate without one standing out. A good time to have that player emerge would be Saturday night, when fourth-ranked Ohio State comes to town.

"Having a guy that you know that's running the defense and can be an eraser for you in terms of making plays, we're not there yet," Franklin said last week, after the Nittany Lions' win over Illinois. "I think we're making progress, but we're not there yet."

Franklin has his share of candidates to assume that spot, mentioning each starter on the defensive line, including end Shareef Miller (George Washington); linebacker Cam Brown; and cornerback John Reid (St. Joseph's Prep) and others at that position.

"The guy to set the tone, I feel like I can be that guy, but I've just got to continue to work every day," said Miller, who leads his team with three sacks and 4½ tackles for loss.

The most-experienced corner is fifth-year senior Amani Oruwariye, who has a team-high two interceptions. He said the Lions defense needs to come out with a little more focus at the start of games.

"The majority of that is just mentality, knowing we've got to start fast and come out strong and not let it take time," Oruwariye said. "There's stuff in practice, like starting off with competitive periods against each other, the 1's on 1's. That's a good way to get the competition rolling right from the beginning.

"We didn't do it last week, because we had a short week, but we're now back to it this week. So that's something definitely we try to do."

Since their season-opening, overtime win over Appalachian State, the Lions have had stretches of strong defense, particularly in the second half, when they have allowed a total of seven points in their last three games. But they have not been consistent in stopping the run, ranking 82^nd in that department in FBS, a foreboding stat given outstanding Ohio State running backs J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber, who could be limited by a foot injury.

Penn State has rotated its defensive personnel as it has in past seasons, but the substitutions have been more plentiful because, as Franklin said, "I don't know if anybody's really separated themselves from the pack."

"I don't view it as we are subbing more than we have in the past," he said. "I view it that we have less-established starters that have created a gap between the backup. We've got some positions where literally it's about a 50-50 split because that's what we feel like gives us the best chance to win."

Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley has been named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, awarded to the best football scholar-athlete in the nation. The sponsoring National Football Foundation next month will announce 12 to 14 finalists, each of whom will receive an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship, with the winner named on Dec. 4.