It’s been a tradition, Since James Franklin took over the Penn State Football team, for position coaches to occasionally call out the player who had the best workout from each unit.  Often times, these players, who work the hardest off the field, end up being the best performers on the field once the season starts.

We have also seen many of these same players, who work out the hardest in the winter, become team captains in the fall.  They become leaders of the team, and inspirations for the younger Nittany Lions to follow.

This morning many of Penn State’s coaches took to Twitter to call out the Iron Lions of the day.

Defense

Safeties

Safeties Coach and Co-Defensive Coordinator gave the nod to Safety Nick Scott saying of his workout “Great day by Nick Scott working with purpose and edge all morning!”

The safety position has a huge void left by Marcus Allen who is graduating this fall. Hopefully, Nick Scott’s workouts will translate to him becoming a bigger playmaker for the Nittany Lions this season.

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Cornerbacks

Terry Smith the Assistant Head Coach specializing in Cornerbacks, gave his morning award to John Reid saying of Reid “There has been a sighting of the GOAT John Reid Nittany Nation LETS GO!”

It’s great to see John Reid back in the mix and working hard. He missed all of last season due to an injury suffered in spring practice.  His skill set and leadership will be key for defense if the Nittany Lions are going to have another successful season.

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Linebackers

Defensive Coordinator Brent Pry gave the following shout out to linebacker Nick Tarburton. Really good morning! Great competition Nick Tarburton gets the nod as the LineBacker U workout king.

This is particularly impressive as Nick is coming into this season experiencing his first winter workout. He clearly has his eyes on the empty hole at linebacker left Jason Cabinda who will graduate this spring.  Tarburton is one of the Nittany lions prized recruits as he signed with the Lions this winter as a 4-star recruit out of Perkasie, Pennsylvania.

Defensive Ends

Special Teams Coordinator and Assistant Defensive Line Coach had an eye on the defensive line this morning and was sure to let fellow Defensive Line Coach Sean Spencer know that Shane Simons was the Wild Dog of the day.”  He had this to say of Simmons. “Ayo Sean Spencer, Great job by the Wild Dog of the day Shane Simmons.

I expect to see big things out of Shane Simmons this season. He came on strong in the second half of last season and if his morning workouts are any indication, his best is yet to come.  I look forward to seeing his off the field progress showing up on the field this season.

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Offense

Wide Receivers

New Nittany Lion Wide Receiver coach David Corley picked Mac Hippenhammer as his standout for the day. Corley had this to say about Hippenhammer. “Great work by the Penn State Football Wide Receivers this morning! Go-Getter of the day for the WRs was  Mac Hippenhammer”

Hippenhammer is coming off a redshirt season and looking to crack the starting lineup for this upcoming season. It’s great to see him working hard this winter and hopefully, that will translate to him seeing more playing time on the field.

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Running Backs

Ja’Juan Seider, the new Running Backs coach called out his entire unit saying of the running back “Great effort this morning from the RBs.”

This unit has the biggest shoes to fill on the team. Let’s face it, it’s nearly impossible to replace a generational talent such as Saquon Barkley but this unit is not short on talent. With teams no longer planning to stop one player this unit could actually see a boost in production this season led by returning junior Miles Sanders.

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Quarterbacks

Recently promoted Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach Ricky Rahne chose a familiar name for his award. Rahne had this to say of Trace McSorley. “Great day today! Favorite part was improvement across the board. Love how Trace McSorely dominated the workout from start to finish.”

This comes as no surprise as McSorley is one of the hardest workers on the field. It is great, however, to see the Senior showing this same leadership off the field and continuing to push himself through the winter workouts. I do not believe we have seen the best of Trace McSorley yet and that is a scary proposition for opposing defenses.

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Tight Ends

Tight Ends Coach Tyler Bowan called out his entire unit but also let them know there is a standard to uphold. “Great Effort and Detail from the Penn State Football Tight Ends this morning! There is a STANDARD to uphold in this unit!”

This is another unit with big shoes to fill. The loss of Mike Gesicki, due to graduation, will be evident especially in his ability to make big plays in the passing game. There could be an improvement from this unit in the area of blocking and the return os some great wide receivers should help alleviate some of the loss in production in the passing game.

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Offensive Line

Matt Linegrover, Offensive Line Coach, chose Michal Menet for his workout warrior of the session. He had this to say of Menet. “Michal Menet Attacked this morning’s workout like a savage!Competed and Finished in everything today!!”

The offensive line is one of the units on the team that could see the biggest areas of improvement. They continue to build depth and add quality players. Menet was a 4 star player out of high school but has seen his playing time limited. Perhaps these winter workouts will help get him over the hump and allow him to become the player we all know he can… A Dominate one.

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Special Teams

Special teams coordinator Phil Galiano chose the Nittany Lions Punter for his callout. Galiano had this to say about Blake Gillikin. “Congrats to Blake Gillikin on being the Specialist of the day!”

Gillikin was one of the most consistent and best kickers in the BIG Ten last season averaging 43.0 ypp which sits second all-time for Penn State.  If his winter workouts are any indication, he is looking to improve on that this season and perhaps become the best punter in Penn State history.

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