In the modern era of the NFL Draft, 63 Penn State linebackers have been selected, the most at any position for one of the most distinguished programs in college football.

Six PSU linebackers are in the College Football Hall of Fame: Dave Robinson, Jack Ham, Dennis Onkotz, Shane Conlan, LaVar Arrington and Paul Posluszny. More could be on the way for Linebacker U.

But as the sport continues to evolve, offenses have forced defenses to adjust.

It’s a game played in space now, and that means less 240-pounders and more safeties and corners shadowing wideouts and running backs.

Penn State’s defense has adjusted, too, and then some. During James Franklin’s time in State College, the Lions’ cornerback and safety rooms have become faster and more athletic.

Corner is arguably the 2025 team’s deepest position.

Safeties have led Penn State in tackles the last three seasons — Ji’Ayir Brown (2022), Kevin Winston Jr. (2023) and Jaylen Reed (2024). That streak should extend to four seasons, given the way redshirt senior Zakee Wheatley performed down the stretch last year.

Before that, the play of first-team All-Big Ten safety Marcus Allen, whose last season was 2017, cannot be overlooked. Allen led PSU in tackles in 2016 with 110.

Penn State will always be Linebacker U. But the Lions’ corners and safeties will go a long way toward determining whether the 2025 Penn State team is a true title contender.

“We’re pretty talented,” Penn State cornerbacks coach Terry Smith said in early August. “My corner room is, I think, is the best I’ve had in 12 years.”

“There’s been a couple years where the safety room is a little bit stronger,” added Smith, whose son, Gateway product Justin King, was a Penn State corner drafted in 2008 by the St. Louis Rams.

“We had Ji’Ayir Brown and Jaquan Brisker. Those are two dudes thriving in the NFL right now.”

Penn State safeties coach Anthony Poindexter, a two-time All-American safety at Virginia, arrived at PSU in 2021.

“Well, I really can’t take credit,” Poindexter said when asked about the transformation of the PSU safety room over the last few years.

“I walked into a room that had, you know, Jaquan Brisker, Ji’Ayir Brown.”

Brisker was picked in the second round by the Bears in 2022, Brown went to San Francisco in Round 3 a year later.

“They’re talented kids, man,” Poindexter continued, referring to many of the players he’s worked with during the last five seasons.

“You’re just trying to find a way to coach them, let them be them, let them play free.”

The Lions are thick with gifted corners and safeties, and acquiring them — via recruitment or the transfer portal — is a top priority for Franklin.

Penn State has become a destination for the country’s top defensive backs.

High school corners have paid attention to the Lions’ recent NFL draft success — Amani Oruwariye in 2019, John Reid in 2020, Tariq Castro-Fields in 2022, Joey Porter Jr. in 2023 and Daequan Hardy and Kalen King in 2024.

“I believe it speaks volumes on how they develop their corners,” said Penn State junior corner A.J. Harris, in Year 2 at Penn State after beginning his career at Georgia. The 6-foot-1, 191-pound Harris is viewed as one of the top corners in the country.

“For me, I did a lot of research before I came here. Terry (Smith) is a guy that got a lot of highly recruited guys prior to me coming over here. It’s just understanding that Terry has to know how to develop (corners) if he’s getting … four-stars. That was really the biggest thing for me, coming from a school like my past school.”

Junior corner Elliot Washington II, who was a spring standout, is being prepped for a major role in a room that also includes junior Zion Tracy, redshirt junior Audavion Collins and a “buzzy” true freshman named Daryus Dixson from prestigious Mater Dei in California.

Washington is the team’s fastest player, having run a 4.29. Junior safety King Mack, from Florida, runs 4.31, just ahead of Collins and 1,000-yard running back Nick Singleton.

“When we got here, Penn State’s never been known for a place, a destination for defensive backs,” Smith said.

“And now we are. You know, we have a DB from Mater Dei (Dixson). We got A.J. Harris out of Alabama (Phenix City). Elliot Washington’s out of Florida. We’ve got them from everywhere.”

“We’re just a hard-working group that’s just trying to figure things out,” Smith continued.

“We have a great culture of success. We play with an edge. We have a chip our shoulder. We always play feeling like we have to prove ourselves. Whether we do or don’t, it’s the edge we carry.”

“I would just say, before I even came here, just watching Joey Porter, Kalen King, J-Reed (Jaylen Reed) … even ‘Tig’ (Ji’Ayir Brown),” said Washington, asked about what attracted him to Penn State.

“Just how they flew around, even how coach ‘T’ (Smith) taught the corners and stuff like that. When I came on my visit, it caught my eye.”

Wheatley, coming off a 96-tackle season, is a tremendous coverage player who should continue to thrive in new coordinator Jim Knowles’ defense. He is the leader of a group that includes Mack and second-year Lion Dejuan Lane.

Wheatley is aware of the hype surrounding a Penn State team coming off a 13-3 season. The Lions return NFL-caliber talent at all of the key positions.

“That’s not how we operate over here, we don’t really care about none of that,” said Wheatley, referring to expectations. “We’re working like nobody’s talking about us. That’s the only thing that’s going to get us where we need to get to.”

“You know, me and ‘T’ (Terry Smith) just try to create an environment, a learning environment, a fatherly or mentor environment,” Poindexter said. “They know they can come see us about anything. It just translates to me that they want to play for us on the field.

“We got talented players; we try to get them in the right spots and let their talent just take over.”

It took time, but Penn State’s talent at the corner and safety spots is now considerable.

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