Will Penn State really allow Micah Parsons to return kickoffs?

When Micah Parsons most recently wore shoulder pads, he terrorized Memphis ball carriers in one of the greatest all-time defensive spectacles by a Penn State linebacker.

He recorded 14 tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles in a 53-39 Cotton Bowl victory.

After the game, Parsons talked of winning the 2020 Heisman Trophy, something a defensive player hasn’t done since 1997.

Teammate Shaka Toney told The Morning Call that Parsons could be the No. 1 overall choice in the 2021 NFL Draft “if we’re going to be real about it.”

So, naturally, when Penn State released its spring depth chart Saturday (without the benefit of one practice and on the day the spring game would have been held), Parsons was listed as the No. 1 kickoff returner.

Later that day, Penn State officials revised the depth chart, listing running backs Journey Brown and Devyn Ford as the top returners, with Parsons and Caziah Holmes as the “off” returners (usually a blocker).

Was coach James Franklin really planning to allow his most important player to return kicks against eager defenders with a 65-yard running start?

Special teams/outside linebackers coach Joe Lorig, whose job may be impacted on two levels if Parsons does return kicks, said the depth chart listing wasn’t done “to be funny or to fool anybody.”

Lorig talked about the possibility last season, but Tuesday he said the depth chart “was really just a perception thing.”

“I think (the first one) was a little bit of us not all being in the same room when we went through it. Who’s the returner? It depends on which way they kick the ball,” Lorig said.

Parsons ran for 1,239 yards as a senior at Harrisburg High School and hasn’t been afraid to lobby Penn State coaches for a chance to carry the football.

“Coach Franklin and I have had many conversations about Micah running the ball, getting the ball in his hands,” Lorig said. “He was effective at that in high school, and we’re certainly not afraid to do that.

“He’s back there listed as a returner, just like he was last season.”

Penn State won’t rely on Parsons as a returner, but Brown’s remarkable breakaway speed could force opponents to kick away from him. Someone else might have to catch it.

“A lot of people don’t just kick the ball off to our right, especially if we’re good on kickoff returns as I expect us to be,” Lorig said. “At the last place I was at (Memphis), they actually kicked away from our returner a lot more often than they kicked to him. It’s just a gameplan thing.”

The situation might appear troubling because it takes the ball out of the hands of a dangerous returner.

Lorig saw it as a positive, although not the same as a long return.

He said teams last season punted away from K.J. Hamler, resulting in only 21 returnable punts. Hamler, a projected second-round draft choice this week, averaged 5.5 yards, 37th in the nation.

Lorig said he spoke before the Cotton Bowl to Memphis coaches, who told him Adam Williams was instructed to punt out of bounds. As a result, Williams, who averaged 44.8 yards for the season, dropped to 33 yards.

“Basically, every time they punted the ball, they just gave us a first down,” Lorig said, doing the math. “If you ask any team in the country, ‘Would they take that?’ They would take that.”