Penn State’s secondary makes big hits, big picks
but it has overcome that to be a major contributor to Penn State’s 7-1 start and No. 7 national ranking.
Its members have accounted for nine interceptions, a major factor in Penn State’s plus-14 turnover margin, which is tied for second-best in Football Bowl Subdivision.
“I feel like we are an elite secondary,” Campbell said.
Although there are some big personalities in the secondary — Allen, in particular — Apke, who is from Mt. Lebanon, isn’t one of them.
He’s fairly soft-spoken and doesn’t do much to draw attention to himself. Off the field, anyway. On it, he’s been pretty tough to overlook this season.
“Troy Apke brings a lot,” Campbell said. “He brings brains, he’s fast and he constantly comes up and makes some great tackles.”
Apke has had at least four tackles in each of Penn State’s five Big Ten Conference games so far and leads the team with 25 solo tackles. He also has contributed an interception and a couple of tackles for a loss.
“He’s making the plays that he’s supposed to make from a force perspective, in terms of tackling in the run game,” Franklin said. “He’s making plays in the passing game plays from a coverage, pass-break-up and interception perspective. I couldn’t be any more pleased with Troy.”
Apke is coming off a particularly strong effort in the Nittany Lions’ 39-38 loss a week ago at Ohio State , when he had a career-high eight tackles.
“I think Apke’s been more physical this year than probably anticipated,” Franklin said. “I’m really pleased with Troy and his development.
“He’s kind of earned his role and worked up the ladder in terms of his role on special teams, on defense and now, as a starter and a leader. He’s very well-respected. The coaches trust him. He’s making plays.”
So are the guys who work around him. And the underclassmen who will take over for them in future seasons, such as freshmen Lamont Wade, Tariq CastroFields and Zach McPhearson, have gotten enough playing time to suggest they will perform just as capably when they assume starting roles.
“Castro-Fields is doing some great stuff for us,” Franklin said. “McPhearson is doing some really good things for us. We have a really good rotation, [including] Lamont Wade.
“We have really what you want at every position: Older, mature, veteran players, playing at a higher level and then some young guys that are getting reps and gaining experience.”