Experience counts

Fifth- year senior Jan Johnson taking on leadership role for Penn State.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The question seemed to catch Jan Johnson off guard.

Amidst queries Wednesday about the status of Penn State’s defense, Johnson, a fifth- year senior linebacker, was asked about this being his final training camp with the Nittany Lions.

He paused for a beat before simply saying, “[ I’m] just trying to enjoy it and enjoy the grind, really.”

Of course, it’s possible Johnson’s wasn’t caught off guard, but for a player who casually and easily discussed the aspects of Penn State’s defense, linebacking or improvements he has made, his answer to this being his final college camp was among the shortest he gave.

If he was caught off guard, it’s understandable. Johnson’s career in Happy Valley, though long, has only recently transformed into an extremely successful one.

After redshirting during the 2015 season, he accrued just 14 tackles in his freshman and sophomore seasons. Then, in 2018, he surged onto the scene, finishing second on the Nittany Lions with 72 tackles.

Now, he returns once again as one of the most experienced players on a relatively young team.

“[ In the past], they had 30, 40 seniors. Now we only have 15 seniors or something,” Johnson said.

“So, it’s just being more vocal and setting the standard for these younger guys so they know how we compete and how we practice on the field.”

While Johnson has improved greatly in a short time as one of the focal points of Penn State’s defense, he also will be playing alongside two other talented, returning linebackers in sophomore Micah Parsons and senior Cam Brown.

All three players started all 13 games in 2018. Each of them finished in the top five on the team in tackles. Johnson won’t go as far as saying they’re the best linebacking group in his time at Penn State, but he does concede that they’re probably the most athletic linebackers in that time.

Whether that’s true or not, the group undoubtedly has the opportunity to leave a mark this season, though Johnson says the group is just trying to be the best it can be.

“I think as a unit we want to have the biggest impact on the game, just from all three linebacker positions,” Johnson said. “I think that we’re capable of doing that. We just want to make some bigger plays in games than we did last year.”

What that means is steady improvements right now. Johnson says Parsons, the youngest of the three presumed starters, has gotten more comfortable within the defense, knowing when to fill what gaps.

As for Johnson himself, the improvements are smaller.

“It’s a lot of fine- tuning,” Johnson said. “Just a lot of small techniques that will end up making a lot of bigger differences in the game. You know, just knowing how to dip your shoulder, knowing how to pass rush a little bit different. Making sure that you know what everyone else is doing behind you in the play rather than just knowing your position, which will actually end up impacting the game more than just knowing that.”

This is a sign that even the changes have changed for Johnson in the past five years.

He’s no longer a young guy trying to learn how to play linebacker at the college level or schemes of the Penn State defense.

Instead, it’s the minute details and raising the play of those around him.

Perhaps that has made it easier for Johnson to, as he says, enjoy the grind.