How Penn State's Trent Gordon Changed Positions During Quarantine

Trent Gordon took on a new role in Penn State's defense by keeping his 'head on a swivel.'

Trent Gordon gained more than 10 pounds on a fish-and-pasta diet this offseason, which he'll need to hit running backs the next time Penn State plays football.

Gordon, a redshirt sophomore from Texas, transitioned from cornerback to safety after the Cotton Bowl, a position change that made him feel at home. Gordon played safety at Manvel High, where he was a two-time captain and 4-star recruit, and spent his first two seasons at Penn State as a cornerback.

When Penn State cornerbacks coach Terry Smith first approached him last winter about the change, Smith was all for it. He changed his diet, adjusted his lifting program to develop run-stopping bulk and looked forward to returning to the position he knows.

"I'm very, very comfortable with [playing safety]," Gordon said. "On top of that, being at safety builds on my skillset at corner. Now I can be more physical and now I can play a lot faster because I can see everything more clearly. It allows me to dissect the play and be able to react quicker than I would as a corner. Being at safety enhances my skill set as a corner."

Gordon spent his first two seasons at Penn State playing cornerback, partly out of need, but always seemed destined to play safety. In fact, safeties coach Tim Banks said that the defensive coaches were thinking about that position "from the day we recruited him."

"We look for combo guys, guys that have the skill set of a corner and the size of a safety, and he fit that mold," Banks said. "... He's been trained to cover, and he has the size and the speed to be able to fit in the box as a safety."

At 5-11, 202 pounds, Gordon is about 10 pounds bigger than he played most of last season. He called that weight important to dealing with running backs.

But Gorden wasn't very good at gaining weight until this offseason, which included a diet rich in pasta. Fish has helped, too.

"I don't know what that does to me, but I just know that I've really been moving a lot faster and a lot quicker," Gordon said. "I'll continue to do that."

Gordon, who played 10 games at cornerback last season, jumps into a competitive position group. This spring he was listed as the No. 3 safety behind returning starter Lamont Wade and redshirt freshman Tyler Rudolph. Jaquan Brisker and Jonathan Sutherland are listed atop the depth chart at the starting spot vacated by Garrett Taylor.

Defensive coordinator Brent Pry said that position changes normally distill to one question: Is the player in the right spot to reach his potential and help the team most?

In Gordon's case, Pry said, that position was safety, even if it meant entering an already competitive environment.

"For us, Trent Gordon was a perfect example," Pry said. "He was a guy who had some solid corner credentials and was continuing to develop at that position. But when we looked around at our personnel, he checked more boxes at safety, which was good for him and good for us."

Though Gordon is comfortable playing safety, he's stepping into a larger role at the college level. Not having spring drills to make the transition was an issue that he has to handle.

He has done that virtually.

"I have to keep my head on a swivel in the classroom," Gordon said. "Just proving to coach Banks that I know what I'm doing without actually being on the field gives him an indication that he can actually trust me even though he hasn't actually seen what I'm able to do yet as a safety."

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