On Julian Fleming, Abdul Carter, Drew Allar and a Penn State Winter
Penn State opened the Lasch Football Building on Thursday for its max-out testing day, the final workout of the winter session. Strength coach Chuck Losey oversaw a month of dawn workouts, which current and former players call the toughest of the year. "That is the real test," former cornerback Kalen King said at the NFL Scouting Combine.
After the lift, during which running back Nicholas Singleton squatted the equivalent of an electric golf cart, Losey with the media to cap winter workouts. A few takeaways from Losey's interview.
Julian Fleming has quickly become a leader
This is what the offensive coaches want to hear about their newest veteran receiver. Fleming, the Ohio State transfer, has taken a quiet but impactful leadership role with center Nick Dawkins and linebacker Dominic DeLuca. Notably, Losey said Fleming has not acted like a newcomer.
"It comes down to having awareness and maturity, and he's very aware," Losey said. "He's a very mature young man who came in, and his actions have told his story. He hasn't said much, nor have I asked him to say much. He's just put his head down and he's worked and he's earned the respect of everybody on this football team.
"Now it always helps when you're acquainted with most of the guys on the team, like he is being a [Pennsylvania] guy. But I'm really happy with him. ... He let his work do the talking."
Abdul Carter sounds like a natural defensive end
The biggest move of the offseason was Abdul Carter's from outside linebacker to defensive end. Carter, a two-time All-Big Ten linebacker, likely will play what defensive coordinator Tom Allen referred to previously as the "Bull" position, a blend of edge rusher and linebacker that will fit Carter's varied skills. His former teammates approve the plan.
"You can expect to see a lot of explosiveness, a lot of quarterbacks being sacked," linebacker Curtis Jacobs said at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Carter already had an edge rusher's frame (6-3, 249 pounds), so Losey said he hasn't rebuilt the workouts. Losey said he's following the same process and plan as he has with Carter over the past two seasons.
"He's a physically gifted kid who's body can pretty much go in any direction we want it to," Losey said. "So for me to stand here and say we've got this plan to put 20 pounds on him. no. He's still a young guy. He's only going to be in his third year. His frame is still filling out, so he's just naturally grown into that position."
Drew Allar's "as consistent as can be"
Quarterback Beau Pribula won a bunch of the "competitor-of-the-day" shoutouts from position coach Danny O'Brien this winter. But Allar has been a consistent presence in workouts, just as Losey expected.
"Drew's as consistent as can be," Losey said. "With all three of those quarterbacks — Drew, Beau, Jaxon [Smolik] — I know exactly what those guys are going to be like in the weight room when they come in every day. Drew, he's been great. I talk about guys being raw when they get on campus. He was super raw, but you can see it in here today, he holds his own with everything."
Behold Nicholas Singleton
The Penn State running back maxed out with five reps at 570 pounds in the squat during Thursday testing. A few comps, according to the eclectic site Weight of Stuff:
- Three averaged-sized Americans
- Two commercial treadmills
- A lemon shark
- An electric golf cart
So watch Singleton squat an electric golf cart:
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