Sometimes, during the offseason, head coaches make the decision to change a player's position. Very rarely is it made in the middle of the season. However, with theNittany Lions well and truly reeling, Matt Campbell believed it was time for change, That is why there are reports that Marcus Neal Jr., a safety who had started 16 consecutive games at the position, is now moving to linebacker. He joins a talented group that could see him get limited snaps but could also see some improvement from an overall defensive unit that has struggled for long stretches.
Of the move, Campbell was up front about his reasoning. "It allows his talent and his ability to be at a place where we can use him even more," he said. "Not only in first and second down, but
multiplicity in situational football, too. [We're] trying to find ways to get our best players on the field and put those guys in position to be the best within the scheme."
What should make sense to some Penn State fans is that there is little depth behind the blue and white's core three players at the position in Kooper Ebel, Tony Rojas, and Cael Brezina. After a season-ending injury to Alex Tatsch, there were many potential reasons as to why a position change could have been necessary. Still, what could be weird for fans though is that it seems like an unnatural switch and is too eerily similar to the Caleb Bacon switch to defensive end in the offseason. While Bacon started off well, he simply isn't physical enough to set the edge against Big Ten run games.
At 6-1 and 216 pounds, Neal Jr. is definitely a physical player. But in a desperate move, it seems as if this is Campbell's last resort. While Neal proved to effective in stops at the line of scrimmage last year, that was with Iowa State. This year, he has no tackles for loss and only 22 tackles total.
The bottom line is everything surrounding the Nittany Lions feels negative no matter what. Still, if Matt Campbell believes that Neal can be effective, so be it.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Marcus Neal Jr. experiences position change
