Defensive line coach Sean Spencer talks Saquon Barkley, defensive standouts

Penn State defensive line coach Sean Spencer, along with Charles Huff, handled Saquon Barkley’s recruitment — and even back then, the Heisman front-runner was something special.

“It’s almost like a storybook of a person where you say, ‘I’m going to create the perfect guy to come in and play college football and the perfect guy to be a leader on your team,’ and that’s Saquon,” Spencer said on a Thursday teleconference. “I mean, he’s a tremendous character kid, and he’s always been that way.”

Barkley, then a budding prospect at Whitehall High School, was already committed to Rutgers when Penn State really started to show interest.

Of course, that commitment later changed.

Spencer actually remembers when he called Barkley to let him know that the Nittany Lions were offering him a scholarship. He didn’t know how to react.

“It’s just how humble he is,” Spencer said. “He was like, ‘I just got an offer from Penn State?’ We’re like, ‘Yeah man.’ He’s like, ‘That’s unbelievable. Oh my God I can’t believe it.’ We’re like, ‘You’re the real deal [laughs]. We’re not just throwing an offer out there at you. We see something in you that we think you can be special.’ From that point on, myself and coach Huff’s relationship with him, it went — I think — beyond football. We were on him about his academics and making sure he was doing the right things and doing the right things moving forward.

“He’s just such a wonderful person.”

Miller making waves

A few weeks ago, defensive end Shareef Miller was a late addition to the Bednarik Award watch list — with good reason. The 6-foot-5, 257-pound game-wrecker has impressed through seven games.

Miller has 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and a team-high five quarterback hurries while starting all seven games this season. The redshirt sophomore leads all defensive linemen with 22 tackles and came up with a huge safety at Iowa.

Spencer isn’t surprised by Miller’s breakout season so far.

“I think when it actually comes to light you see that he has the ability,” Spencer said. “He did it in practice and he did it in games last year, but can he do it when he’s a starter and when the game is on the line? He had a role when he spelled guys and it’s a big role, but now, the game is on the line and can he go make that play?

“I’m not just talking about his two sacks against Pitt, but I think one of his best plays in my opinion was the safety at Iowa where he’s circled out and made a tackle on an unbelievable back. It was a huge play in the game and those were the plays we wondered could he be like (Garrett) Sickels, (Evan) Schwan, (Carl) Nassib, (Anthony) Zettel, (Austin) Johnson, those guys. Dating back to Deion Barnes, those kinds of guys who made those game-changing plays. Could he do that? And he’s shown us to this point that he can.”

Givens’ impact

Without getting starter reps, Altoona native Kevin Givens has been all over Penn State’s front-four. Givens — a 6-foot-1, 287-pound redshirt sophomore who’s being used at both tackle and end — has eight tackles, two passes defended, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack and a fumble recovery.

Spencer called Givens “dynamic” and a “really good weapon” to have along the defensive line.

“He’s so powerful,” the coach said. “If you ever tap him on his back it’s like hitting a wall. You’re gonna hurt your hand. I gotta go see (athletic trainer) Tim Bream every time I tap him because I bruised up my knuckles.

“The guy is unbelievable in that regard and I’m so happy with his progress.”

Quotable

“Big Sweat sweats all the time. Big Sweat can be walking from Lasch to Holuba, and by the time he gets through the door, he’s fully drenched and ready to go. That’s his nickname. That’s what we call him. Big Sweat.” — Spencer, on true freshman offensive lineman Des Holmes

This story was originally published October 26, 2017 at 6:59 PM with the headline "Defensive line coach Sean Spencer talks Saquon Barkley, defensive standouts."