Here's what Marcus Allen thinks about Penn State's safety battle

Penn State is in a position where it needs to replace 60 starts and 432 tackles at safety — but the man responsible for three-fourths of that output is upbeat about the Nittany Lions' options in 2018.

Marcus Allen, now preparing to bring his hard-hitting nature to the NFL, shared a position room for years with his potential replacements. He knows what each guy, whether it's redshirt freshman Jonathan Sutherland or graduate senior Nick Scott, brings to the table.

"They’re all doing their thing," Allen said at last week's Pro Day. "I've heard nothing but good words."

The battle for time at safety might be the most interesting case on the team.

Sutherland has drawn praise; Scott is a veteran in every sense of the word; Lamont Wade, a former five-star recruit, converted from cornerback; John Petrishen was one of Dwight Galt's workout warriors this winter, and Ayron Monroe has the talent to compete for a job, as well.

There's a healthy mix of potential and experience, and how the Nittany Lion coaching staff strikes a balance between the two is crucial to Penn State's success in 2018.

So, who does Allen like? The fan favorite spoke at length about three safeties in particular: Wade, Scott and Sutherland.

Allen said Scott, a special teams captain in 2017, is "still going to be that vocal leader and lead by example." Scott, who committed as a recruit to Bill O'Brien, has been around as long as any Penn State player — and longer than most coaches. That experience matters, and Allen recognizes that.

But natural ability matters, too, and the future NFL draft pick believes Wade holds an advantage there.

"He's going to bring a different type of style back there," Allen said of Wade. "Although Nick Scott is athletic and everything, Lamont played corner, so he has a little bit more athleticism in him. He's going to do his thing."

And then there's Sutherland, a former four-star product who hails from Canada. He left Ottawa when he was 15 years old to pursue football and landed 600 miles away at a high school in Virginia. At the time, Sutherland saw it as a "perfect opportunity" to improve his game and grow as a person.

It worked.

"He's young, but he's mature for his age, and he works hard," Allen said. "That's something that I kept trying to convey to him and tell him to keep doing because that's really good for a young guy like that. I wish I did that and I had that work ethic my freshman year."

All things considered, Allen turned out all right. He sits fifth all-time on Penn State's tackle charts with 321 stops.

Now, the Nittany Lions are tasked with replacing that unparalleled production. And just like most fans, Allen is eager to see how the position battle shakes out in spring and fall camp.

"I'm just excited for all of them,” he added.

This story was originally published March 27, 2018 at 9:35 PM with the headline "Here's what Marcus Allen thinks about Penn State's safety battle."