Reeder ready to tackle No. 6 Michigan State

Troy Reeder’s got a cherub face and baby blue eyes, a combination that doesn’t invite much intimidation; but he had people shifting uncomfortably in their seats when, on Tuesday afternoon, he couldn’t stop grinning as he described “teeing off on somebody” and aiming his body “four feet through a guy to tear him in half.”

The redshirt freshman linebacker was likely not supposed to see the field much initially, but after starting middle linebacker Nyeem Wartman-White went down with a knee injury in the first game of Penn State’s season and weak side ‘backer Jason Cabinda stepped into the Mike spot, it was Reeder’s turn at the Will.

Now, with just one game left in the regular season, it’s easy to look back and see the growth he has shown throughout the year.

The 6-foot-1, 236-pound (and counting) Reeder is fourth on the team with 62 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, an interception that he returned 44 yards, a pass breakup and two pass deflections.

“It’s great to see him playing at a high level, especially as a freshman,” said junior defensive tackle Austin Johnson. “He’s going to have a really good career here, and it’s just great to see him put all the pieces together and be that linebacker that we needed this year and to step up and be a leader back there as well.”

But it’s partially due to Johnson that Reeder has found a bit of a niche — and discovered his second-favorite part of the game, besides knocking the shorts off of somebody.

When the defensive lineman, along with his counterpart Anthony Zettel on the inside as well as Carl Nassib and Garrett Sickels on either end, stunts ( “twists” as defensive line coach Sean Spencer likes to call them), Reeder relishes shooting the resulting gap.

“Especially if we fill our gaps right, that’s something that, from the stands, it’s tough to see,” he said. “It’s hard to see from the stands how amazing it is on the fly — as fast as it is that the defensive line takes their gaps. And then you add in pullers and different movements and it’s like fitting a puzzle, and how fast guys have to think and set up.

“When you get that (running) back tight in the hole, I think that’s probably the best time that you know you probably have a good chance of getting him.”

Then comes the fun part — the hitting part.

Reeder started his high school career at Salesianum in Delaware as a quarterback, then split his time between running back and linebacker duties.

“I think that tackling has been something that, since I was pretty young, actually didn’t come super natural to me,” he said. “(As a quarterback) I didn’t really have much interest in playing defense.”

Reeder said once he started learning the techniques of playing defense and realized that the bigger he got, the more natural the wraps and rolls would feel to him, he began to really appreciate the position for its intricacies as well as its physicality.

“Once I started to see my potential, it’s something I worked on,” he said. “Fundamentally, a lot of guys have the strength. That’s why WWE wrestlers can’t play football. Athletically, being able to wrap and roll different tackling techniques is something you work on growing up, and the older you get, the bigger and stronger and faster the backs get so you have to continue to grow and develop.”

(For the record, Reeder thinks he could probably take out former professional wrestler-turned-running-back Brock Lesnar.)

In Penn State’s last few games, the second and third tiers of defense have struggled with tackling. Head coach James Franklin has said that the goal of the defense is to allow no more than 11 missed tackles — one per position at most — but in the first half alone of last week’s 28-16 loss to Michigan, there were at least nine. Additionally, running quarterbacks and explosive plays have plagued especially the linebackers, as Penn State was slashed for over 220 yards on the ground by Northwestern’s young runnning back and gave up a combined 900 yards of offense to two dual threat quarterbacks in Maryland’s Perry Hills and Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett.

“The Michigan game? I think we were a little disappointed because we know we’re better than that,” said Reeder. “We have to bring our feet, wrap up, drive our legs, keep our heads up and get back to the fundamentals.”

While Cabinda cited a lack of communication as the main issue, when Franklin went back the morning after the loss and watched the film, he saw another factor playing a huge role — especially against Michigan.

“We’re playing talented teams with talented people, and if you’re not in the right postition, don’t have the right leverage, they’re going to make you miss,” he said. “The other think is making sure that all other 10 guys are running to the ball, so if the guy does make you miss — sometimes (just) missing a tackle isn’t the end of the world. You (just) can’t miss a tackle and be in the wrong leverage...you’ve got to have the right leverage so that your teammates can have your back and run to the ball.

“If you’re containing the other player and you lose your leverage, and you’re inside, now your teammates can’t help you because the ball is going down the sideline. Those are the things we’ve got to get cleaned up.”

Because he’s aware of the criticism, and because he knows the status of Penn State’s upcoming opponent, Reeder thinks that the team has something to prove against No. 6 Michigan State.

“I think there’s always something left to prove unless you’re the national champion,” he said, grinning.

“A lot of people out there question how high a level we’re capable of playing at, and I think we’ve done a good job of hanging in some tight games. But you know, I think it’s time that we knock off a Power-5 opponent.”

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Reeder ready to tackle No. 6 Michigan State."