Penn State assistant Anthony Poindexter talks Lions' plan at safety, King Mack being green lit, and more

Anthony Poindexter enters his third season as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Penn State. In front of him is his biggest challenge yet: Retooling a position group that does not, at least on the surface, have a ready-made high-level impact player and likely future Day 2 NFL Draft pick before the season even begins.

Poindexter made clear during a conference call with reporters on Thursday that he is not expecting any of his charges to make plays in the same way Jaquan Brisker and Ji’Ayir Brown did. Instead, he wants the group to play to their own strengths as they fight for both starting roles and playing time before and during the 2023 season.

“I told our group, anytime you lose a Ji’Ayir Brown, a Jaquan Brisker, you have to reshape yourself,” Poindexter said. “There is a lot of production that left out of that room. Will there be another Tig in the room? Who knows.

“I think Tig and Brisker are one of a kind. As a group, we have to figure out how to get the same kind of production, whether it’s all four of them or one of them emerges. They need to be themselves and play the game that they play.”

Penn State is still organizing its depth chart at safety

Poindexter declined to say which two safeties will take the first-team snaps on Saturday when West Virginia comes to Beaver Stadium (7:30, NBC). Four players — Senior Keaton Ellis, junior Jaylen Reed, redshirt Zakee Wheatley, and sophomore Kevin Winston Jr., — are in the running for the two jobs. All four are likely to play starter-like reps regardless of who takes the field first. And a fifth Nittany Lion, freshman King Mack, could see time on defense, as well. Their position coach’s message to them is a simple one: Be yourself.

“You lose Ji’Ayir, but Keaton and Jaylen Reed have played a lot of football the last two years, Zakee did last year, so it’s not like we have all babies walking onto the field for the first time,” Poindexter said. “To put the pressure on those guys to say you have to be Ji’Ayir Brown is unfair. These guys, in their own way, can become their own greatness, and that’s what I preach to them.

“You have to be you and be comfortable in your skin and what your playmaking abilities can make. I’m not saying you have to be Ji’Ayir. They know I’m not saying you have to make this play like Ji’Ayir did. That’s unfair to them. They just know that I trust their skillset, play to your strengths, and everything will work out just fine for you.”

More from Anthony Poindexter

Here are some additional quotes from Poindexter’s news conference:

On why Penn State freshman King Mack is green-lit to burn his redshirt in 2023:

“I think when he got here, the stage wasn’t too big for him. The kid is just a natural football player. He has some physical traits that you can’t teach, obviously one of them being speed. He’s a much better tackler than I thought he would be for his frame and size. He picked it up pretty good. If he’s ready to go, we’re going to play him.”

On who will start and how many safeties could play starter-like reps:

“We haven’t really settled on it yet, but I think at least four to five. I think we have good depth in the room. We’ll see how the flow of the game is going based on whose hot or who is playing well, and we’ll see how many reps they end up with.”

On the progress Keaton Ellis has made:

“I just think seeing it from the angle he’s seeing it from now, I think it all makes more sense to him now. Moving from cornerback to safety is a totally different way of looking at the game. You see a lot more at safety. He’s really done a nice job. He worked in the offseason to make it like, ‘I want to be a great safety,’ and it’s starting to show on the field.”

Finally, Poindexter’s thoughts on a trio of younger Penn State safeties:

Redshirt freshman Mehki Flowers: “Mehki has made a lot of strides both on and off the field. He’s developing, and he’s got a wealth of talent and a lot of skill. The trick for him is going to be learning how to play at this level, and the intensity and the work you have to put in to really be successful inside the stadium. He’s learning each day. I’m happy with where he’s at.”

Redshirt junior Tyrece Mills and true freshman DaKaari Nelson: “They’ve been progressing good. Obviously Tyrece was coming off an injury from last year and he spent most of the [2022] season at linebacker. DaKaari is a young high school player that’s come in, and this is big ball for him. But they’re both progressing good, and I like the way they’re attacking each day. We’ll see how they keep progressing.”