Penn State coach Anthony Poindexter talks freshmen safeties, Tyrece Mills' move to linebacker, more
Penn State co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Anthony Poindexter is one of the select few members of the Lions program who has actually been to Jordan-Hare Stadium. As a senior at Virginia, the All-American led a defensive charge that shutout Auburn 25-0 in 1998.
Thirty-four years later, Poindexter will be back on the visitors sideline at the 87,451-seat stadium (it was only in the mid-70,000s the last time he was there) as an assistant. And, this time, his team is expected to win as the Lions sit as a 3.5-point favorite prior to a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on CBS.
“You got to focus in on your next opponent,” Poindexter said.
“Auburn is our next opponent. It’s the biggest game because it’s the next game. That’s how our kids approach it. We approach each week that way. As long as we keep that, we can kind of keep our focus and just look at the task at hand.”
During a Thursday conference call with reporters, Poindexter discussed numerous topics. We highlight a pair of them below.
Catching up with the freshmen safeties
Penn State brought three safeties into the program via the signing Class of 2022. Only two are left at the position, though (more on that in a minute). And, only one has seen game action so far.
Forme four-star KJ Winston played 18 snaps during the Lions’ win over Ohio. He was expected to be an immediate contributor right away despite enrolling in the summer instead of before spring practice. So far, that’s working out exactly as expected. Classmate and fellow four-star Mehki Flowers, then, always figured to need some time before seeing the field. But, he’s progressed since arriving on campus.
“I’m very proud of the kids,” Poindexter said. “Obviously KJ played a little bit last week. He’s starting to develop and starting to factor in a little bit. Mehki is still learning. But he has a tremendous upside.
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“So, we’ll just see how the season goes, how they progress each week. We’ll dictate how much we use them based on how they progress each week during the practices.”
Poindexter talks Penn State position switch for Mills
Tyrece Mills came to Penn State after playing safety at Lackawanna College. However, due to his body type (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) and the current roster makeup, the Lions moved him to linebacker to start. Poindexter offered more insight into that change on Thursday.
“It was the right fit based on the roster that we had at this point,” Poindexter said. ‘Whether he stays at linebacker or not; we were looking at linebacker, and he had that kind of crossover skill set where he was tough enough, and he had enough size that maybe he could help us there and probably would get on the field a little bit faster and add some depth to a position of need.
“We make those decisions based on just the roster that you’re looking at and based on the kid and where he’s at when he shows up on campus.”
