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Only Ayron Monroe Until Penn State Football

Last year’s backup safety is now an important part of the new-look secondary.

Penn State v Rutgers Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

The Penn State secondary is going to look very different in 2018 than the one that took the field last season. Gone are Christian Campbell, Grant Haley, Marcus Allen, and Troy Apke. In their place are a new starting foursome that will have to be better than their predecessors if the Nittany Lions are to advance to the Big Ten title game this fall.

One of the new guys in the back end is Ayron Monroe, a redshirt junior out of Maryland who appeared in 11 games in 2017. The safety didn’t exactly blow up the stat sheet during his time on the field, but the good news is that he has experience now. That’s a big deal when you’re talking about a position on the field that is the last line of defense against cannon-armed quarterbacks like Brian Lewerke and Nate Stanley.

We know that Trace McSorley loves to make big plays when Penn State has the ball, and he should have plenty of chances to do so with Juwan Johnson, DeAndre Thompkins, and Justin Shorter on the roster. That makes it important for Monroe to be solid in coverage and not allow opponents to answer Penn State’s offense every time it scores.

Only 23 days until Penn State beats Appalachian State!