Defensive back John Reid expects to be returning punts despite coming off the injury. Photo from ydr.com

There was a tremendous amount of pride felt by the whole Penn State football nation that Saquon Barkley developed into a player who was good enough to be selected second overall by the New York Giants in the recent NFL Draft but in college football there’s not much time for reflection. Spring practice is in the books and preseason camp is on the horizon so while what Barkley and his teammates accomplished last year (a fourth-place finish in the voting for the Heisman Trophy for him and a win in the Fiesta Bowl and a second-straight 11-win season as a team) was nice, it’s time to move on.

For 2018, head coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lion program return 13 starters including eight on offense, three on the defensive side and two on special teams (the kicker and the holder).

Of course, key to any team’s success is the play of the quarterback and the Nittany Lions return Trace McSorley but what might be the next biggest reason for how well Penn State does this season is players from the Philadelphia area. Of the 11 returnees on offense and defense, four are from the region.

“This area has always been very strong,” Franklin said while discussing local players during the Penn State Coaches Caravan stop at the Crystal Tea Room in Center City. “The high school football has always been very well respected. What you’ve seen is certain programs that have really done a good job, they’ve been able to keep their coaches for long periods of time, they’ve played winning football, they’ve taught really good fundamentals, techniques and strong academics. So, you get a combination of all those things which I think are important for the game at the high school level and are important for us from a recruiting prospective.

“It’s been important for us, I think we did a very good job early on identifying some kids we wanted in our program and you look at our Philadelphia players, they’ve had significant contributions for us.”

One player not listed amount the returning starters is cornerback John Reid. The St. Joseph’s Prep grad redshirted last year after he tore the ACL in his left knee but he started 16 games in his first two seasons and was third in the Big Ten in 2016 with a 7.5-yard punt turn average.

“I’m coming back, I feel like, better than I’ve ever been,” said Reid during spring practice. “I’m doing exercises I’ve never done just for strengthening. I feel better overall as an athlete and I can still play football and I feel like I’m going to play it at a way better level than I’ve ever played at before so I’m excited.”

Reid expects to be returning punts despite coming off the injury.

“I was surprised,” he said, “because I had to work so hard the previous year catching punts, it wasn’t something that came natural but when I started spring ball it came back easily. I was doing all the techniques right without thinking about it.”

Former Archbishop Wood offensive lineman Ryan Bates will be leaned on for leadership and outstanding play on the field in 2018. Photo from Penn State Athletics.

In 2017, Ryan Bates, a redshirt junior, started eight games at left tackle and even though he missed three games because of an injury, he earned third-team All-Big Ten in voting by both the coaches and the media.

“We’ve got some swagger to us compared to years past,” said Bates, who graduated from Archbishop Wood in Warminster, when asked about the differences between the 2017 and 2018 Nittany Lions. “There’s a lot of big personalities on the offense and the defense.”

Joining Bates as an important member of the offense coming back is wide receiver Juwan Johnson. The Glassboro(NJ) High School graduate had 54 catches for 701 yards a season ago. He had one touchdown catch but what a catch it was, he caught the game winner as time expired in the come from behind win over Iowa.

Johnson and Reid shared the Frank Patrick Memorial “Total Commitment” Award which was given out at halftime of the Blue and White spring game. It goes to squad members in their third spring who consistently follow through with their responsibilities in all facets of the football program and do so in exemplary manner. This includes academic pursuits, off-season preparation, in-season commitment, demeanor and community service.

Two players from the region figure to be central figures along the defensive line, Shareef Miller and Ryan Buchholz are both redshirt juniors. Miller, from George Washington High School, was named third-team All-Big Ten by the media and honorable mention by the coaches after a season where he recorded 11 tackles for loss and five sacks. Great Valley High School product Buchholz joined the starting rotation in 2017 and had two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss.

Defensive lineman Shaka Toney, from Imhotep Charter, was named to the BTN.com All-Freshman team. He played in 12 games and could have a breakout year year. Jake Cooper, a senior from Wood, has a handful of starts at linebacker in his career and should contribute some.

Des Holmes (O’Hara) and Hunter Kelly (from Franklin’s Alma mater Neshaminy) are both coming off of redshirt seasons. Holmes is an offensive lineman while Kelly could play on either line. Linebacker/defensive lineman Nick Tarburton, from Pennridge, is one of six incoming freshman who graduated high school early, enrolled for the spring semester and participated in spring practice.

Email Rock Hoffman at rock@footballstories.com