Penn State football: 5 questions the Nittany Lions must answer in 2020

2. Will the Nittany Lions secondary be more adept in coverage?

Much like the front seven, the Penn State defense is going to have a nice mix of returning starters and risers on the depth chart as they come into the 2020 season. Cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields has plenty of experience and game to go with it while safety Lamont Wade is essentially in the same boat as well.

Outside of those two veterans, we should see Marquis Wilson line up opposite of Castro-Fields after he saw the field last year as a freshman and performed quite well. There are options at both cornerback and safety on the depth chart, though, that Penn State should feel confident in being ready to play a meaningful role this year.

Having said all of that, experience and talent only mean so much if a unit doesn’t live up to it. And last season, Penn State largely struggled when it came to defending the past. They allowed over 250 yards per game through the air in the 2019 campaign and, though the front seven is good, they can only do so much if the defensive backs can’t keep opposing pass-catchers contained.

This is far from a dire situation at Penn State as, again, this is a group that really just needs to live up to its potential with the players that will be prominently featured in the secondary. But coming off of last season, they will be under the microscope to do exactly that or the defense won’t be as good as it possibly could be.