Penn State’s second half collapse was only three points away from total disaster, and an unlikely hero saved the game with a crucial interception in the fourth quarter.
Cornerback Ibn McDaniels, a redshirt sophomore transfer from Syracuse whose seen increased playing time in recent weeks, was a half-step behind his matched wide receiver in man coverage.
But when quarterback Demond Williams Jr. threw the ball to his target’s back shoulder, McDaniels leapt in the air and caught the ball to bring Penn State’s offense back on the field. It came as a surprise to fans, as McDaniels has only tallied three tackles and a pass breakup on the season.
“To be honest with you, I think the guy that’s been the surprise of our whole team on defense has been Ibn,” Matt Campbell said Tuesday. “That guy has played as good as anybody the last two weeks, and the play he made in a critical moment in the football game on Saturday is unbelievable and it’s awesome.”
Rocco Becht said McDaniels has made a huge impact on the practice field in the bye week, and he was ready for his opportunity to translate it to a game. Becht praised McDaniels’ length and speed in pass defense, particularly because it challenges the quarterback’s ability to air out the deep ball.
“He was able to go out and make great plays for the defense (in the bye week), and it showed,” Becht said. “The coaches saw it, and they decided to put him in the game, and he’s been able to go out there and make great plays. For him, just his ability to have so much length and speed at that position is huge.”
Over the course of two seasons with the Orange, McDaniels played in 15 games and logged only four tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup before hitting the transfer portal. Since arriving in Happy Valley, his playing time has slowly increased over the course of the season.
Campbell added due to the team’s troubles with injury this season, he’s going to continue relying on McDaniels’ ability to make an impact off the bench.
“Ibn’s story is great,” Campbell said. “Especially as injuries mount up, you’re going to need some of those guys to step into bigger roles and the confidence that they build when they have some success. I think those are big wins for everybody.”
And it wasn’t just McDaniels who impressed the coaching staff off the bench, as Campbell said cornerback Jahmir Joseph, offensive linemen Garrett Sexton, defensive tackle Ty Blanding and running back Cam Wallace have all come off the bench in critical moments in recent weeks, contributing to the back-to-back wins.
Defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn stressed the importance of having strong depth at the cornerback position, especially in conference play.
He said the team “needs to have multiple guys at that position,” and McDaniels and Joseph were the two standout depth cornerbacks who are trusted to hold down the fort when Audavion Collins and Daryus Dixson need rest.
“We just trust them in games,” Lynn said. “Now they have to keep on doing it every single day, but I think that they’ve been doing an outstanding job, and it helps keep those other guys fresh.”
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