Desman Stephens had played only a handful of snaps to this point, mostly in mop-up duty, but as the freshman linebacker peered over the line of scrimmage at Penn State’s offense Saturday, he could see the third-down play unfolding in his head. The Trojans had three over the ball. Two receivers were stacked to his left, and the nickel corner was blitzing. So Stephens knew, as soon as it was snapped, he needed to backpedal in a hurry to cover the middle of the field.
That part was no problem for Stephens, whose experience as a do-everything defensive back at Clarkston High in Michigan would serve him well in this situation.