Penn State football didn’t lose many of the pieces from its playoff semifinal squad a season ago. However, a large swath of the talent that did move on to the NFL came from the Nittany Lions’ elite defensive unit.
Now, with kickoff just days away, we know one of the young defenders who will take on a more prominent role for the Blue and White this fall. And it’s a name that likely many outside the Lasch Building did not expect.
On Monday, James Franklin named redshirt freshman Antoine Belgrave-Shorter as the Nittany Lions’ second starting safety, lining up opposite redshirt senior Zakee Wheatley.
“Right now, Belgrave-Shorter is the starter [opposite] from Zakee, but those other two safeties we plan on playing a lot. We feel like we’ve got four safeties we can win with,” Franklin said.
A beneficiary of Penn State’s extended playoff run, Belgrave-Shorter appeared in seven games while maintaining his redshirt last fall. He beat out fellow second-year safety Dejuan Lane, who played in every game as a true freshman, and junior King Mack, who returned to Happy Valley this offseason after transferring to Alabama for the 2024 season.
Franklin also mentioned redshirt freshman Vaboue Toure as a young defensive back battling for playing time earlier this month.
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Despite emerging as the unlikely victor out of fall camp, Franklin explained that Belgrave-Shorter’s performance and demeanor in recent weeks stood out to the Penn State coaching staff.
“Belgrave-Shorter is probably a guy that wasn’t in a lot of conversations going on outside the Lasch Building,” Franklin continued. “But he’s led us in interceptions and turnovers in training camp. Been very, very consistent about how he’s gone about his business. So he has earned that spot. But the other two guys will play a lot, and we need them to play a lot.”
Penn State and Nevada will kick off the 2025 season at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
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