Next Steps on Jaquan Brisker’s Path to Getting Paid
Despite Earning High Honors From Several Reputable Sources, Penn State’s Returning Safety Must Find More Ways to Change Games and Make Plays in 2021
Close your eyes.
No, seriously close them. Promise we’re not going to do any weird stuff. Trust us, we outgrew the Sharpie-on-the-face/fingers-in-warm-water sophomoric prank phase months ago…alright, fine, weeks ago. Point is we outgrew it.
Just close your eyes. OK, are they closed? You sure? Liar. You can’t read with closed eyes. Our bad, though. Hmmm, guess we didn’t really think this exercise through.
Anyway, what we tried (and failed) to get you to do was envision certain Penn State players’ signature moments from 2020. Like, if we said Jahan Dotson, many would probably replay his sweet one-handed grab/stab over Ohio State’s Shaun Wade…or perhaps you’d pick his punt return TD vs. Sparty…or maybe the two short tosses Dotson turned into 6 points in the season finale.
Penn State defensive end Shaka Toney had his man-possessed two-sack flurry on what SHOULD have been Indiana’s final drive. That’s his moment. Redshirt freshman tight end Brenton Strange pulled off that cool Superman/grass in the facemask TD. Sean Clifford has a healthy mix of moments – good and bad.
But what if we asked you to envision Jaquan Brisker’s signature moment from 2020?
Crickets…
What the heck would it be?
Crickets…
PFF freaking named Brisker a First-Team All-American safety (Phil Steele gave him honorable mention AA honors), so surely there’s got to be one –JUST ONE! – indelible snapshot from this forgettable season, right? Weirdly, though, there really isn’t. In fact, Brisker’s 2020 campaign was so beige that when doing statistical research for this blog post, we totally forgot the soon-to-be super senior intercepted a pass last year.
There! An interception! There’s his memorable moment!
Slow down, bud. He fumbled it right back.
Tough to tell on the TV angle, but it appears Brisker absolutely baits MSU freshman QB Payton Thorne into throwing this ill-advised ball on 3rd and Long. Great break on the pass…Brisker avoids the receiver and picks it cleanly. But, you know, he fumbled the ball, forever staining this turnover-that-wasn’t.
Yeah, we choose a mean way to illustrate a point, but that’s the next step Brisker MUST take this upcoming season to solidify himself as, at least, a Day 2 selection in the 2022 NFL Draft – when opportunities to “Make Plays” occur, make the damn play!
Be more than a defender. Be a disruptor! Be a difference maker!
For example:
One more:
The reason Brisker graded out so well in 2020 is because from a fundamental standpoint he was incredibly sound. Not a ton (but a few) blown assignments. Not a ton (but a few) bad angles. Not a ton (but one, according to PFF) missed tackles. And yeah that’s great – and on digital paper appears incredibly impressive – but it doesn’t account for instances where Brisker was placed in a prime spot to change the game — even CHANGE THE SEASON! as you’ll see below – and simply didn’t shine the way you’d expect an All-American to shine.
Somewhat lost in the wildness/frustration/madness/depression of those final minutes in the season opener vs. Indiana is the fact that PSU DC Brent Pry dialed up the perfect blitz on the Hoosiers 2-point conversion and ideally positioned Brisker to be the hero.
Is this a missed tackle? Well, technically no. But, damn, Brisker could’ve/should’ve made this play and ended the game. Shotgun Empty. Indiana’s got a Quads Bunch Diamond thing happening at the bottom of the screen and 3-Ty Fryfogle isolated vs. TCF at the top. Man. Cover Zero. Brisker and Ellis Brooks blitz. No one blocks Brisker, but he’s a touch slow, a touch indecisive, which allows Michael Penix, Jr. to escape.
For Brisker to solidify his spot on a 53-man NFL roster in 18 months, he simply needs to add a pinch of FLASH/SIZZLE/”IT” (pick your cliché) to his solid, multi-faceted skillset. Because from a strictly fundamental standpoint, there’s a lot to like and very little to “clean up” in Brisker’s game.
Brisker possesses an unbelievably high Football IQ. In split second, he’s usually able to recognize and diagnose offensive concepts designed to create confusion. He rarely finds himself out of position, especially when he plays in the box or up near the LOS – like here where Brisker bluffs blitz, drops into zone coverage, dodges the Indiana crosser, and latches onto Stevie Scott’s right leg for no gain.
Same thing here. Process the play…then shut it down. Brisker quickly figures out what Rutgers is trying to pull and takes the correct angle to neutralize things. Impressive speed aided by decisive decision-making enables Brisker to meet the ballcarrier at the LOS. Nice tackle in space, too.
Brisker’s 33 solo tackles topped all other Penn State defenders. According to Penn State’s official stats, Brisker also led the team with 6 PBUs. It’s remarkable that Brisker is such a sure tackler when you examine the violent conclusion to some of his clips…because he doesn’t “catch” guys, he clobbers them. Somehow, Brisker didn’t force a fumble in 2020. That’s mindboggling. As much as we dogged on Brisker for not “making plays” several paragraphs ago, his lack of FF was probably just stroke of bad luck and a stat that the Football Gods should swing wildly in his favor in 2021.
Finally, Brisker has a lot of ‘Marcus Allen’ in him. By that, we mean his ability to defend the run is further advanced (at this stage, for sure) than his prowess in pass coverage. That’s not to say Brisker is a huge liability in pass defense, but there were a lot of instances where he made some questionable choices in the secondary – like this backpedal into nothing against an Iowa TE. Joey Porter Jr. is playing outside leverage and expects safety help against this thick-ankled pass catcher, yet Brisker isn’t even on the screen when the ball is released. Way too much cushion vs. a guy who isn’t a vertical threat, at all.
As the year progressed, however, Brisker improved. In our post-Rutgers defensive recap, we raved about Brisker’s effort on this PBU.
Lamont Wade and Brisker do a great job communicating and switching Cover 1 high-safety responsibilities when Rutgers motions into Trips. Can’t see Brisker, but he’s just reading the QB’s eyes and breaks on the deep shot. 2-Keaton Ellis is in a good spot coverage-wise, but a great throw beats good coverage here. Heady play by Brisker, though. Fantastic poise. After determining that he can’t make a play on the ball in the air, Brisker has the presence of mind to line up the receiver and select the ideal “strike point” all in the span of less than a second. While staying completely under control, Brisker makes a clean, legal, calculated hit to force 4th down.
