UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Curtis Jacobs hasn’t always been the most vocal of players at Penn State.
When Jacobs first arrived on campus prior to the 2020 season, he was a reserved individual, somebody who let his play do the talking for him. Former high school teammates of his like defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher, whom Jacobs played with at the McDonogh School in suburban Baltimore, had witnessed his hushed demeanor before.
“In high school, he wasn’t that much of a vocal guy, he didn’t talk a whole lot, and when he got here, he didn’t talk a whole lot,” Mustipher said. “I’d see him in the locker room and he’d just give me a little head nod and I’m like, ‘Man, I went to high school with you, you can talk to me.’”
After a solid sophomore year in which Jacobs made 61 tackles, though, it became clear he would have to take the next step in his development. He got a taste of an expanded role during the 2022 Outback Bowl, a game fellow linebackers Brandon Smith and Ellis Brooks sat out of to prepare for the upcoming NFL draft.
Once the bowl-season festivities had finished up, though, Jacobs realized it was time for him to get out of his comfort zone and use his voice a little bit more.
“I pretty much knew it going into winter workouts, for real. I knew what we were losing,” Jacobs said. “The guys that we did lose, they told me what I had to do. [Former defensive coordinator Brent] Pry even told me what I had to do, along with coach [James] Franklin and coach [Manny] Diaz.”
In 2022, Jacobs has mostly been operating as a weak-side linebacker after previously working at the strong-side spot in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. But the emergence of freshman linebacker Abdul Carter, who earned his first career start in Penn State’s 45-17 win over Minnesota and had the second most tackles on the team with eight, pushed Jacobs back to the weak-side against the Golden Gophers.
“It was a game-plan decision we made for Minnesota,” Jacobs said. “Obviously, I feel comfortable about it. I’ve worked myself into a position where I’d feel comfortable if they put me in any of those positions.”
Jacobs was more than just comfortable in the Nittany Lions’ latest victory; he excelled, setting a career high in tackles with 14, including seven solo stops. But making plays on defense hasn’t been Jacobs’ only responsibility.
With newcomers like Carter and previously inexperienced players like Tyler Elsdon and Kobe King getting significant run at middle linebacker, Jacobs can’t simply focus on doing his job. According to players who were part of his recruiting class like tight end Tyler Warren, Jacobs has taken more of a hands-on role with the defense.
“I think Curt’s done a great job kind of stepping into the interior linebacker position, where he’s got to be more of a leader in terms of helping the defense get set and then as an actual leader for the team, as well,” Warren said.
Over the last few months, Jacobs has become anything but a quiet player around his teammates.
“He’s definitely found his voice in the locker room. You’ll always hear him in the locker room, out on the field, talking or talking trash to the offense,” Mustipher said of Jacobs. “He’s definitely found that voice and it’s going to continue to grow as he gets more confident in that leadership position.”
Jacobs’ enhanced duties aren’t just limited to the football field, though. After Saturday’s victory, Jacobs’ parents surprised him with a gift: a pit bull.
Jacobs hasn’t come up with a name yet for his new dog, but he was already more than willing to share her with the world when meeting with reporters via Zoom on Wednesday morning.
“She’s a little crybaby right now,” Jacobs said while holding his new pet. “She’s whining whenever I have her on the ground.”
Jacobs has matured enough to the point where he can add taking care of a dog to his daily tasks, but what’s likely more relevant to Penn State fans is that he’s grown as a football player. The Nittany Lions are 6-1, in no small part due to the work that other veteran players like Mustipher and safety Ji’Ayir Brown have done as both leaders and playmakers.
But like Mustipher and Brown, Jacobs is no longer an impactful player strictly because of what he produces for the stat sheet.
“I think this season has been big for me developing vocally. I’ve always thought of myself as a visual leader, a guy that tries to do the right things and tries to encourage his teammates to do the right things,” Jacobs said. “But, me just being able to talk more, just having more say in things, that’s been big for me, and I feel like I’ve ran with that.”
2023 schedule released
The Big Ten announced its conference schedules for the 2023 season, and for the eighth straight year, Penn State will open its conference slate on the road. After home games against West Virginia and Delaware, the Nittany Lions will travel to Illinois on Sept. 16.
Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft, who in July at Big Ten media days voiced his displeasure with the Nittany Lions’ frequent road openers to conference play, doubled down on that take on Wednesday.
"It is incredibly frustrating and disappointing Penn State will be starting our Big Ten football slate next year on the road for the eighth-straight season and for the 13th time in the last 14 years," Kraft said Wednesday in a statement.
After Wednesday night’s practice, James Franklin deferred to Kraft, since he had already addressed the topic.
“I could bring it up and then do another dramatic pause for a couple of seconds,” Franklin said, referencing the elongated silence he initiated after announcing Sean Clifford as Penn State’s offensive player of the week during Tuesday’s press conference.
Penn State’s conference home games are Iowa, Indiana, Michigan and Rutgers while the Nittany Lions’ remaining road contests are against Northwestern, Ohio State, Maryland and Michigan State. After a bye week on Oct. 7, Penn State will host UMass prior to its Oct. 21 matchup with the Buckeyes.
Injury updates
Defensive end Demeioun “Chop” Robinson, who did not play in the Minnesota game, practiced Wednesday afternoon. Franklin said the Nittany Lions are “hopeful to have” Robinson on Saturday, but that it’s still early in the week.
“He's been an explosive playmaker for us on the defensive side of the ball,” Franklin said. “Obviously, against this unit, their ability to throw the ball, being able to get pressure on the quarterback and make him uncomfortable in the pocket, that would be valuable.”
During the portion of practice media members could watch last week, neither left guard Landon Tengwall nor running back Keyvone Lee were participants. Such was the case again on Wednesday.
Tengwall has not played since the Northwestern game on Oct. 1 and Lee did not see action against Minnesota after getting carries in the Nittany Lions’ first five games.
Andrew Destin: adestin@post-gazette.com and Twitter @AndrewDestin1.
First Published: October 26, 2022, 5:19 p.m.
