Bet you didn't know :: Lydell Sargeant was the THIRD leading tackler in 2007

Crazy, right? Someone had mentioned it a few days ago, and I honestly didn't believe it. I mean, come on, the guy got benched after getting torched by Ohio State. Yet, Sargeant made more tackles (70) than Anthony Scirrotto (65), Maurice Evans (54) and Tyrell Sales (50). He also picked off two passes--exactly the same number as Justin King. Arguably, Sargeant's picks were actually more important, especially the one against Wisconsin.


You have to give me a break, as there's NOTHING to talk about right now. And we all know that when there's nothing in the news, just bring up some stats and talk about how they're actually meaningful. (or, how you'd like them to seem meaningful)

If you want to take this one step further--and let it get a little more weird--with Connor and Lee not being on the field in 2008, Sargeant is actually our leading returning tackler. It's never good when you're leading tackler is in the defensive backfield, but I think in this case it's not so bad for Penn State. One of the biggest complaints we had about this defense in 2007, was it's ability to miss tackles at the worst possible time. Sargeant may have gotten embarrassed by the Buckeye receivers, but is that really so impossible to imagine?

Sargeant was benched after that game. But I had a bigger problem through the season with Justin King's performance, and lack of, in the big games. He was the one who just bounced off Illinois' Arrelious Benn--granted, with three or four other PSU defenders--giving up a touchdown in the process. That kind of stuff is embarrassing to Penn State, because if Tom Bradley can get the defense to do anything well, it's tackling the freaking ball carrier. I'm sure he's kicked some ass this spring.