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Jaquan Brisker has already received plenty of preseason attention. The Penn State safety is considered one of the best players at his position heading into the 2021 season.
One statistic from Pro Football Focus shows just how good Brisker was during the 2020 season for the Nittany Lions.
Last year, Brisker had a missed tackle rate of just 1.7%. That was the best percentage among any safeties in college football for the year. He’s about as good of a tackler as there is in the secondary.
Brisker started in all nine games for Penn State a year ago and was the team’s third-leading tackler with 57 stops to his name. He also led the Nittany Lions with 6 pass break-ups and had 1 interception.
Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker had a lower missed tackle % than any safety in the country (1.7%)
#3 ranked safety on the PFF College 50: https://t.co/RrKHL7U9gv pic.twitter.com/VP5eY4fKkw
— PFF College (@PFF_College) July 8, 2021
Brisker played in all 13 of Penn State’s games during the 2019 season but the 2020 campaign was his first time as a starter. In his first year with the program in 2019, the safety tallied 34 tackles, 3 pass break-ups and 2 interceptions.
Penn State struggled during the 2020 season, finishing with a 4-5 record. With the talent returning for the Nittany Lions, there’s a lot of optimism that James Franklin’s team will re-establish itself as one of the top contenders to Ohio State in the B1G.
There’s no question Brisker is a big reason for that hope.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB