After an offseason full of high-profile departures from the program, the Nittany Lions’ secondary will gladly welcome back John Reid, a big contributor from previous seasons on defense.

A prolonged injury lay-off caused him to miss all of last season, but now the cornerback is primed to make his return to the field next week against Appalachian State. Reid suffered a torn ACL during spring practice back in 2017, and while it was frustrating for him to spend a year on the sidelines, Reid still found ways to improve.

“I think that one of the biggest things I was able to do was remove some of the bad habits in my technique,” Reid said. “I had a whole year and some change to fix those things — that’s really big.”

Reid was a key piece of the Penn State secondary during his first two seasons with the program, and during his sophomore year he served as the primary punt returner. Now, well over a year since the injury occurred, Reid isn’t holding back in practice.

“I have been full go as soon as camp started,” Reid said. “I’m getting the same amount of reps. I’m playing outside, I’m playing star, I’m doing some punt returning. I have been back to my regular schedule for a while now so I’m pretty used to it.”

Coach James Franklin also believes that the adversity Reid faced while recovering from his injury helped him grow both as a person and a player. “I do think that sometimes when you go through injuries like that it helps put things into perspective,” Franklin said. “John has been one of the most respected guys in our program, really since his freshman year, and he just continues to build on that.”

Now entering his fourth season with the program, Reid finds himself one of the veterans on the defensive side of the ball for the Nittany Lions. Despite that, Reid insists he feels no added pressure heading into this season.

“I don’t really feel that type of pressure. For me I always want to go out there and perform, and play really well, and do whatever I can to help our team, and make plays,” Reid said. “I know a lot of people are saying we’re replacing a lot of guys, but we have a lot of guys coming in who can play some football that I believe in a lot, so I feel pretty good about our team.”

With key contributors on both sides of the ball from last season leaving due to graduation or for the NFL, Franklin will be looking for fresh faces across his roster to step up and fill the voids left behind by their predecessors. Luckily for Franklin, he’ll be able to lean on the experienced Reid to help guide the way for some of the younger players this season.