STATE COLLEGE — Adam Breneman arrived on campus in January, and after a winter full of workouts Bill O'Brien expects the tight end to be a full participant when the Nittany Lions open spring practice on Monday.
Adam Breneman runs an agility drill during a pre-dawn Penn State football conditioning session on the fields outside of the Lasch Football Building. Players started the drills around 5:15 a.m.
“As of right now it sounds like he’s good to go,” O’Brien said at a National Football Foundation news conference Sunday afternoon. “We’re looking forward to him.”
Breneman tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in June, missed his senior season at Cedar Cliff High School and wore a brace during this winter’s early morning conditioning workouts. Breneman’s agility during the February workout, which was open to the media, looked fine.
Barring any setbacks, the highly-touted recruit can begin developing chemistry with quarterbacks Steven Bench and Tyler Ferguson this spring. Both Bench and Ferguson will split reps this spring with O'Brien naming a starter this summer.
While the Nittany Lions appear to be loaded at tight end, last year's top target, Kyle Carter, will not be ready for contact this spring. The Lions have to be cautious with Carter, who injured his right wrist at Nebraska in November. The rising redshirt sophomore missed the final two games of the season and wore a protective wrist guard while rehabilitating and performing some modified lifts this offseason.
“Kyle will not be allowed to have contact this spring but he will be at practice,” O’Brien said. “He won’t be allowed to have any contact because he’s still got the wrist issue, but he’ll be out there.”
The quarterbacks will also have Jesse James, Matt Lehman and Brent Wilkerson to toss to in the tight end position. O'Brien was cautious not to single out any young players to keep an eye on this spring, but he did drop Wilkerson's name when speaking about the position group.
The 6-foot-3, 239-pound redshirt freshman might be worth keeping an eye on this spring.
“Nobody talks about Brent Wilkerson,” O’Brien said. “This guy is a very talented young guy. He did an excellent job on the dirty show last year and I’m looking forward to watching what he does in the spring. ... We feel good about that position.”