It’s fair to say Penn State football’s secondary has been the team’s most consistent unit of the season. Cornerbacks coach Terry Smith’s room has produced play after play from top to bottom, whether it’s Audavion Collins, Daryus Dixson, or true freshman standout Josiah Zayas.

The Nittany Lions are currently ranked No. 5 in passing yards allowed in the FBS, only letting opposing offenses toss 5.56 yards per play and 141.3 yards per game.

But the secondary is not complete with just the corners. Safeties coach Deon Broomfield’s safety unit has seen some massive changes over the last few weeks.

The most notable move has been the near-total exclusion of standout Iowa State safety transfer Marcus Neal Jr., who didn’t play at all against USC and got only 11 snaps against Michigan.

“Marcus’ situation in both games is a little bit unique. USC is a unique football game in terms of the skill. We wanted to try and do a great job matching skill with skill, and I thought we did that,” Matt Campbell said Tuesday. “I don’t know if we always executed to our precision and detail, but I thought we gave ourselves the best chance.”

Campbell said after the USC game coverage was at a “premium.” As the game sped up and USC forced Penn State to play in space on the back end, Campbell and the coaching staff chose to emphasize coverage more than tackling at safety.

But still, absolutely no snaps in the biggest game of the season for one of your top transfers? The move was completely out of left field, especially after he played 39 and 35 downs against Wisconsin and Northwestern, respectively.

Safety Jeremiah Cooper also faced a sharp decline in action in the Big House after playing 43 snaps in Week 6. Cooper saw seven plays on Saturday.

Campbell attributed Cooper’s lack of run to physical struggles throughout the week leading up to Michigan. Cooper tore his ACL at Iowa State a season ago, and his workload through the first three weeks of Big Ten play seems to have put a lot of stress on the redshirt senior.

Meanwhile, the one player whose in-game reps have increased is Jamison Patton. He got his most Big Ten snaps against Michigan, where he recorded five total tackles.

“Last week I thought Jamison Patton played the best game of his career, played a great football game,” Campbell said.

While Patton, Cooper, and Neal all followed Campbell from Iowa State, Campbell admitted the moving parts from different backgrounds have made it hard for the defense to fully flow.

Neal’s 11 snaps over the last two weeks could be a sign of that, especially given how highly regarded he was heading into the season.

And that’s not necessarily a Campbell issue. It bled in from James Franklin’s time, too.

“This is the fifth defensive coordinator in five years here. I think you blended a lot of different players and trying to uncover what those players can do and try and put those players in a great situation for them to use their talents the best way possible. And we knew that would take a little bit of time to get ourselves there,” Campbell said.

It’s important to remember D’Anton Lynn wasn’t necessarily the first choice in mind for Penn State’s defensive coordinator job. Many expected former Iowa State defensive coordinator Jon Heacock to take on the role in Happy Valley, but he retired before the first big rush of transfers arrived.

Keep in mind, players weren’t misled. Neal, Cooper, and Patton all committed to transfer to Penn State after Lynn was hired. But Lynn is also one of the few coaches on the staff with little connection to any players before this season. He coached at USC for his two previous years.

Whatever the disconnect is, Neal specifically has been one of Penn State’s biggest mysteries. Campbell’s implication that his star safety isn’t very good in coverage is concerning.

Campbell noted in the week following the USC game that Neal could sneak his way into a linebacker role, and he does certainly have the build for it at 6-foot-1, 216 pounds. His style of play also matches the linebacker position more. His nickname is Shark because of how much he hit everything when he got to Iowa State as a freshman.

“He [Neal] just has a knack for it, too. He’s just a physical dude,” Caleb Bacon said after practice on October 14. “He wants to run down and hit somebody. Doesn’t care about his body or anything else. He just wants to make plays and make tackles.”

Bacon said Neal joined the linebacker group in specific drills, but nothing too substantial. Bacon himself changed positions from linebacker to defensive end before the season opener against Marshall.

No matter what’s in store for Neal after a questionable run of games, Campbell and Bacon still have belief in Shark.

“I don’t think he cares about anything besides for football and his next opportunity,” Bacon said. “I think he takes it [his benching] as a coaching moment and can go from there. He’s been the same positive guy … Wherever he can help us the most, I think he’s leaning in that role.”