Jeannette grad Toby Cline in line to play big role for Edinboro football, which looks for a turnaround season

Though he graduated from Apollo-Ridge, Jake Nulph has an appreciation for the type of football played at Jeannette.

The program’s tradition of producing athletic players who also are hard-nosed isn’t lost on the fifth-year Edinboro coach. So it’s easy to understand why Nulph is enamored with senior safety Toby Cline.

After being mostly a role player in his first two seasons, Cline got his first chance to start every game for the Fighting Scots in 2023. He responded by earning second-team All-PSAC West honors after producing a pair of interceptions, 46 total tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and three passes defensed.

Nulph started to see the flashes in Cline’s sophomore season. Against Slippery Rock, Cline returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown that tied the score 21-21 late in the third quarter.

“He baited the quarterback into throwing something that he thought was there, and Toby took it away,” Nulph said. “And he really started to grow from that point on. (This season) should be a very good campaign for Toby.”

Rather than return to Jeannette over the summer, Cline stayed on campus to train. He hopes to help the Fighting Scots rebound from a mostly forgettable 2023.

Hit hard by injuries, Edinboro won just one game against PSAC West competition — a 40-24 victory over rival Mercyhurst in which Cline recorded both of his interceptions — and finished 3-8 overall. The pain was soothed slightly by a season-ending victory over Lock Haven, which was vying for a winning season for the first time in four decades.

Cline had five tackles in that victory.

He spent the summer grinding through team-issued workouts and doing the obligatory weightlifting and running. But Cline also exercised his mind, watching YouTube videos of NFL players to study their footwork and other techniques.

“I try to take bits and parts off of each individual I watch,” Cline said. “You’ve got Tyrann Mathieu, you’ve got (Minkah) Fitzpatrick, you’ve got (Troy) Polamalu. … I just try to watch as many great safeties as I can and see how they were able to see the game and how they played the game mentally and physically.”

Physical play is a hallmark of Jeannette alumni, and Nulph praised Cline’s toughness. His game between the lines, however, Nulph said, starts between his ears.

“He’s an extremely smart player,” the coach said. “You tell Toby something once, and that’s it. He doesn’t make the same mistake twice. He’s a very consistent guy, and that’s a huge compliment because you know what you get from him every day.”

The combination of brains and brawn make Cline a versatile defender. He is strong enough to make plays in the box and skilled enough to cover “from number to number,” Nulph said, and make tackles in space.

Cline offered a preview of what his 2024 season might look like in a spring scrimmage against Fairmont State. (This was the first year Division II schools were permitted by the NCAA to play outside competition in the spring.) Cline broke up two passes and made a number of tackles in the run game against a team that went 8-3 last season.

As many passes as Cline is able to get his hands on, he wants to see more of those turn into takeaways.

“That’s the goal. I want at least seven interceptions myself,” he said. “I want to make an impact not only for myself but for my team.

“I felt like I could have done better than I did (last season), but that’s just how I push myself and challenge myself. But overall I thought that I did a good job with it being my first year as a starter. ... But there’s a lot more to improve.”

Beyond being more productive on the stat sheet, Cline is intent on being more of a leader. Now comfortable with a year as a full-time starter under his belt, Cline wants to be someone the other players look to for guidance and inspiration.

It’s a role he embraced while helping Jeannette build on its winning tradition, and he wants to take that onto the field for the Fighting Scots this fall.

“Coming from Jeannette, it’s a football city. The whole community thrives through that football program,” Cline said.

“Being able to come from that and the success that we had, I just try to carry that pride and that winning program mentality as much as I can and get the other guys to feed off of me.”

Cline said he was happy with the team’s showing during the scrimmage with Fairmont State. He already could see how eager his teammates were to make amends for last season.

Edinboro ranked next-to-last in the 16-team PSAC in scoring defense and total defense in 2023. The offense had its share of struggles, too, finishing 12th in scoring and 11th in total offense.

The Fighting Scots hired new offensive coordinator E.J. White, and they are hoping for better luck with health after, at one point last season, missing 12 starters across both sides of the ball. Cline is confident the PSAC will see a far different Edinboro team this season.

“My freshman year, we were 5-6, and we’ve added a loss every year since,” he said. “That’s not us. We have guys who were young that 2021 year, and now they’re stepping into larger roles, like me as an example. We’ve got new guys coming in who can really help us get to that next step and win more games.

“I just want to go out there and be the best I can, and if I get hurt doing it, I get hurt doing it. I’m not going to let that stop me.”