Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1138762
P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> KEY PERSONNEL DE: Adisa Isaac, Daniel Joseph, Shane Simmons, Shaka Toney, Yetur Gross-Matos*, Jayson Oweh, Nick Tarburton, Smith Vilbert; DT: Damion Barber, Hakeem Beamon, Judge Culpepper, Joseph Darkwa, D'Von Ellies, Aeneas Hawkins, Ellison Jordan, P.J. Mustipher, Antonio Shelton*, Fred Hansard*, Robert Windsor* LOSSES DE: Torrence Brown, Ryan Buchholz, Brailyn Franklin, Shareef Miller*; DT: Kevin Givens* RISING STAR He's got some veteran players ahead of him in Toney and Sim- mons (if healthy), but Oweh has report- edly been very impressive behind the scenes. Despite seeing limited action last year in order to preserve his freshman eligibility, the 6-foot-5, 250-pounder from Howell, N.J., had a pair of sacks, both against Kent State. A late-bloom- ing high school prospect – he only played two varsity seasons at Blair Academy – Oweh appears to be catching up fast. By all accounts, his performance against the Golden Flashes, in which he had a QB hurry to go along with his sacks, is only a taste of what's to come. BIGGEST LOSS Miller started 25 games in his last two seasons at Penn State, =n- ishing his career with 14.5 sacks and 31.5 tackles for loss before entering the NFL Dra@ a year early and eventually hearing his name called in the fourth round by the Philadelphia Eagles. NUMBERS GAME Penn State led the na- tion with an average of 3.62 sacks per game last season and was fourth in tack- les for loss at 8.2 per game. The only teams that averaged more negative- yardage tackles than the Nittany Lions were Miami (Fla.) with 10.5 per game, Clemson (9.1) and East Carolina (8.8). * Starting experience in 2018 SPOTLIGHT DEFENSIVE LINEMEN first-rounder, as do DraftSite.com and TheDraftNetwork.com. Among the people who ought to be watching Gross-Matos closely this year are his teammates, defensive line coach Sean Spencer said recently. "He's such a go-hard guy on the field that he leads by example," Spencer ex- plained. "When I turn on the film and I want to tell Jayson Oweh, this is how you practice, and Yetur is running side- line to sideline and not taking a play off, that's being a leader in itself. It's not just that he makes plays, it's his approach. His approach is full-speed, go all the time. What you guys see on the game field and what that guy does in practice are the exact same thing." ■ E ven before lining up for his first pre- season practice rep, then-freshman defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher was generating buzz among his teammates and coaches. Described by head coach James Franklin as "further ahead" than the staff had ex- pected he would be when he enrolled last May, Mustipher dis- played a potent com- bination of size and strength. Penn State lacked depth and experience at defensive tackle, so his progress was a very wel- come development. "He's unusual, I don't think there's any doubt about it," Franklin said last year. "He's a high-energy, high-motor guy, which usually doesn't happen with guys who are 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds. I think that helps him. I think if you have a motor on the defensive line, that can solve a lot of issues for you, and he goes hard." As a true freshman, Mustipher ap- peared in 11 games, finishing the season with 14 tackles, five quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. He said the biggest challenge was "football IQ – under- standing the blocks, what you're going to get from down to down, just being able to see what's going to come to you, because that makes you play faster. Being able to do that just gets you a step ahead of the competition." Now that he's a sophomore, Mustipher understands that he will be expected to continue his development. He buckled down on the practice field this past spring, eager to take full ad- vantage of his improved understanding of college offenses. "Going into spring ball, that was one of the areas that I focused on… to showcase to the coaches that I know what I'm seeing out there," Mustipher said. "You're coming in young and you're just playing like you do in high school, but the further you go in foot- ball, you've got to know what you're doing out there and what you're see- ing. So that's the biggest thing I worked on." Mustipher's role this coming season has yet to be determined. Windsor re- turns for a fifth and final season of eli- gibility, while Antonio Shelton appears poised to fill the starting role that Givens vacated when he opted to forgo his senior year in order to pursue an NFL career. But the defensive line requires fre- quent substitutions in order to keep players fresh, so Mustipher is likely to see substantial action this fall no matter where his name appears on the depth chart. As long as he's helping the de- fense reach its potential, he's happy. "I just want to be the best unit in the country, and I think we can achieve that with the hard work we put in over the summer and the passion we play with," Mustipher said. "I think we have the op- portunity to be the best unit in the coun- try, and if we put it on the field come summer ball, then going into the fall, I think it's attainable." –NATE BAUER Mustipher ready to take next step at DT MUSTIPHER