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One of those concepts has been dubbed the "Wild Dog" defensive set. The Wild Dog is very similar to what Penn State used in third-and-long situ- ations last season. It's a three-man de- fensive line, with Gross-Matos in the middle and Toney, Oweh and Isaac alter- nating at the two defensive end posi- tions. Meanwhile, at linebacker, the Lions have a number of possible combina- tions. There's a four-man combo in which Parsons and either redshirt fresh- man Charlie Katshir or true freshman Lance Dixon line up at OLB, while Cam Brown and either Ellis Brooks, Jesse Luketa or freshman Brandon Smith man the two ILB positions. There's also a three-man look featuring Parsons, Brown and either Brooks or Luketa at the third linebacker spot. And sometimes the Lions will use a "star" linebacker – who is really more of a strong safety – in what amounts to a 4-2-5 defensive look. The personnel at the star position in- clude Dixon, Reid, freshman cornerback Keaton Ellis and sophomore safety Jonathan Sutherland. I didn't expect Penn State to use its Wild Dog defensive set until the Pitt game, but Pry opted to deploy it against Idaho and Bu7alo in the 6rst two weeks of the season. In fact, the Lions 6rst used it on Idaho's second o7ensive series of the game. The result was a sack by Gross-Matos for a 9-yard loss. Penn State 6nished the game with seven sacks for 53 yards in losses. Every time the Lions used the Wild Dog, their front seven was able to put extreme pressure on the Vandals' starting quarterback, Mason Petrino. Against Bu7alo, Penn State only used the Wild Dog a few times in third-and- long situations, but the results were def- initely di7erent and totally surprising to me. Three times, Penn State set up in its Wild Dog set, all when Bu7alo was fac- ing third-and-10 or longer. On all three plays, the Bulls converted. Redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Myers com- pleted a 42-yard pass to receiver Antonio Nunn in the 6rst quarter, then followed that up in the second quarter with a 19- yard throw to running back Jaret Patter- son on third-and-18. In the third quarter, in a third-and-12 situation, Myers completed a 28-yard pass to wideout Carlton Todd. Those were surely not the type of results that Pry expected to see from his defense. When it was all said and done, Penn State to- taled only one sack against the Bulls. It was de6nitely a surprising result, and the Nittany Lions will have to improve before the Big Ten season starts up. That type of performance won't stop Pry from using an aggressive style of de- fense for the rest of the season. Penn State is going to continue to use its Wild Dog scheme, along with a number of di7erent blitz packages, because it takes advantage of the athletic ability, length and outstanding positional speed this defense possesses. Given the game experience Penn State's underclassman linebackers gained last season – namely Parsons, Brooks and Luketa – this defense could be the reason the Nittany Lions end up winning the kind of close games in which they fell short in previous years. This unit may well have the ability to el- evate the program to the elite plateau that Franklin has frequently cited as the team's ultimate goal. Pry told BWI a few months ago that he believes Penn State has "great rush abil- ity with our defense." "I think we're a group that will play hard and reckless. I think more than any group we've had here, they're going to give their body up," he said. "I think that they're very close, there's no doubt about that. They're very close. And I think overall as a group, they're maybe more driven than they've ever been." If Pry's defense plays to the potential that he sees in it, look out. Penn State may end up surprising a few college football pundits by the time this season is over. ■

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