Blue White Illustrated

A T T H E 2 0 2 0 N I T T A N Y L I O N S The biggest knock on Penn State's offen- sive line in recent years has been that it hasn't always matched up well against the East Division powers that it needs to beat in order to vie for the Big Ten champi- onship. The Lions rushed for 99 yards while surrendering five sacks in a 28-17 loss to the Buckeyes this past November. Earlier in the year, they rushed for 101 yards vs. Michigan and 113 vs. Michigan State. Still, they won two of those three games, defeat- ing the Wolverines and Spartans. What's more, they showed in other games that the unit's overall trajectory has been upward. The Lions were able to close out victories over Iowa and Michi- gan by generating first downs on the ground, and they put together long, run- oriented touchdown drives in the second halves of games against Pitt and Indiana. The fourth-quarter drive against the Hoosiers was especially noteworthy. It numbered 18 plays, 16 of which were runs, covered 75 yards and took nine min- utes off the clock, essentially deciding the outcome. It was the Lions' most time- consuming drive since a 9 minute, 49 second drive against Kent State in 2010. When you can run the ball in those mo- ments when everyone in the stadium knows that you want to run, you're doing something right. The challenge facing new position coach Phil Trautwein will be to get the Lions do that against the best teams in the conference. QUOTABLE Franklin on Menet: "He re- ally can play multiple positions for us. He's really worked himself into a leader on our team. Obviously, when you talk about experience, game experience, we think he's got a very, very bright future not only in the remainder of his Penn State career but also at the next level as an in-state young man who decided to stay home and put Penn State on his back. He's been fantastic, so we couldn't be more proud of him and what he's accom- plished so far." DEFENSIVE LINE KEY RETURNEES DE: Adisa Isaac, Daniel Joseph, Jayson Oweh, Shane Sim- mons, Nick Tarburton, Smith Vilbert; DT: Jospeh Appiah Darkwa, Damion Barber, Hakeem Beamon, Judge Culpep- per, Dvon Ellies, Fred Hansard, Aeneas Hawkins, P.J. Mustipher, Antonio Shel- ton KEY LOSSES DE: Yetur Gross-Matos; DT: Robert Windsor NEWCOMERS DE: Bryce Mostella, Brandon Taylor; DT: Cole Brevard, Co- ziah Izzard, Fatorma Mulbah, Amin Vanover OUTLOOK The Nittany Lions must re- place at least two starters from one of the toughest defensive fronts in the country vs. the run. Penn State allowed only 95.0 rushing yards per game this past season, fewest in the Big Ten and fifth-fewest in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Windsor and Gross-Matos both played key roles in that effort, combining to account for 20 of Penn State's 101 tackles for loss. Windsor was one of the team's unsung heroes, and he'll likely get a shot at an NFL career after starting 25 games in his final two seasons at Penn State. But the Lions have a very solid player set to take over, as Mustipher is in line to become a full-time starter. At 6-4, 311 pounds, the rising junior figures to team up with re- turning starter Shelton in the middle, giving Penn State two defensive tackles who will be very hard to move. Of course, it takes a lot more than two players to have an effective defensive tackle corps. Position coach Sean Spencer would prefer a five- or six-man rotation, and it appears he'll have that next fall, with Hansard, Culpepper, Hawkins and Barber all returning and Appiah Darkwa, Ellies and Beamon coming off redshirt years. The defensive tackle spots were also a recruiting priority this past year, but un- less the Lions experience a few injuries at the position, it's probable that all four of their incoming DT signees will redshirt. At defensive end, Penn State will miss Gross-Matos, a two-time first-team All- Big Ten performer who has left early to enter the NFL Draft. His departure opens the door for Simmons and Oweh. Sim- mons will be a senior next fall. He's been slowed by injuries throughout his career, but he played in all 13 games this past sea- son as Gross-Matos's backup. Oweh was listed behind Toney throughout the sea- son and is poised to play a major role going forward. Shaka Toney's status was uncertain as of BWI's deadline, which is why he's not listed above as a key returnee or a key loss. Often cited as a team leader, he had 11.5 sacks the past two seasons and was mulling whether to leave early for the NFL Draft. One of the players behind him – Adisa Isaac – is by all accounts a rising star. Isaac saw action in 11 games as a true freshman, finishing with three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He has been hailed by teammates as a player to watch in the coming years. As a team, Penn State finished with 45

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