Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1254482
P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> enn State's new defensive line coach, John Scott Jr., didn't need much time to get to know P.J. Mustipher. Good thing. Hired in early February to succeed Sean Spencer, Scott spent just four weeks meeting with the Nittany Lions' defen- sive linemen before the COVID-19 pan- demic forced the cancelation of spring practice and all other in-person football actvities. Still, in that short amount of time, Penn State's rising junior defensive tackle made a strong impression on the new assistant coach. "I think P.J.'s personality is kind of in- fectious," Scott said. "He wants to learn. He wants to do things the way you want him to do them. He's a great teammate. He brings a lot of energy to the workout. He's a positive young man. He's a guy you just want to be around all the time. He's a great young man." Ask anyone in the Lasch Building about Mustipher and the sentiment will sound the same. Gregarious by nature, he's able to pull off a tricky bal- ancing act, putting people at ease with his sense of humor while also projecting an earnestness and passion for the game of football. And at 6-foot-4, 305 pounds, that football intensity is unmis- takable in its power, as Penn State's op- ponents during the 2019 season can attest. Among Pro Football Focus's highest- graded returning defensive tackles in the Big Ten ahead of the 2020 season, Mustipher had a mark of 74.6 last year, just shy of Indiana's Jerome Johnson (76.5) and Ohio State's Haskell Garrett (80.5). The league's third-best returning defen- sive tackle, as graded by PFF, Mustipher also was named to the service's honorable mention All-Big Ten team after finishing the 2019 season with 37 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. The performance left Mustipher with mixed emotions, though. "I'm not going to say it's the season I wanted because, looking back, I'm never where I want to be. I want to continue to get better and become the great player that I know I'm capable of being," Mustipher said. "But I thought it was a good season. I did a lot of great things, but I still have a lot of things to work on. "I want to keep continuing to get better. And this sea- son, I'm definitely out to show that I'm a much better player than I was my sopho- more year." HIGH INTENSITY Junior defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher knows how and when to turn up the pressure. A projected starter in 2020, he'll be looking to wreak havoc on opponents this coming season | P RUSH HOUR Mustipher chases down Michigan's Shea Patterson during a game last season at Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lion defensive tackle finished with 37 stops as a sopho- more, including 4.5 tackles for loss. Photo by Steve Manuel