Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1276571
TEAM PLAYER D E F E N S I V E L I N E M E N Motivated by a fierce devotion to his teammates and his cause, All-Big Ten defensive end Shaka Toney is back for one final collegiate season P .J. Mustipher didn't know what Shaka Toney was going to say. He just knew, given the source, that it prob- ably wouldn't be what he wanted to hear. A second-year defensive tackle with the Nittany Lions, the 308-pound Mustipher was in the Lasch Building weight room getting ready to do a set of pull-ups. For the bigger players in the program, the workout routine is performed using a resistance band to help the process along. Given the training aid by a Penn State strength coach, Mustipher was in- terrupted by Toney, the Lions' veteran defen- sive end and vocal team leader. "No, you don't need that band," Toney said. Protesting that he had never done a tradi- tional pull-up, Mustipher wasn't able to change Toney's mind. "I'm not gonna allow you to do the pull-ups with a band right now," Toney said, removing the band from the weight rack. Uncertain of his strength, Mustipher knocked out a set of eight pull-ups, without any help, for the first time in his life. Said Mustipher, "He cares so much about who you are and wants to develop you. He does have tough love. He's not always going to tell you what you want to hear. He's going to tell you what you need to hear to improve." No one in Penn State's locker room is more keenly aware of that reputation than Toney himself. The fifth-year senior has returned to Penn State following a junior season in which he totaled 41 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and a forced fumble, winning second-team All-Big Ten honors from the conference coaches. In doing so, he spurned an opportunity to pursue his longtime dream of playing the NFL, waiting more than three weeks after the Nittany Lions' Cotton Bowl win to announce his decision. That choice proved complex. Understanding his role as a "big brother" to the 18 other de- fensive linemen in the room, Toney described his attachment to the group as one he couldn't sever. It was one of the primary factors in his decision to return. The other factors were his desire to finish work toward a degree in reha- bilitation and human services, and the cham- pionship aspirations he maintained heading into his last season of college football. "I just thought in my mind, I have one more year left in me, and you think about the money and all that stuff, but it boiled down to relationships for me. I truly, sincerely love each and every one of those guys in my room," Toney said. "And we have our Big Ten championship poster right as you enter the players' locker room. I see myself on there every day, walking past that every day. I want that for myself. I want that for these guys, for them to know that feeling. I felt like I should be one of the people who should help this team get back to our promise as best I can." For this Penn State team to reach its full po- tential, Toney is expected to be a big contrib- |