Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1276571
KEY PERSONNEL DE: Adisa Isaac, Bryce Mostella, Jayson Oweh*, Shane Simmons, Nick Tarburton, Brandon Taylor, Shaka Toney*, Smith Vilbert; DT: Joseph Appiah Darkwa, Hakeem Bea- mon, Cole Brevard, Judge Culpepper, Dvon Ellies, Fred Hansard, Aeneas Hawkins, Coziah Izzard, Fatorma Mul- bah, P.J. Mustipher*, Evan Presta, Anto- nio Shelton*, Amin Vanover LOSSES DE: Yetur Gross-Matos*, Daniel Joseph; DT: Damion Barber, Robert Windsor* RISING STAR There are a number of players who could easily fit this de- scription, notably sophomore defensive ends Oweh and Isaac. Oweh isn't exactly an unknown commod- ity, having already played in 17 games. Isaac, too, has been hailed as a rising star from the moment he arrived on cam- pus. He played in 11 games last season, including a big night at Maryland in which he finished with 2.5 tackles for loss. One other young player who de- serves mention here is Vilbert. The 6- foot-6, 246-pound redshirt freshman played in only two games last year but made a big impression on his team- mates and coaches as a member of the scout team, sharing the squad's defen- sive MVP honor with Max Chizmar. Said James Franklin, "There's a lot of excitement in our program about Smith Vilbert." BIGGEST LOSS Gross-Matos was a dif- ference-maker for Penn State the past * Starting experience in 2019 SPOTLIGHT DEFENSIVE LINEMEN utor, however unlikely that might have seemed upon his enrollment more than four years ago. Rated a three-star linebacker prospect by Rivals.com, Toney was part of an Imhotep Charter team that won a PIAA Class AAA championship. But he was listed as a 6-foot-3, 200-pound defensive lineman when he signed in February 2016, and his long-term po- tential at the position was unclear. There were plenty of skeptics who doubted his ability to excel as a colle- giate defensive lineman. Toney, how- ever, was confident that he had what it would take to succeed, even in a confer- ence as rugged as the Big Ten. "When you're an undersized guy, you've always got the belief that you can do it," he said. "And just being able to see myself gradually do things that I al- ways imagined myself doing – playing well against the run, making sacks in big games, making plays, being a leader, all those types of things – those are things that I wanted to improve every year, and I think I've done that." Following a redshirt year, Toney demonstrated that he had potential as a defensive end. He was up to 222 pounds by the spring of 2017, and by the fall he was listed at 233. Finishing his debut season with 20 tackles, 6.5 TFL, four sacks and a pair of forced fumbles, Toney claimed a spot on BTN's All- Freshman Team. The following year, his goal was to be consistently effective on every down. He steadily improved from a technical per- spective, and by the 2019 season he had developed into a reliable starter. His 606 reps were the most of any Penn State defensive end last season, and according to Pro Football Focus, his season defen- sive grade of 81.2 was fourth on the team. The only players who graded out ahead of him were All-America line- backer Micah Parsons (91.6), fellow de- fensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (84.7) and safety Jaquan Brisker (81.9). By the time the season wrapped, the possibilities for his future left him feeling conflicted over the next steps to take. "It's very tempting, because you think, I know I can do it. It wasn't about when I would get drafted, it was, well, I know I can get there," Toney said. "You think about this since you're five years old when you start playing flag football. You think about being that dude in the NFL, changing your family's status, and things like that. That's hard to say no to." Valuing his innate ability to work through complex problems with per- spective, a trait frequently cited by teammates as being one of his best qual- ities, Toney ultimately decided that when it came to playing one more college season, the pros outweighed the cons. "The NFL is not going anywhere," he said. "Even with this corona stuff going on, if I get a degree and win a Big Ten championship and the national cham- pionship and do whatever I can to try to get my team to that point, I would feel a whole lot better than if I went to the NFL and ended up sitting a year or didn't get that much playing time. "I would never want to feel that re- gret. I felt like I didn't know if I was truly ready to let go of Penn State, and I think that's what allowed me to be able to make the comfortable decision with coming back." Confident in his talent, and maybe more important, the constantly im- proving nature of his career to this point, Toney has his eyes directed squarely on the opportunity in front of this group. With a team of brothers by his side, his influence easily seen throughout, he is eager to turn his vi- sion into a reality. "We're so close-knit," he said. "In our room, everybody is going to do what- ever they can for you, and they're going to make sure that you become the best player that you possibly can be. I think that's something that we all genuinely just enjoy about each other. We just try to make sure that you understand that we're going to run through a wall for you so you can run through a wall for us, and our talent is just going to show for ourselves this year." ■ VILBERT >>