Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503568
A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 6 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / D E F E N S I V E L I N E M E N / / / / / / / 2022 vs. 2023: Stock Up Or Down? The Nittany Lions have lost two starters up front, including team captain PJ Mustipher. However, even with the turnover in personnel, this unit looks to be trending up. If anything, the defensive end spots are even deeper than they were at this time a year ago. Junior Chop Robinson has proven himself to be a formidable pass rusher, Dani Dennis-Sutton is poised for what could be a breakout sophomore season, and redshirt senior Smith Vilbert is back in action after missing the 2022 campaign for undisclosed off-the-field reasons. At defensive tackle, the Lions are looking a a bit thinner than they might like in every sense of the word. But they do have two players with sub- stantial starting experience in redshirt senior Hakeem Beamon and junior Coziah Izzard, with the latter filling in after Mustipher suffered a season- ending knee injury in 2021. What's more, coach James Franklin recently hailed redshirt senior Dvon Ellies as a player on the rise, noting that the 6-foot-1, 302-pounder has been working out "at a level that he's never worked at before." Add it all up, and this is probably a stock you would want in your portfo- lio. It's not without some risk, but there's a chance of a big payoff. X-Factor How will Penn State's defensive tackle corps hold up over the course of a physically demanding Big Ten campaign? That topic has been discussed ad nauseum throughout the offseason, including a tongue-in-cheek complaint from Franklin that famously svelte Los Angeles Rams All-Pro Aaron Donald was ruining college football by influencing would-be NFL defensive tackles to shed weight. Franklin tried to change the narrative during a media session in mid- June, noting that Beamon is "bigger than he's been in a long time." The returning starter was listed at 284 pounds in late June, up from 256 in the spring, so that's encouraging. But until Penn State shows it can bottle up some of the Big Ten's better rushing attacks, this area is going to be the source of some angst. Freshman Outlook When it comes to the defensive line, Penn State's 2023 recruiting class doesn't really sync up with the team's immediate needs. The Nittany Lions could use some help in the middle, but they landed only one defensive tackle — three-star prospect Ty Blanding — in the most recent cycle. If they're going to get some help from a freshman, it's likely going to be from Kaleb Artis, a 6-4, 320-pounder who was a three-star member of the team's 2022 class. Artis redshirted last fall after seeing action in two games. At defensive end, Penn State welcomed three prospects in its most recent class, signing Jameial Lyons, Joseph Mupoyi and Mason Robinson. However, the Lions are at least two-deep at both of those spots, meaning that the freshman are likely to redshirt. — Matt Herb Scholarship Players (18) No. Player Cl. Ht. Wt. DEFENSIVE END 20 Adisa Isaac R-Sr. 6-4 254 92 Smith Vilbert R-Sr. 6-6 275 36 Zuriah Fisher R-Jr. 6-3 253 44 Chop Robinson Jr. 6-3 250 15 Amin Vanover Jr. 6-4 266 33 Dani Dennis-Sutton So. 6-5 258 19 Jameial Lyons Fr. 6-5 242 56 Joseph Mupoyi Fr. 6-5 253 42 Mason Robinson Fr. 6-3 232 DEFENSIVE TACKLE 51 Hakeem Beamon R-Sr. 6-3 284 91 Dvon Ellies R-Sr. 6-1 302 50 Alonzo Ford Jr. Jr. 6-2 287 99 Coziah Izzard Jr. 6-3 294 18 Davon Townley Jr. R-So. 6-6 267 52 Jordan van den Berg R-So. 6-3 301 28 Zane Durant So. 6-1 280 58 Kaleb Artis R-Fr. 6-4 320 39 Ty Blanding Fr. 6-1 276 Quick Facts Position coach: Deion Barnes (1st season) Returning starters: DE Adisa Isaac (13 career starts), DT Hakeem Beamon (12) Departing starters: DE Nick Tarburton (21), DT PJ Mustipher (29) Projected new starters: DE Chop Robinson, DT Coziah Izzard Top reserves: DE Dani Dennis-Sutton, DE Zuriah Fisher, DE Amin Vanover, DE Smith Vilbert, DT Kaleb Artis, DT Zane Durant, DT Alonzo Ford Jr., DT Dvon Ellies, DT Jordan van den Berg Newcomers: DE Jameial Lyons, DE Joseph Mupoyi, DE Mason Robin- son, DT Ty Blanding Moved in: None Moved out: None Defensive tackle Coziah Izzard was a rotational player last year, but he started seven games during his freshman season after PJ Mustipher went down with a season- ending knee injury. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL