Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1505736
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 3 41 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 1. JT Tuimoloau | DE | Ohio State If you're a Penn State fan, Tuimoloau will need no introduction. He single- handedly wrecked the Nittany Lions last year, totaling 2 sacks, 2 interceptions (one of which he returned for a touchdown) and a fumble recovery in the Buckeyes' 44-31 win at Beaver Stadium. With a few more afternoons like that, the 6-foot-4, 270-pound junior will play his way into the first dozen picks in the NFL Draft next April. 2. Jer'Zhan Newton | DT | Illinois There were only three defensive players among the conference's 10 pre- season honorees, and Newton was one of them. (Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean and Minnesota safety Tyler Nubin were the others.) The 6-foot-2, 295-pound junior ranked second in the league last year with 14 tackles for loss and 10th with 5.5 sacks, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and media. 3. Tommy Eichenberg | LB | Ohio State Even if you only counted his league-high 72 solo tackles, Eichenberg would still have been the Big Ten's 20th-leading tackler as a senior last year. With his 40 assists thrown in, he ranked third in the conference with 112 total stops. A first-team All-Big Ten choice by both the coaches and media, Eichenberg is a disruptive force on both sides of the line of scrimmage, as evidenced by his 12 tackles for loss, the league's fourth-best total last year. 4. Kalen King | CB | Penn State Playing opposite All-American Joey Porter Jr., King was a very busy man throughout his sophomore season. He rose to the challenge, ranking third in the FBS in passes defended with 21 (18 breakups, 3 interceptions). This past spring, Porter fell just short of becoming the first PSU defensive back to be selected in the opening round of the NFL Draft, going instead to Pittsburgh with the first pick in the second round. King appears all but certain to end that first-round drought next April. 5. Chop Robinson | DE | Penn State Robinson is being hailed as a potential first-round draft choice after finishing second on the team in sacks (5.5) and third in tackles for loss (10) in his first season at PSU. The Maryland transfer should eclipse those numbers as a junior now that he's packed on an additional 8 pounds and is set to start after backing up Nick Tarburton last year. 6. Junior Colson | LB | Michigan Colson was the Big Ten's fourth-leading tackler last season with 101 stops. He was a second-team All-Big Ten choice by the coaches and a third-teamer according to the media panel, and he backed up those accolades by making a career-high 15 tackles against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship Game. 7. Cooper DeJean | CB | Iowa With their offense struggling badly, the Hawkeyes needed as many defensive touchdowns as they could get last season. DeJean was happy to oblige. He ranked second in the Big Ten with 5 interceptions and returned 3 for touchdowns. The last of those scores sparked a 21-0 victory over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl, after which DeJean was named the game's MVP. 8. Will Johnson | CB | Michigan Johnson came on strong at the end of the 2022 season, setting the stage for a big sophomore year. A five-game starter as a true freshman, the former On3 five-star prospect posted a season-best 8 tackles at Ohio State and had 2 inter- ceptions in the Big Ten title game against Purdue. 9. Tyler Nubin | S | Minnesota Nubin had a hand in 4 turnovers for the Gophers last season, totaling 3 in- terceptions and a forced fumble. He received second-team All-Big Ten honors and will anchor Minnesota's secondary as a fifth-year senior this fall. 10. Denzel Burke | CB | Ohio State Burke is being hailed as a top-20 draft pick next year, maybe a top-10 selec- tion. After his first two seasons in Columbus, that doesn't seem so outlandish. In 2021, he became the first Ohio State true freshman to start a season opener on defense since linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer in 1996. In the 24 games he's started the past two years, Burke has amassed 71 tack- les, 18 pass breakups and an interception that he returned for a touchdown against Rutgers. Top Defensive Players Even as a backup last year, Chop Robinson ranked among Penn State's leaders in sacks (5.5) and tackles for loss (10). PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE