Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1505736
2 2 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M His teammates want to see it, too. Junior offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu spent the spring and sum- mer battling Isaac in practice, and both players came away feeling as though they improved because of the work they put in together. Fashanu figures that if he can block Isaac, he can handle any defensive end in the Big Ten. Isaac, in turn, said that if he can beat Fashanu, a projected high-first-round draft pick in 2024, he can beat any opponent he faces. It's a confidence-building exer- cise that both hope will pay off come the fall. "With Adisa, and with the entire D-line, it's just steady improvement," Fashanu said. "It's just consistent de- velopment. He's an extremely hard worker, very detail oriented. He cares about his craft a lot. I'm just thankful I get the opportunity to go against him during practice, because there are not a lot of tackles in the country that can block him one-on-one. "For me to get the opportunity to go against him, for him to make me better, and for me to do the same, I think that will pay dividends for us." 'A Scary Sight' Isaac, who stands 6-foot-4, 254 pounds, is not the only Penn State de- fensive lineman who has been putting in overtime this offseason. In fact, it would be fair to say that he's been overshad- owed by the player who is set to start on the opposite side of the Nittany Lions' defensive line. Isaac had a fine season a year ago, but it was Chop Robinson, a newcomer who transferred in from Maryland, who stole the headlines. Robinson had been a linebacker in his lone season with the Terrapins and tran- sitioned into his role as a defensive end at Penn State. He played behind veteran Nick Tarburton and didn't make any starts, but he saw his playing time, and his effectiveness, increase as the season went on. Of his 5.5 sacks, 4.5 occurred in Penn State's last four games, including a solo sack and an assist in the Lions' Rose Bowl victory over Utah, a performance that led the coaching staff to name him their defensive player of the game. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said that once Robinson began to get comfortable in the Nittany Lions' de- fense, his talent started to shine. "You saw it as the year went on, just the familiarity with the scheme," Diaz said. "He was a D-end full-time. He had a little bit less to think about, but at the same time, he had to focus on the details and nuances of the position." That process continued after the sea- son ended. Over the past eight months, Robinson has become even more famil- iar with the Lions' scheme, and he has also benefitted from spending a full year in their strength and condition- ing program, having bulked up to 250 pounds after playing his sophomore season at 242. "You can definitely see that he's much more comfortable," Diaz said. "As any player develops, as you get more com- fortable, you can play faster. When you think about a guy like Chop playing faster, that's a scary sight." Strength In Numbers The Nittany Lions' defensive line is under new management this fall, with former PSU All-Big Ten defensive end Deion Barnes taking over from John Scott Jr., who left last winter for a posi- tion with the NFL's Detroit Lions. The defense Barnes inherited totaled 43 sacks last season, best in the Big Ten and sixth-best in the FBS. The returning defensive ends pro- vided 13.5 of those sacks and 16 quar- terback hurries. Their proven ability to affect opposing passers is one reason why Fashanu is so excited about their potential this fall. "Talking about Chop and Adisa and just our defensive line in general, I think they're the best in the country," he said. "With Chop, with Adisa, with all of our edge rushers, I don't see any tackles being able to block them one-on-one. Those guys are incredible. "The amount of work that they put in, it's just a testament to not only them- selves but Coach Barnes and what he's done with the D-line room." The Nittany Lions' depth at the end positions is one of the reasons for the success of both Robinson and Isaac, Diaz explained. In addition to the two projected starters, the Lions have high hopes for sophomore Dani Dennis-Sut- ton, who had 3.5 sacks and 3 hurries in limited action as a true freshman. They also boast a pair of experienced juniors in Amin Vanover and Zuriah Fisher. That combination figures to give PSU an edge this fall. "There's nothing more fatiguing in the game of football than to rush the passer down after down after down," Diaz said. "What makes Chop great is Adisa Isaac. What makes Adisa great is Dani. What makes those guys great is Amin and Zuriah. "The best defenses I've been a part of in terms of getting after the quar- terback, including us a year ago, have had multiple waves of guys who could be relentless and didn't have to pace themselves to try to last 60 minutes. They could go as hard as they could, and they knew that the guy coming in behind them [was going to be effective]. That's hard on offensive linemen." Bigger And Better If Diaz and Fashanu are correct about the depth and talent up front, Penn State should once again have one of the best defenses in the country. When the season begins, the bold- face names will be Robinson, junior cornerback Kalen King and sophomore linebacker Abdul Carter. Isaac should quickly join them, though. After add- ing 8 pounds of muscle in the offsea- "Talking about Chop and Adisa and just our defensive line in general, I think they're the best in the country. … I don't see any tackles being able to block them one-on-one. Those guys are incredible." O F F E N S I V E T A C K L E O L U M U Y I W A F A S H A N U