Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1507572
3 6 O C T O 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 T hrough the first two games of Penn State's 2023 season, its defensive numbers were inarguable. The Nittany Lions cruised past West Virginia, holding the Mountaineers to 15 points and 310 yards. Then they followed that effort with a dominant showing against Delaware, surrender- ing only 140 yards and 5 first downs to the Blue Hens. The numbers aside, though, there were some cracks and missteps along the way. West Virginia flummoxed the Nittany Lions by totaling 148 rushing yards, and Delaware shocked the Beaver Stadium crowd in the first quarter when running back Marcus Yarns dashed 66 yards for a touchdown that cut Penn State's 14-0 lead in half. A cause for concern? Are there minor miscommunications that can easily be rectified? Does Penn State have enough playmaking potential on defense to change games when better opponents appear on the schedule? By position group, here is how Penn State's defense performed in the open- ing weeks of the 2023 season. Defensive End Much of the offseason conversation around Penn State's defensive ends cen- tered on an anticipated competition for sacks. Junior Chop Robinson was poised to build on his sparkling 2022 season, in which he led the team with 6.5 sacks and was second with 10.5 tackles for loss. Redshirt senior Adisa Isaac wasn't far behind, notching 4 sacks, with then- true freshman Dani Dennis-Sutton get- ting in on the fun with 3 sacks of his own. West Virginia and Delaware clearly took the Nittany Lions' pass rushing potential into account when formulat- ing their gameplans. None of the Lions' top three pass Unfinished Business N A T E B A U E R | N AT E . B A U E R @ O N 3 . C O M Redshirt sophomore linebacker Dominic DeLuca scored on a 26-yard interception return against Delaware. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL Penn State shows off its playmaking ability on defense, but plenty of work lies ahead