Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1507572
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 3 3 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M rushers registered a sack in either of the first two games. Facing offenses that were working to get the ball out of the quarterback's hands quickly, Penn State found few opportunities, and the stat page showed it. But even though the Nittany Lions weren't getting sacks, the pass rush- ers were having a significant effect. Dennis-Sutton put up 4 quarterback pressures in two games, while Isaac and Robinson had 2 apiece. As Penn State rotated in its backups, sacks were more plentiful for the ends further down the depth chart. With ju- nior Amin Vanover forced to miss the first two games for unspecified reasons, redshirt junior Zuriah Fisher and true freshman Jameial Lyons took advantage of bonus playing time, generating 1 sack each. Defensive Tackle Most of the handwringing that Penn State fans were doing ahead of the sea- son was focused on this position. The Nittany Lion coaching staff countered by noting that improvements were abundant from the likes of red- shirt senior Hakeem Beamon and redshirt sophomore Jordan van den Berg through the summer. Heading into the Lions' Big Ten opener at Illinois, it appeared that both groups had a point. Junior Coziah Izzard, a strong co n t r i b u to r i n 2 02 2 , h a d n 't played a snap through the first two games of the season, with no reason specified for his absence. With Izzard out of action, players such as van den Berg, sophomore Zane Durant and redshirt senior Dvon Ellies have gotten more reps, with varying results. Durant has been the most pro- ductive, grading out as one of the Nittany Lions' top defensive performers by Pro Football Focus through the first two games. His weight gain this offseason, add- ing 14 pounds to check in at 285 in September, helped him rank sec- ond on the team with 6 total stops and first with 1.5 tackles for loss. For the others, the first two weeks of the season were something of a mixed bag. Van den Berg had 2 nice stops late in the game against the Mountain- eers, and Ellies did the same. Beamon notched 3 quarterback hurries in the opener, too, but has taken some lumps for his run defense. Linebacker Sophomore outside linebacker Ab- dul Carter became an unlikely target for criticism after he was limited to 1 tackle — a sack — in the opener. The following week, junior middle linebacker Tyler Elsdon found himself in the crosshairs following Delaware's 66-yard touch- down that came as a result of a blown gap assignment. And yet, the performance at this po- sition group has been more good than bad. Junior outside linebacker Curtis Jacobs led the team with 10 tackles in the opener and is among the defensive leaders in quarterback pressures with 4. Although likely less productive than he'd hoped at the start of the season, Carter was leading the team with 6 quarterback pressures, a reminder of his repeated influence on plays, whether they result in tackles and sacks or not. Also, former walk-on Dominic De- Luca, though charged with missing 2 tackles in the first two games, made the highlight defensive play of the day against Delaware with his 26-yard pick- six. Having taken over the starting Mike linebacker job this year, redshirt sopho- more Kobe King finished with 5 tackles in the opener. He couldn't match that production against Delaware, a game in which he was held without a tackle, but he graded out for a better performance while taking just 14 snaps. Secondary The defensive backs did not collect any interceptions in the first two games. It's an area for improvement moving forward, no doubt, but it hasn't created anything resembling consternation. In the opener, Penn State's secondary kept West Virginia's passing game from ever getting going. Though a blown coverage by senior cornerback Johnny Dixon resulted in a 37-yard com- pletion in the first quarter, the play was the Mountaineers' lon- gest of the game. They finished with just 162 passing yards. The following week, Dela- ware's offense wasn't on the field all that much. The Blue Hens fin- ished with just 41 total offensive plays in the Sept. 9 tilt and com- pleted 6 of 17 passes for 58 yards. Highlights from the group have included Dixon's 2 pass breakups and, against Dela- ware, senior captain Keaton El- lis's forced fumble to open the second half. Combined with junior cornerback Kalen King's r u n s u p p o r t a n d so p h o m o re cornerback Cam Miller's posi- tive early play, as well as reliable performances from junior Jaylen Reed, redshirt sophomore Zakee Wheatley and sophomore Kevin Winston Jr. at safety, the Nittany Lion secondary has largely lived up to its billing. ■ Junior linebacker Curtis Jacobs finished with a team-leading 10 tackles in Penn State's season-opening victory over West Virginia. PHOTO BY FRANK HYATT