Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1526526
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 4 3 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M reps, keep getting experience throughout the season, and yeah, the best is yet to come." We're inclined to agree. If the 6-foot-3, 252-pound junior is not menacing oppo- nents with increasing frequency by early October, we'll be surprised. And, speaking of surprises, junior Dani Dennis-Sutton's slow start was not on our bingo card. He has just 3 tackles through two games and has not been much of a factor. And he's not alone in that regard. Junior defensive tackle Zane Durant and super senior defensive end Smith Vilbert are the only Penn State defenders with a sack so far, which is uncommon for a front that is known for getting after quar- terbacks. That the Lions have only 2 sacks as a team speaks to the relative lack of pro- duction from the defensive line when it comes to creating a pass rush. PSU also has just 3 quarterback hurries, 2 of which have come from linemen (Carter and se- nior Amin Vanover). There is work to do for position coach Deion Barnes and his players if Penn State is going to be more effective moving for- ward. Linebacker Two games into the Nittany Lions' campaign, the story of this group is the same as it was during preseason practice: A lack of numbers is glaringly evident. Redshirt sophomore Keon Wylie is dealing with a long-term injury, and redshirt freshman Kaveion Keys is no longer enrolled at PSU. That means the Lions are working with only eight schol- arship linebackers, one of whom — redshirt freshman DaKaari Nelson — has only been playing the position since August. The manpower issues were exacerbated when redshirt fresh- man Ta'Mere Robinson was hurt on a spe- cial teams play at West Virginia; Robin- son sat out the Bowling Green game, and his long-term availability is unclear. The same goes for true freshman Kari Jackson, who also didn't play against the Falcons. In addition to those injuries, sopho- more Tony Rojas missed a portion of the second and third quarters in Week 2, which led to extended reps for senior Tyler Elsdon and redshirt junior Dominic DeLuca. Making matters worse, DeLuca was hurt on a punt-coverage play late in the Bowling Green game. The Penn State defense is at its best when Rojas and King are manning the middle of the field, forming the second level of Allen's 4-2-5 defense. Franklin admitted that Bowling Green's substitu- tion plan limited Penn State's ability to get into that look, which in turn led to DeLuca being picked on frequently. The Lions cannot play the way they want to play on defense if Rojas and King are not on the field. That is a problem to monitor moving forward. Penn State needs to develop more depth, which is obviously not something that can happen overnight at this time of the year. Secondary Penn State did well by adding a pair of transfers in sophomore A.J. Harris and redshirt senior Jalen Kimber. Both former SEC cornerbacks have transitioned easily into the Big Ten and are thriving in State College. Harris started the first two games and Kimber the first one, and both have played well in each contest. Both have a pass breakup so far, as does sophomore Elliot Washington II. Junior Cam Miller leads the group with 8 tackles. Add in contributions from second-year Nittany Lions Audavion Collins and Zion Tracy, and position coach Terry Smith has a very strong top six to work with at cornerback. At safety, the story is similar in terms of the top group, but this unit is not as deep as the cornerbacks. The last line of the defense is led by senior Jaylen Reed and junior Kevin Winston Jr. Redshirt ju- nior Zakee Wheatley is basically a first- teamer as well, considering how often Allen deploys the 4-2-5 look. The Bowling Green game raised some red flags. Winston left the contest fol- lowing the first play of the second quarter and, despite being on the sideline in pads, he never returned to the game. His ab- sence led to many more 4-3 looks for the Lions' defense because, while freshman safety Dejuan Lane has tons of promise and is green-lit to forgo his redshirt in 2024, he's not yet ready to handle a full workload. That left Reed and Wheat- ley to man the safety spots with three linebackers on the field. After the game, Franklin was mum on Winston's status moving forward. "I can't get into KJ Winston and why he wasn't in there," Franklin told re- porters. "As you guys know, I don't talk about those things." If Winston is forced to miss ex- tended time, it's obviously bad news for the Lions, because it handcuffs Al- len when it comes time to put his best pass defense on the field. There were no immediate indications that will be the case, but the lack of depth is a concern. Safeties coach Anthony Poindexter can scarcely afford any seri- ous injuries at his position group. ■ Sophomore linebacker Tony Rojas missed a portion of the Bowling Green game with an apparent injury but returned in the fourth quarter and made a key intercep- tion to help the Lions prevail. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL