Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1529598
2 6 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M T hroughout James Franklin's tenure as head coach at Penn State, the Nittany Lions have fielded one of the nation's top defenses, no mat- ter who the coordinator has been. And yet, there were some concerns about the unit's future when Manny Diaz left after the 2023 regular season to be- come head coach at Duke. Some observers wondered if former Indiana coach Tom Allen was the right choice to replace Diaz. Others asked whether moving junior Abdul Carter from linebacker to defen- sive end would weaken the middle of the defense. The team also lost its top two edge rushers to the NFL, and three cor- nerbacks departed in hope of launching pro careers. Could the Lions weather all that upheaval? We now have 10 games of data with which to address those questions, and the answers are clear. Allen is a fine fit. Carter is a menace, and his junior classmate Dani Dennis-Sutton is a force at defensive end in his own right. The middle of the unit has been fine, and the secondary might be better this year than last, even with junior safety Kevin Win- ston Jr. having played only a game and a half due to an injury. All of that defensive prowess was on display in the Lions' 49-10 blowout of Purdue. The Boilermakers had just 302 yards of total offense, most of which came against the backups. The nation's No. 5 total defense as of Nov. 16 had held seven opponents to 13 points or fewer. "That's our standard," Carter told re- porters after the win over the Boilermak- ers. "Our standard is domination, so every week we go out with the same mindset to dominate. That's what we did tonight." Below, we take a closer look at how each position group is faring heading into the homestretch. Defensive Line Penn State missed Dennis-Sutton when he was limited against Ohio State and Washington after being hurt at Wis- consin. For the two weeks before the Pur- due game, he was essentially relegated to a third-down pass-rushing role while he recovered. However, he was back to his usual three-down self against Pur- due and told reporters afterward that he Standard Standard Bearers Bearers Despite injuries, Penn State has been upholding a proud defensive tradition this season G R E G P I C K E L | G R E G . P I C K E L @ O N 3 . C O M Defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton missed most of the Ohio State and Washington games with an injury but played 30 snaps against Purdue and helped PSU hold the Boilermakers to 302 total yards. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS