Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1534903
M A Y 2 0 2 5 31 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M ent and potential, there's little doubt that Penn State will have a stable coverage unit in 2025, led by the cornerbacks room. 2. Safety Despite the loss of Kevin Winston Jr. and Jaylen Reed, PSU has a stockpile of great prospects here. The obvious place to start is with redshirt senior Zakee Wheatley, who is poised to be the leader of the unit now that he's likely to move from field safety to a "playmaker" role at boundary safety. Regardless of where he plays, Wheatley is a savvy veteran with improved run defense and elite ball skills. He's the kind of guy you build a secondary around. Along with Wheatley, the team re-ac- quired junior King Mack from the transfer portal this winter after a season at Ala- bama. Mack is an intriguing athlete and has a curious set of skills. He flashed ball production in high school, indicating that he could play any of the three safety posi- tions in a modern defense. Yet the film at Alabama, plus Penn State's decision not to use him in the slot before his transfer in 2024, revealed that he's much closer to a classic safety than a hybrid player. Despite his 5-foot-10 stature, Mack is a downhill enforcer with great instincts for when to attack the football, and he arrives with more violence than his stature would suggest. Finally, ultra-talented but unproven sophomore Dejuan Lane will likely factor into the defense somewhere. He saw only 155 snaps last season, so it's hard to say what his positional abilities are relative to his physical traits, but he can theoretically do it all. 3. Defensive End The defensive ends drop to third this year because of the loss of veteran depth and superstar experience. Abdul Carter is gone, leaving a massive hole on the roster. The good news for Penn State is that Dani Dennis-Sutton decided to return for his senior season. He'll be a run-stopping force on the edge with power, length and tenacity to get to the quarterback as a pass rusher. Dennis-Sutton got off to a good start last fall before a groin injury against Wis- consin limited his availability for much of the second half of the season. He returned strong in the postseason, registering 5 of his 9 sacks during the Lions' College Football Playoff run. He'll need to be the guy for the upcoming season to lift a room that lost not just Carter but also under- rated veteran Amin Vanover and tweener Smith Vilbert. Oft-injured super senior Zuriah Fisher figures to be a key performer this fall. The former linebacker has great spatial awareness for a defensive end and can chase plays down from multiple angles. He could be a good fit for the "Jack" edge rusher role that has figured prominently in Knowles' defenses over the years. The rest of the depth chart will be sorted out by body type and playing style. Redshirt freshman edge rusher Max Granville is another perfect candidate for the Jack role. While he has less experience playing linebacker, he's got the size profile at 6-3, 247 pounds and movement skills to be a star at the position. 4. Defensive Tackle While there's a scary lack of experience in this position room, Penn State does return one of the best defensive tackles of the Franklin era in senior Zane Durant. Last season, the 6-1 292-pound Durant accounted for 28 pressures, which was about 10 more than any other PSU defen- sive tackle since 2021. His ability to play the run as an undersized defender and generate negative plays is a big advantage for Penn State. Ideally, the Lions would have another veteran starter alongside Durant, but Alonzo Ford Jr. suffered a season-ending injury last November and is working his way back to full health. Many athletes struggle to come back after missing sig- nificant time, but big, explosive athletes typically are the last to regain their skills after returning from lower-body injuries. What version of the former Old Dominion player will Penn State get? The best bet, at least for now, is to assume the team must rely on youth. Ford's injury happened early enough that Penn State can make plans for the upcoming season. By now, you know the list of names that will try to fill in the gap left by three departing defensive tackles and Ford's possible absence. There's red- shirt freshman Xavier Gilliam, redshirt sophomore Ty Blanding, redshirt junior Kaleb Artis, redshirt freshman De'Andre Cook and redshirt freshman Michigan transfer Owen Wafle. At 6-2, 300 pounds, Gilliam certainly looks the part. He's lean for his size and has an incredible physical presence. 5. Linebacker Penn State suffered a key loss when middle linebacker Kobe King decided to enter the NFL Draft. King was a throw- back run-plugger hovering around 250 pounds and was one of the rare defenders who didn't struggle with missed tackles. The Lions do not have an heir apparent ready to step in, and one of the candi- dates for that role — redshirt sophomore Ta'Mere Robinson — removed himself from the competition when he entered the transfer portal on April 16. With Robinson gone, the contend- ers for playing time at the Mike position are redshirt junior Keon Wylie, redshirt freshmen Anthony Speca and Kari Jack- son, and true freshman Alex Tatsch. Al- though Wylie is the oldest of those play- ers, he's played only 126 career snaps due to injuries and sat out the entire 2024 campaign after getting hurt last spring. There's more experience at the Will po- sition, where junior Tony Rojas and red- shirt senior Dominic DeLuca represent the core of the linebacker room, bring- ing talent, intelligence and stability to the position. However, there are valid questions about both players. DeLuca is a quality role player who has proved his worth with interceptions and big-time plays the past two seasons, but his athletic upside is maxed out. Rojas has the necessary talent and coverage ability, but he struggled last season with tackling and gap responsibil- ity, and he was injured this spring. The good news here is that the team will only play two linebackers for the ma- jority of the season. Knowles prefers to use a slot corner/safety instead of a Sam linebacker. Will PSU have a heavy pack- age next year? For sure, but it will be a sub package and not the base defense. ■