Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543434
M A R C H 2 0 2 6 47 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / N E W D E F E N S E / / / / / / / P enn State's defensive additions during the January transfer portal window were somewhat hard to figure out, given that we don't know how exactly the team will play under first- year coordinator D'Anton Lynn. The Nittany Lions are blending Iowa State players into a mix of returnees who were recruited to play in a different system, then superimposing Lynn's football out- look over all of that. What's left, at first blush, is a jumble of players and posi- tional ambiguity. However, by studying the defenses that Lynn oversaw the past three seasons, first at UCLA in 2023 and then at USC the past two years, and looking at Iowa State's scheme in 2025, we can begin to decipher the plan and predict how Penn State will likely play next fall. One big change is apparent right away: Penn State is no longer chasing the kind of defensive tackles who can get upfield and make plays with speed and athleti- cism. Going forward, the defense will fo- cus on strength and size. Newcomers like redshirt sophomore Armstrong Nnodim and seniors Keanu Williams and Siale Taupaki bring their own athletic gifts and have varying degrees of quickness, agility and explosiveness, but the new staff will clearly sacrifice the highest levels of those traits to find size, power and length on the interior. Back To The Future Penn State's new defense will likely revive a familiar schematic look T H O M A S F R A N K CA R R | T F R A N K . C A R R @ O N 3 . C O M Before joining Penn State's new staff, D'Anton Lynn oversaw a USC defense that surrendered 23.0 points per game last year, eighth-fewest in the Big Ten. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER