Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1545007
1 6 J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Caleb Bacon was a team captain, a 12- game starter and an honorable mention All-Big 12 linebacker at Iowa State last season, bouncing back from an injury that forced him to miss nearly all of the Cy- clones' 2024 campaign. In January, Bacon became part of the migratory wave that followed Matt Campbell's move from Iowa State to Penn State. The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder spent five years in Ames, but while he's familiar with Campbell and linebackers coach Ty- son Veidt, the transition is in many ways a fresh start. Bacon may be well acquainted with some members of the staff, but he will be playing for a different defensive coordinator in D'Anton Lynn, and his other position coach — PSU linebacking great Dan Connor — is new to him. The defense is new, too, with the Lions getting set to deploy a 4-3 scheme that will bring different responsibilities to ex- pats like Bacon who were accustomed to the 3-3-5 defense favored by Iowa State coordinator Jon Heacock. Bacon recently talked with Penn State beat reporters about his transition from Ames to State College. QUESTION: What have you learned about D'Anton Lynn's defense? We've heard a lot about "obnoxious communi- cation." What does that look like in real life? BACON: "He really emphasizes it in every single meeting we have. I feel like, first of all, it starts with trust, knowing that the guy next to you, the safety or D- lineman, knows what they're doing. You trust in each other to make the right call or the right adjustment, and then just make those adjustments loud and obnox- iously so that everybody on the field can hear and we get into the right defense, the right look that we need." QUESTION: What have you learned about Dan Connor since you've been on the practice field with him? BACON: "I think the main thing is that he loves football. I feel like that's his home, where he definitely feels comfort- able — being on the football field, in his element, teaching and being hands-on. It's really, really good to have him with us and giving us a look at what an elite line- backer should be." QUESTION: Iowa State played a very different defense than this one. What has your adjustment been like going from playing that hybrid role off the edge to more of a traditional linebacker? Is that a fair assessment of what the change has been like? BACON: "It's definitely been a weird jump from playing in the 3-3-5, Coach Heacock's defense. At first it was a really big shock, like, Man, this is going to be a lot of new stuff. But I've grown to love it. It favors linebacker play. "The D-line does a great job. They're eating up blocks. That's the main differ- ence. We have a fourth D-lineman down there, which we didn't have at Iowa State. I've really enjoyed playing it so far. The guys have done a great job up front of clearing stuff up for us." QUESTION: Is it more enjoyable in terms of being able to rush the passer? Be- cause it seems like that would be more fun than having to read and move around. You get a chance to make plays, whereas when you're in coverage, the point is to prevent something from happening. BACON: "It's all reaction-based. The way I look at it is, you're kind of free rushing, and you can't really mess up. You just have to go 100 percent all the time, make the right move on them and set them up right. Obviously, sacks are one of the best things you can get in foot- ball, so it's great to finish with something like that." QUESTION: What are you working to get better at? As an older guy who's played a lot of football, what are the things that you think you'll be able to improve on this year? BACON: "I think there's still a lot of stuff to improve on, like pad level. It's always been a thing for me. I've got to play low. I'm always kind of playing high. That's a major thing. "Block destruction is something that I think has been one of my better as- pects, but I can still keep pushing that. It's going to be a little bit easier now, having those big guys up front. And then, honestly, pass coverage has been the main thing that we've worked on — installing the new defense, learning some new techniques, some new tools we can use. I'm going to keep working at it every day." Sitting Down With Redshirt Senior Linebacker Caleb Bacon Bacon comes to Penn State after ranking third at Iowa State last fall with 68 tackles, including 9.5 for loss and 3 sacks. PHOTO BY THOMAS FRANK CARR