Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547542
3 6 D E C E M B E R 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 at 5-10, 214 pounds on the preseason ros- ter. We had very reliable information that both had similar, strong fall camps. So, what happened? The Penn State offensive line struggled at times to block the schemes that Mar- tin, Peoples and Hansen are equipped to run. The Nittany Lions are still trying to hit their outside zone runs, but they've been pivoting more and more to gap runs in recent weeks, which the line is better suited to execute. That plan worked against Purdue, al- though the primary beneficiary was Cam Wallace. The redshirt junior had been on the fourth team but was given an oppor- tunity and seized it, rushing for 135 yards. Where that leaves Martin and Peoples is now one of the season's bigger mysteries. Neither one received a single carry versus the Boilermakers. Brett Eskildsen | WR Many of the 24 Iowa State players who transferred to PSU this past offseason have had difficult transitions to the Big Ten, but Eskildsen's drop-off from last year to this year makes little sense. The 6-1, 198-pound junior is athletically gifted, and last year he led the Cyclones with 526 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns on 30 catches. Through nine games this year, he had nearly as many catches — 25 — but only 279 yards and 1 score. His drop-off also comes in direct re- lief of sophomore Koby Howard, who set a high bar for catches, yards, contested catches and general playmaking. Mouser has reduced Eskildsen's role but still puts him on the field as a blocker, decoy and interference player on rub routes. His workload can't drop to zero if you want a functional offense that relies heavily on the passing game. Penn State wants to be a running team. One of the key issues keeping it from be- coming a passing-first team is the lack of chemistry between Eskildsen and redshirt senior quarterback Rocco Becht. DEFENSE Ikenna Ezeogu | DE The circumstances around Ezeogu's ar- rival at Penn State were telling. The Nit- tany Lions pursued Northwestern edge rusher Anto Saka and settled on Ezeogu after Saka chose Texas A&M in the portal. After watching his play at Iowa State, I was skeptical of his transition from hybrid player to true edge rusher. Here's what I wrote this past offseason when ranking the 6-5, 273-pound redshirt senior 10th among the players in Penn State's defen- sive front: "It's less likely for an older player to have a breakout year, especially when he has as many snaps as Ike Ezeogu does in his college career. Ezeogu has over 1,000 career snaps and more than 600 pass- rushing attempts. He's produced 2 sacks and 2 quarterback hits for all of those plays. Yes, the senior is changing his situ- ation during his final season by dropping weight and playing outside. However, tal- ented pass rushers typically find a way to get more than 2 sacks in three years, regardless of circumstances." To be fair, Ezeogu has been banged up for a portion of the season, but he's also been out-snapped by sophomore Alex- ander McPherson for performance. If we look at his win rate this season, Ezeogu has defeated just 11 percent of his blocks on pass rushes, which ranks fifth among Penn State defensive ends since 2024 with at least 100 pass rushing reps. The falloff from even Dani Dennis-Sutton's 15.7 per- cent is noticeable, let alone Abdul Carter's elite 23.2 percent. Ezeogu's win rate has gone up from what it was at Iowa State. It's just that 4.3 percent is such a low bar that it's easy to clear. Yvan Kemajou | DE Ezeogu is more of a "he is what he is" sort of player. Kemajou has the tools but has struggled to take the next step. With Max Granville's injury, Kema- jou was thrust into the spotlight as the most athletic pass rusher on the roster. It's a steep drop from Granville's speed and burst to Kemajou, a 6-3, 252-pound sophomore, but it wasn't an impossible task. The young pass rusher needed to grow up in a hurry and learn to win with length and strength instead of speed to the edge. Former Iowa State defensive end Ikenna Ezeogu hasn't been able to generate consistent pressure on opposing quarter- backs, leaving Penn State searching for more production off the edge. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL