Blue White Illustrated

Next to Johnson, Olaniyan has proba- bly been the most undervalued player on the line. Going into the Temple game, he was eighth on the team with 31 tackles and had 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. He's probably not going to match his totals from last year, when he 9n- ished with 50 tackles, 9ve sacks, three forced fumbles and a memorable inter- ception at Wisconsin that helped the Nittany Lions upset the heavily favored Badgers. But the coaching sta: has been "more than pleased with the way C.J. has performed this season," Shoop said. "He's been one of our most consistent starters on the defensive line." Olaniyan's statistical decline might be related to the overall depth that has de- veloped across the defensive front. Twelve defensive linemen have seen ac- tion for Penn State this season. In addi- tion to the starters, senior Brad Bars, redshirt sophomore Evan Schwan, red- shirt junior Carl Nassib and redshirt freshmen Garrett Sickels and Curtis Cothran have played at defensive end, while senior Tyrone Smith, junior Tar- row Barney and redshirt freshman Park- er Cothren have seen action at tackle. The backups have combined for 45 tack- les, 12 tackles for loss, six sacks and two forced fumbles. "We felt going into the season we were going to have solid depth across the en- tire defensive line," Shoop said. "It was the reason why we felt we could move Derek Dowrey and Brian Gaia from de- fensive tackle to guard positions on of- fense." That's exactly how it's worked out. Cothren, Smith and Barney have given the Nittany Lions solid depth at defen- sive tackle, while Bars, Nassib, Sickels and Schwan have had a similar impact at defensive end. I believe an excellent case can be made that Penn State's line is the foundation of the defense. One major reason is that Barnes, Johnson, Olaniyan and Zettel have all been in the program for at least three years. Barnes and Zettel are red- shirt juniors, Johnson is a redshirt soph- omore and Olaniyan is a 9;h-year sen- ior and will graduate in December, im- mediately a;er the 2014 season. "They've been through the system for the past three years and have gained valuable game experience," defensive line coach Sean Spencer said. "All four of them did a tremendous job picking up our system on defense as quickly as they did in spring practice back in March and April. "When we went into preseason prac- tice back at the beginning of August, we basically knew we had a chance to have one of the best front fours in the confer- ence." I believe Barnes, Johnson, Olaniyan and Zettel will all eventually receive the opportunity to play in the NFL. The consensus among scouts seems to be that of the four starters, Johnson might turn out to be the best pro prospect. He has impressed observers with his ath- leticism, lateral quickness and ability to make plays from sideline to sideline. "Not o;en do you 9nd a player 6- foot-4, 312 pounds who is as athletic as he is," a Minnesota Viking scout told me. "Over the past 9ve to eight years, Penn State has put some pretty impressive defensive tackles into the NFL. "In a lot of ways, Johnson reminds me of DaQuan Jones, Devon Still and Jared Odrick. They're big, strong defensive tackles that tip the scales at over 300 pounds and have the athletic ability of a 285- to 290-pound three-technique de- fensive tackle." NFL scouts believe that Barnes, Olaniyan and Zettel all have a chance to play defensive end at the pro level, with Barnes and Olaniyan growing to 265 to 270 pounds. The good news for Penn State is that 10 of the 12 defensive line- men who have played this season will be back next fall. Olaniyan is the only starter in that group who will be moving on a;er this season, and Smith will like- ly be the only backup to depart, provid- ed Bars' petition for a sixth year of eligi- bility is approved. I believe they will give Penn State the best defensive line in the Big Ten heading into the 2015 sea- son. And it will be, without question, the No. 1 strength of Penn State's de- fense going forward. ■

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