Blue White Illustrated

yan Buchholz is eager to do whatever he can to help the Penn State foot- ball team win in 2018. The redshirt junior defensive lineman has been doing exactly that for the past two seasons, both as a strongside defen- sive end and, in obvious passing situa- tions, as a three-technique defensive tackle. With the 2018 season approach- ing, he's prepared to once again con- tribute in any manner the defensive coaches deem necessary. But the affable 21-year-old refuses to betray his true preference. "End is a hundred times better," Buch- holz said. He has a laundry list of reasons why his skills are more suited to the position, his length, speed and versatility chief among them. Listed at 270 pounds as a redshirt freshman in 2016, then 275 last year, Buchholz might not seem to be all that different physically from a typical three- technique defensive tackle. The difference, he said, comes when matching up against the mas- sive opponents typically man- ning the interior of offensive lines throughout the Big Ten. At defensive tackle, there are usually two offensive linemen between him and his target in the backfield. The result is a feeling of confinement, and that's not what he needs in order to thrive. What does he need? Space. "There's so much more room to work with" at defensive end, he said. "Some- times it's a little diffi- cult inside with the shorter, bigger guys and with a lot less space to work with." Still, the Nittany Lions have needed him there at times the past two years, and he's been happy to fill those needs. "They wanted me to be at both, just be- cause most of our D-tackles were the big- ger guys that we would need on first and second down. So I guess it was helpful to be a heavier defensive end at that point," he said. "Last year, we had plenty of depth at defensive tackle, so I wasn't re- ally needed as much." Following a redshirt his first year in the program, Buchholz appeared in every game in 2016, then was thrust into a starting role following an early-season injury to veteran Torrence Brown last sea- son. He had made 16 tackles during his freshman season, including 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks, and he followed up that performance by making 18 tackles P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> MR. OUTSIDE R Junior DE Ryan Buchholz has lightened up this year, but that's hardly good news for opposing quarterbacks DROP ZONE Buch- holz sacks Michigan quarterback John O'Korn during the Lions' victory over the Wolverines last season. As a sopho- more, Buchholz fin- ished the seaosn with two sacks. Photo by Steve Manuel BY NATE BAUER nbauer@bluewhiteonline.com

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