jesse luketa

Previously: PSU Offense 

Yesterday we looked over the PSU offense, which has had trouble running the football. Today we look over the PSU defense, which has had troubles stopping the run, but the picture overall is rather muddled. They've pitched a shutout against a B1G opponent, yet let Illinois run it down their throat to death in a different week. What is the real Nittany Lions defense? Let's investigate. 

The Film: We're again sticking with the OSU game for this. I know that Ohio State has a vastly superior offense to Michigan (and to just about everyone in America), but our options were limited because of PJ Mustipher's injury, which occurred against Iowa. That leaves us with only the Illinois, Ohio State, and Maryland games as potential usable options, and even though OSU is a better offense than Michigan, I still think they're a better fit than Maryland (and their supremely weak OL) and Illinois, who refused to throw the football to a comical extent. So we're rolling with the Buckeyes, but are going to remain cognizant about the issues in comparability that pop up. 

Personnel: Seth's chart. 

Personnel: PSU's defensive ends are the strength of the defense, with Arnold Ebiketie on one side and Jesse Luketa on the other, both of whom are great players. Nick Taburton and Smith Vilbert (great name) are the reserve pass rushers who rotate in, but the big dogs get most of the attention. On the contrary, it's the interior defensive line that is the weakness of the defense since the injury of PJ Mustipher. The reason the Mustipher loss is so massive is because while Derrick Tangelo can hang in there as a nose tackle, Dvon Ellies and Coziah Izzard are both horrendous tackles and have emerged as a major weak spot. 

At the LB level, PSU runs out returning starters Ellis Brooks and Brandon Smith, pairing them with new starter Curtis Jacobs. Those three rarely rotate, with Charlie Katshir occasionally getting in, but otherwise it's the three LB starters getting almost all of the snaps. 

The secondary is similarly stable, with forever Nittany Lion Tariq Castro-Fields starting at one corner spot for the 17th straight year (not exact numbers), while Joey Porter Jr. starts at the other corner position. Daequan Hardy is the nickel and then Johnny Dixon is the fourth corner who rotates in occasionally when they need extra DB bodies. Jaquan Brisker is another star at the SS position, someone who is getting legitimate NFL Draft hype. Ji'Ayir Brown is the other starting safety, getting the start at the FS position. Jon Sutherland and Keaton Ellis are the third and fourth options on the depth chart, but Brisker and Brown get the most snaps by a considerable margin. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Good defense? Or bad defense?]