The article takes a statistical look at the entire Penn State team, but I found the parts about their defense particularly interesting.
http://www.sbnation.com/college-foo...n-state-football-2016-preview-schedule-roster
Bob Shoop's last Penn State defense (he left for Tennessee this offseason) was not quite up to the standard set in 2014. The Nittany Lions sank from fourth to 15th in Def. S&P+, struggling more than expected against the run. Still, this was an awesome defense, and the major reason for the awesomeness was the pass rush. PSU was No. 1 in the country in Adj. Sack Rate, led by a trio of linemen and linebacker Brandon Bell.
All three linemen -- Carl Nassib, Austin Johnson, and Anthony Zettel -- are gone. Just about everybody else is back, and honestly, I'm expecting a pretty big improvement in run defense, especially if linebacker Nyeem Wartman-White is healthy after missing 2015 with injury. Bell and Jason Cabinda are back at LB, and a sophomore like Manny Bowen or Jake Cooper might be ready to step up regardless of Wartman-White's status. There's probably more upside at linebacker than anywhere else on the roster outside of running back. And LB production is probably why linebackers coach Brent Pry got the defensive coordinator job in Shoop's absence.
The front is a concern, though. Returning DTs combined for just 16.5 tackles last year, and while there could be reinforcements in the form of JUCO transfers and redshirt freshmen, this is a concern until noted otherwise. And nothing can drag a linebacking corps down like an iffy set of tackles.
The run game may have been an issue, but the pass defense was excellent. Penn State combined decent efficiency (a 57 percent completion rate) with fantastic big-play prevention (26 passes of 20-plus yards allowed, first in the country), and while not everybody is back (safety Jordan Lucas and corner Trevor Williams have departed), six integral DBs return, including big-play safety Marcus Allen and a pair of nice corners in Grant Haley and John Reid. Blue-chip redshirt freshman Garrett Taylor could play a role, too.
The pass rush will almost certainly regress, which will make the secondary's job harder. But the experience level and athleticism might be enough to counteract some of that. The concerns for this defense remain in run defense.
http://www.sbnation.com/college-foo...n-state-football-2016-preview-schedule-roster
Bob Shoop's last Penn State defense (he left for Tennessee this offseason) was not quite up to the standard set in 2014. The Nittany Lions sank from fourth to 15th in Def. S&P+, struggling more than expected against the run. Still, this was an awesome defense, and the major reason for the awesomeness was the pass rush. PSU was No. 1 in the country in Adj. Sack Rate, led by a trio of linemen and linebacker Brandon Bell.
All three linemen -- Carl Nassib, Austin Johnson, and Anthony Zettel -- are gone. Just about everybody else is back, and honestly, I'm expecting a pretty big improvement in run defense, especially if linebacker Nyeem Wartman-White is healthy after missing 2015 with injury. Bell and Jason Cabinda are back at LB, and a sophomore like Manny Bowen or Jake Cooper might be ready to step up regardless of Wartman-White's status. There's probably more upside at linebacker than anywhere else on the roster outside of running back. And LB production is probably why linebackers coach Brent Pry got the defensive coordinator job in Shoop's absence.
The front is a concern, though. Returning DTs combined for just 16.5 tackles last year, and while there could be reinforcements in the form of JUCO transfers and redshirt freshmen, this is a concern until noted otherwise. And nothing can drag a linebacking corps down like an iffy set of tackles.
The run game may have been an issue, but the pass defense was excellent. Penn State combined decent efficiency (a 57 percent completion rate) with fantastic big-play prevention (26 passes of 20-plus yards allowed, first in the country), and while not everybody is back (safety Jordan Lucas and corner Trevor Williams have departed), six integral DBs return, including big-play safety Marcus Allen and a pair of nice corners in Grant Haley and John Reid. Blue-chip redshirt freshman Garrett Taylor could play a role, too.
The pass rush will almost certainly regress, which will make the secondary's job harder. But the experience level and athleticism might be enough to counteract some of that. The concerns for this defense remain in run defense.
