Especially concerned about our defensive line. With Brisker coming back, and Castro-Fields, plus how good Porter is going to be I think our secondary could be good. Any thoughts?
So...what's our defense look like next fall?
- Thread starter bkmtnittany1
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We’ve got the potential for difference makers in; Isaac, Smith, Porter and Brisker. Talent around them. Can’t give up big plays like we did last year.
I’m leaning towards a 3-3-5. With one of the lb’s capable of playing standup de to show a 4 man front or drop into coverage. Want a tough safety who can move up in box and tackle like a lb. I think Brisker can do that. We just don’t have the talent on DL to just say sic em and get after qb.
Let em move the ball a little. Take away big play and toughen up in red zone. There are no shut down defenses any more. Bama can’t even do that
I’m leaning towards a 3-3-5. With one of the lb’s capable of playing standup de to show a 4 man front or drop into coverage. Want a tough safety who can move up in box and tackle like a lb. I think Brisker can do that. We just don’t have the talent on DL to just say sic em and get after qb.
Let em move the ball a little. Take away big play and toughen up in red zone. There are no shut down defenses any more. Bama can’t even do that
Just a guess, but it seems the DT transfer from Duke, Tangelo, will start alongside Mustipher on the interior DL and will perhaps be a neutral change from Shelton. Also, Beamon started coming on and should continue to improve.
I’m really excited to see Isaac get F/T reps at DE and he could be a significant improvement from Oweh. The temple transfer, Ebiketie, could be the other DE and should be solid.
There are definitely some depth concerns on the D Line, but the starters should be good, IMO.
I’m really excited to see Isaac get F/T reps at DE and he could be a significant improvement from Oweh. The temple transfer, Ebiketie, could be the other DE and should be solid.
There are definitely some depth concerns on the D Line, but the starters should be good, IMO.
I think the secondary could be even better next year with the guys coming back and the SC transfer. We have the raw LB talent we need, but they need to step up. We’ve added a valuable D tackle and a D end, but it’s likely that they will be equal to outgoing starters, not necessarily an upgrade. Will younger guys play bigger roles on the D line?
i Think our D played well enough last year overall. Maybe the MD game being the worst performance. Very few teams win with a defense first philosophy. Northwestern would be an exception. We don’t need the 85 bears defense to compete with tOSU. In addition to an potent offense, need to be able to get 4 or 5 wins from defense and special teams within the game. These include turnover, big return, blocked kick, forcing a three and out.
i Think our D played well enough last year overall. Maybe the MD game being the worst performance. Very few teams win with a defense first philosophy. Northwestern would be an exception. We don’t need the 85 bears defense to compete with tOSU. In addition to an potent offense, need to be able to get 4 or 5 wins from defense and special teams within the game. These include turnover, big return, blocked kick, forcing a three and out.
Oweh was 1st team All-BigTen and will be a 1st or 2nd round draft choice and you're looking for a significant improvement?
Oweh is an athletic freak whose performance on the field never lived up to the hype. I wish him well, but for me, he falls into the category of a true combine warrior who looks much better on paper. He didn't have a single sack in 9 games. So, yes, I believe Isaac will be a significant improvement.
I don't think it is going to be very good. The secondary will be based entirely on the free safety position. Brisker is solid, Porter is a future star, Castro-Fields hit his ceiling at corner two years ago. Perhaps it is time to move him to see what he can do?
Line wise, we do not have a base end or a true 3 technique unless a youngster cracks the rotation. It killed us this past season and will kill us in 2021. Linebacker will be fine.
Then there is Pry who should have been the coordinator that should have been cut lose.
It’ll be solid. Whole lot of talent, and until proven otherwise, we’ve had pretty good defenses under Pry with the exception of a bizarre 2020 season. Lots of talent and experience to work with.
DE- Isaac
1T - Tangelo
3T - Mustipher
DE - Ebiketie
Will - Smith
Mike - Luketa
Sam - Dixon/Jacobs
CB - Porter
S - Brown/Ellis (or portal?)
S - Brisker
CB - Castro-Fields
Nickel - Dixon/Hardy/Wilson
I could also see Castro-Fields bumping inside and Dixon playing outside in nickel situations.
DE- Isaac
1T - Tangelo
3T - Mustipher
DE - Ebiketie
Will - Smith
Mike - Luketa
Sam - Dixon/Jacobs
CB - Porter
S - Brown/Ellis (or portal?)
S - Brisker
CB - Castro-Fields
Nickel - Dixon/Hardy/Wilson
I could also see Castro-Fields bumping inside and Dixon playing outside in nickel situations.
I think this is grossly underestimating what returns.
DT will improve. We lacked experienced depth last year and Shelton played very soft early in the year. Mustipher should improve and the kid from Duke is an improvement over Shelton. I'm guessing that his addition is why Shelton moved on. Beamon and Ellies both looked good getting reps particularly by the end of the season. Maybe even one of the two 4 stars that came in last year as true freshmen (Izzard and Brevard) will be ready to provide spot depth.
DE will be tough to improve upon but adding the kid from Temple is a huge boost. He appears to have been more productive than Oweh or Toney. And I really like Isaac. The two starters should be pretty good. Depth is the issue here. Will someone potentially move to help out? Who knows.
LB has to improve. Everyone is back with a year more experience and it is very possible that 2 of the 3 starters from last year will be in a serious battle to even keep their starting jobs. Jacobs and Dixon could push hard and maybe Fisher is ready to contribute.
CB also will improve. Everyone is back here and we had some young guys that looked pretty good last year as freshmen and sophs.
Safety may even improve because Brisker was coming on and a totally different player in the 2nd half of last season. Wade had some limitations and we're not 100% sure who replaces him but Sutherland has experience, Brown has potential, and Jennings was one of our top recruits and could be ready with a year of seasoning. There is also a chance that the log jam at corner moves Porter to a safety position and he has the size and physicality to do this well.
Overall, I really only see the potential to regress at DE and most of that is depth. Nearly every other position group should be improved. The defense overall should be improved.
If I may add to this, we lose all of 2 starters on offense, Menet and Fries. It appears that Scruggs and Holmes both would be ready to step in. Consider also that we are adding one of the top Offensive Coordinators, will get back Cain and Ford from injury, and many of these guys will not be starting as true freshmen trying to figure things out and adjust to the speed of the college game. The offense should take a huge step forward from last year.
I am going to remain very optimistic for the 2021 team. There was an awful lot that came together to create our historically bad slide last year. Most of those issues are well in the past and this team is ripe for a strong bounce back year.
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Oh I get it...you are just trying to get me to drink heavily all day aren't ya!
It's a good looking lineup overall; I hope Luketa either steps up, or is replaced.
Even with the returning players, we aren’t getting much respect in the way too early 2021 preseason polls. I’ve seen about 6 polls to date, the best ranking was about #15, two were in the #20-25 range, and three were unranked. To be clear, after a 4-5 season, we should not be getting much respect. Both offense and defense should be improved, but there are question marks on both sides of the ball including the effectiveness of the coaching staff.
I prefer we come into the season unranked so the team plays with that extra motivation.
I too wonder if Porter will be moved to safety. Seems reasonable considering they brought in another CB from the portal who started last year.
Forgot about that. The quality depth at CB really gives you the impression that someone might make the move to safety.
Yep, Luketa is a weakness on the field as a LB, and I'm hoping the staff moves him to DE and gets Jacobs and Dixon on the field more at LB. Especially Jacobs who seemed to always be around the ball and making tackles when he was on the field in 2020.
Most everyone seems to agree that DT will be as good or better this coming season compared to 2020. Cullpepper leaving does not significantly impact depth as there are a good number of young DT's developing that should show up more this season as they have had 1-2 years in the S&C program. Beamon got some nice experience last season after adding mass and moving from DE, and Ellies also looked promising at season's end when he got some playing time. I was expecting more from Handsard in 2020, but he was coming off a significant injury - he looked a little pudgy and slower than what we need at DT, but coming off the injury maybe he will be in better shape and quicker with another year in the S&C program. If not he will get passed up for playing time, so he must believe he can hold off the youngsters or he would have been in the Portal by now. And then there are Brevard, Izzard and Darkwa, young DT's that didn't see PT in 2020 but may be ready to compete at a B10 level in 2021, as well as Mulbah who was seen as a project athletic DT but will likely take another year or two before he is ready.
I saved Vanover for last as he is still listed on the roster as a DE, although he was projected to move to DT. I believe Vanover played at both DT and DE in the last couple games, and with DE having the least depth position wise on the roster Vanover may play 2021 at DE. His development, position, and play this Spring should be something to keep an eye on.
I agree that Issac looks like a breakout candidate at DE, and pairing him with the incoming transfer from Temple should form an adequate starting DE pair. But behind them coming back are only Tarburton who has been unable to stay healthy and is a limited pass rusher, Vilbert who showed little in his 2020 playing time, and the redshirt freshman Mostella who was looked at as needing some time in the S&C program to fill out his long frame. With only one true freshman DE who most believe is a redshirt candidate. Surely CJF is scouring the Portal for a DE that can play DE for PSU in 2021, especially a grad transfer that could play 2021 as there looks to be the potential for a couple of 2022 recruits with the ability to play immediately that may join that class. Or maybe CJF will move a LB to DE or keep Vanover at DE.....
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I also like Fisher as a candidate to move to DE. LB is pretty solid and had very talented depth. I think Fisher was listed at 255lbs coming in but lost some weight upon arrival to stay at LB. It probably would be a pretty natural transition for Fisher to put that weight back on and bring some LB speed to the DE position.
Porter has a chance to be maybe our highest draft pick ever at corner, don’t think he’s moving. Ellis is a better candidate IMO
Yep, Fisher was big enough to play DE coming out of his Senior H.S. season, but I believe he did play LB in H.S. And after watching his H.S. film he sure looked like a missile of a LB. But when push comes to shove after the roster is set when the Portal has been exhausted, Fisher may just be asked to play DE for the 2021 season. But I'd sure rather see another solution at DE (Portal, Vanover, Luketa,....) as our MLB play was pretty poor and even if Smith moves to MLB it would be great to have a young, physical LB that can hopefully tackle backing him up.
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Beamon is going to be elite. Also look for one of these three to make a significant impact: Izzard, Darkwa or Mulbah. Look forward to seeing Fisher and Elsdon at LBer. Time to get back to the basics with some sure tackling LB play. I think Dixon would be a better S than LB.
I’m not understanding the talk about Dixon. He looked lost most of the time. Go look at the film. He over or underplayed his gap responsibility and seemed to have little feel for finding the ball. He didn’t play fast. Maybe he needs a spring to improve but he just doesn’t look instinctual as a LB. I don’t know his 40 time but based on his size I wonder if he could move back to safety. I know there was some talk of that when he came to PSU but I didn’t follow it closely.
agreed; Dixon's attempt to tackle the Illini TE was the lowlight, but he looked lost all year
I agree, Dixon hasn’t done anything to date. And I am very skeptical about the coaching of the Linebackers. Luketa is soft as crap, Brandon Smith makes the tackle about 50% of the time with some pretty ridiculous whiffs, Katshir has been injured but practice reports have mentioned he just hasn’t developed. We know Pry is a problem, and he should be under a large microscope heading into 2021.
While I agree Dixon was unimpressive, I don't quite share your pessimism about the LBs. Brandon Smith, without a doubt, improved greatly as the season moved on and in the last few games, looked great. Brooks is not sensational but solid. I think Jacobs definitely flashed some glimpses of what is a very high ceiling. Luketa, well, DE is a possibility for him.
Luketa and brooks never put it together last season. They were so inconsistent. I think we all expected more from them. Hopefully they improve this spring. Regardless Smith needs to move inside and somebody needs to step up and replace him at olb. He spent far to much time defending WRs. Maybe Jacob's or even brisker could fill that role. Dixon was recruited as a olb but I recall him subbing inside last season. If Fisher has the instincts of a lb he needs to stay at lb.
I hope you don’t mind me asking, Greg, but curious why you type all your messages in bold type?
Thanks
OL
Still trying to figure out how that happened when he had zero sacks and was not stout against the run?
I don't mind. Some like to put pictures of naked girls with their posts to identify themselves, others cute sayings. I did it originally as it's easier for me to see my typing and correct all the errors before I post a post. But when it agitated a couple of the self appointed board nanny's here I just stuck with it..... Hopefully those nanny's put me on ignore and then I don't have to waste time responding to them.
It's harder to evaluate individual players watching the games on TV versus being at a game and being able to see where players come from to make tackles and how they react when they are not in the TV width. But from what I saw Jacobs, who came in only this past summer, was more consistently in position to make plays and was a better tackler than Dixon who was in his 2nd season in the program. So at this point I am much more optimistic about what Jacobs might do in 2021 than Dixon.
And I agree that if the staff moved Dixon to Safety it might be the best move in the longer term for the team, as it doesn't seem that Dixon is going to leave for the NFL any time soon.....
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Porter Jr.’s Father played Linebacker in the NFL for about 12 years, so his father should be telling him what position to focus on
Katshir never played a down of LB until he arrived at PSU. I actually think he is was the surest tackler of all the LBers before he was injured. We need to start recruiting players who know the position and have an instinct for the position when they arrive in State College. Way too many projects that do not end up panning out. Wade, Brooks, Luketa are all players that seem to lack football instinct, which makes them a step or two slow in making the play. My 2 cents.
Agree that Oweh is something of a project. Eventually, he might be an All Pro. But as for his PSU career, he definitely wasn’t in the same category as guys like Courtney Brown, Brad Scioli, Michael Haynes, Tamba Hali, Deon Barnes, Karl Nassib and probably a number of other PSU DE’s I have watched over the years. When he went out of the lineup, it didn’t seem to affect much.
Fisher may have to move to DE. If he gets around or over 250 lb, it would probably be best if he has NFL aspirations. I also hope Tarburton can finally get healthy, because I think his football instincts are badly needed on this unit.
Fisher may have to move to DE. If he gets around or over 250 lb, it would probably be best if he has NFL aspirations. I also hope Tarburton can finally get healthy, because I think his football instincts are badly needed on this unit.
