The first play resulted in a pass breakup. What followed were four more, two forced fumbles, an interception, six tackles for loss and two sacks. A bulk of the conversation following Penn State’s 34-12 season-opening win at West Virginia surrounded the offense. But it was the defense that also played better in the team’s rematch with the Mountaineers.
That’s a credit to new defensive coordinator Tom Allen, who has kept things sturdy after the departure of highly touted predecessor, Manny Diaz. But it’s also a credit to a talented corps of players who have maintained James Franklin’s standard of defensive dominance, even without the beloved Diaz leading the charge.
“If you do a statistical comparison between our West Virginia game last year and our West Virginia game this year, no one’s really talking about our defense and our defense really played well. … I think on a real positive note, our defense played better,” Franklin said Monday. “And not only did they play better, they played better on the road without the home environment.”
There’s no doubt about it. The Nittany Lions had a defense last season that was among the nation’s best. It was a defense built for the College Football Playoff, and one of the most complete units of Franklin’s tenure. But with offensive struggles ultimately defining the team’s fate, it also appeared to be a talented defense wasted.
Gone was Diaz, a defensive mastermind who was so talented as a coordinator that Duke couldn’t resist giving him a second head coaching opportunity. And in was Allen, another former head coach. Diaz and Allen are completely different people, safeties coach Anthony Poindexter said Thursday, but the expectation remained exactly the same.
That’s to be the best defense in the country.
“I just think you got to give credit to the kids buying in,” Poindexter said. “You know, in college football, change happens every year, and our kids didn’t bat an eye.”
The production should show up in games, and it already has. But it’s also helped push an offense hoping to break out of its shell in the first under offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnikci. The offense shouldn’t be surprised by any defense this season because, according to tight end Andrew Rappleyea, they’ve already practiced against “the best in the country.”
“They’re really freaking good, man,” Rappleyea said. “Yeah, one thing I can confidently say that Tyler Warren told me going into the season, real quick, he was saying, ‘Rap, when you get in,’ he says, ‘be ready to go and just play fast, because when you get in there, you’re going to be surprised as to how ready you really are.’ And that’s one thing I noticed about this weekend.”
There’s defensive end Abdul Carter, safety Kevin Winston Jr., nickel corner Jaylen Reed. The list of future NFL talent across Penn State’s defense goes on. It’s not only the offense, after a historically physical preseason, that knows just what this unit is capable of. The defensive players themselves are completely aware of it too.
For almost a complete two years, defensive end Smith Vilbert watched from the sidelines as the group around him transformed into an elite force. Now, he’s returned to action after a season-ending injury in 2023 surrounded by a group that’s destined for great things.
In his opinion, and in the opinion of many others on the Nittany Lions, that group is the best defense in the entire country. And they aren’t just saying that. They actually believe it.
“That’s something that we feel, we take pride in, that we feel like we’re the best defense,” Vilbert said. “We work like we’re the best defense. We’re gonna keep competing like we’re the best defense.”
