Even in the darkest years, there are sometimes significant positives.
Coming off of 2020, Penn State lost 3/4 of their starting defensive front, including two very solid defensive ends in Toney and Oweh. Replacing that group looked to be a very daunting challenge - which only got tougher when Isaac was lost for the year in pre-season, and, of course, when Mustipher went down in week 6.
But Ekibetie, who really wasn't even that much of a standout on a very, very bad Temple defense jumped in and performed at an elite level. No one could have realistically expected that. Luketa, who was, to put it kindly, disappointing as a linebacker, converted to DE and was solid from day 1, and by November was playing lights out. And Tarbuton provided solid if unspectacular snaps at DE as well. At DT, Mustipher (who also had a sub-par 2020), of course, was playing at an all-conference level before being injured, and unheralded grad transfer Tangelo was more than adequate, and Ellies and Brevard and Izzard all not only showed improvement, but became reliable contributors.
In summary, the work on the defensive line was the complete opposite of the dreadful underperformance of the offensive line. Sadly, all four starters will likely have to be replaced for 2022 (assuming Mustipher goes on to the NFL, and Ebiketie and Luketa choose to not take a super-senior season). But the development of that defensive line group may bode well for the ability of Scott to mold a new defensive line together, that will at least hold down the fort in 2022.
By the way, I know there is a group that goes by PFF (Pro Football Focus?) that scores the play of each individual player. Does anyone have access to how they graded each of the Penn State defensive linemen? I would be curious what they said - and quite frankly, if they don't have most of that group rated fairly highly, I would be both surprised and probably would disagree.
Coming off of 2020, Penn State lost 3/4 of their starting defensive front, including two very solid defensive ends in Toney and Oweh. Replacing that group looked to be a very daunting challenge - which only got tougher when Isaac was lost for the year in pre-season, and, of course, when Mustipher went down in week 6.
But Ekibetie, who really wasn't even that much of a standout on a very, very bad Temple defense jumped in and performed at an elite level. No one could have realistically expected that. Luketa, who was, to put it kindly, disappointing as a linebacker, converted to DE and was solid from day 1, and by November was playing lights out. And Tarbuton provided solid if unspectacular snaps at DE as well. At DT, Mustipher (who also had a sub-par 2020), of course, was playing at an all-conference level before being injured, and unheralded grad transfer Tangelo was more than adequate, and Ellies and Brevard and Izzard all not only showed improvement, but became reliable contributors.
In summary, the work on the defensive line was the complete opposite of the dreadful underperformance of the offensive line. Sadly, all four starters will likely have to be replaced for 2022 (assuming Mustipher goes on to the NFL, and Ebiketie and Luketa choose to not take a super-senior season). But the development of that defensive line group may bode well for the ability of Scott to mold a new defensive line together, that will at least hold down the fort in 2022.
By the way, I know there is a group that goes by PFF (Pro Football Focus?) that scores the play of each individual player. Does anyone have access to how they graded each of the Penn State defensive linemen? I would be curious what they said - and quite frankly, if they don't have most of that group rated fairly highly, I would be both surprised and probably would disagree.
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