Penn State vs. Ohio State depth chart: Defense

Penn State football needs a significant performance from its defense to keep one of the highest-powered offenses in the country in check this weekend. Ohio State comes to Beaver Stadium Saturday at noon, and Blue White Illustrated is getting you ready for the game with the official depth chart. Will the Nittany Lions switch things up at linebacker?

Penn State vs. Ohio State depth chart: Offense

Penn State football needs a significant performance from its defense to keep one of the highest-powered offenses in the country in check this weekend. Ohio State comes to Beaver Stadium Saturday at noon, and Blue White Illustrated is getting you ready for the game with the official depth chart. Will the Nittany Lions switch things up at linebacker?

Penn State defensive line

Defensive end

46 Nick Tarburton (R-Sr)
44 Chop Robinson (So.)
56 Amin Vanover (So.)

Defensive tackle

51 Hakeem Beamon (R-Jr)
99 Coziah Izzard (R-So)
28 Zane Durant (Fr.)
55 Fatorma Mulbah (R-So)

Defensive tackle

97 PJ Mustipher (Sr+)
91 D’Von Ellies (R-Jr)
52 Jordan van den Berg (R-Fr)

Defensive end

20 Adisa Isaac (R-Jr)
33 Dani Dennis-Sutton (Fr.)
94 Jake Wilson (R-So)

The Lowdown: The defensive tackle rotation has shortened significantly with the return of Coziah Izzard. Both D’Von Ellies and Jordan van den Berg have received reduced snaps in the last two weeks. The rotation will likely be tighter with a big game on hand. The defenders could still see the field, but the number of snaps might be even thinner. 

At defensive end, Dani Dennis-Sutton filled in admirably for Chop Robinson in his absence. However, Penn State will need Robinson to get pressure on the quarterback this weekend. A healthy rotation at defensive end will go a long way to keeping the Nittany Lions in the game.

Lions linebackers

WILL linebacker

23 Curtis Jacobs (So.)
11 Abdul Carter (Fr.)
42 Jamari Buddin (R-Fr.) 

Middle linebacker

43 Tyler Elsdon (So.)
41 Kobe King (So.)

SAM linebacker

0 Jonathan Sutherland (R-Sr.+)
34 Dominic DeLuca (R-Fr.)

The Lowdown: Penn State dipped heavily into sub-packages for the game against Minnesota with their “Big Base” lineup that featured three true linebackers. This got Abdul Carter and Curtis Jacobs on the field simultaneously. Will that happen again this weekend? 

“It really depends on who you play. If you look around college football and the NFL, most people are not playing with three linebackers on the field because they are in 10 or 11 personnel, and now, okay, it’s great to have a linebacker that’s really good at stopping the run, but now he’s not being asked to stop the run. He’s being asked to cover Parker Washington out in space. 

So it’s all based on what we need to do, to not only get our best players on the field, but also our best players in the field based on the matchup and the scheme and the personnel that we are playing,” Franklin said on Tuesday. 

The team may still go to sub packages with Jacobs and Carter on the field together, but don’t expect that to be the starting lineup against an Ohio State team that plays three receivers as a base offense. 

Penn State secondary

Safety

16 Ji’Ayir Brown (Sr.+)
7 Jaylen Reed (So.)
21 KJ Winston (Fr.)

Safety
2 Keaton Ellis (Jr.)
6 Zakee Wheatley (R-Fr.)

The Lowdown: This talent log-jam has worked itself out throughout the season, with all four players seeing the field regularly. However, the dilemma here remains but is more straightforward. Do you play the most reliable players who will execute their assignments? Or do you gamble with the young talent? 

Zakee Wheatley has produced big plays by taking risks and, at times, pulling himself out of position. Against Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud, can he get away with that and bait the quarterback into a turnover? The stakes are very high this weekend. Again, all four will play so the discussion is about rep count and not starting or sitting. 

Cornerback

9 Joey Porter Jr. (R-Jr.)
8 Marquis Wilson (Jr.)
24 Jeffrey Davis Jr. (R-Fr.)
13 Cristian Driver (Fr.)

Cornerback

3 Johnny Dixon (Jr.) OR 4 Kalen King (So.)
5 Cam Miller (Fr.)

Nickel

25 Daequan Hardy (R-Jr.)
3 Johnny Dixon (Jr.)

The Lowdown: Like our discussion at linebacker, this could be a game where you see more slot corners, and Daequan Hardy has a bigger role for the team. Hardy’s played better of late, but the Nittany Lions faced three run-oriented teams in a row, so his workload has been limited. He’ll have to be ready for a big game on Saturday. The entire secondary will, as the Ohio State receivers are some of the most dangerous in the country.