Which young Penn State defensive tackles are battling to replace Alonzo Ford?
No football player, at any level, wants to earn a bigger role because a teammate suffers an injury. However, it’s a cruel fact of the game that those things happen, and the short- and long-term success of any team is predicated on how the hurt player is replaced. Penn State is dealing with that right now on both sides of the line of scrimmage. It has a more proven commodity, Nolan Rucci, at right tackle to replace Anthony Donkoh, who is dealing with a long-term issue. But, things are much murkier with the defensive tackle rotation now that Alonzo Ford Jr., is also set to miss a significant amount of time. The second-year Nittany Lion carved out a fine role for himself before Hakeem Beamon left the team earlier this month, and it’s only grown since then. Now, of course, his steady progress is over for the time being.
Penn State has leaned heavily on its top two defensive tackles this fall. Zane Durant leads the way with 397 snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Dvon J-Thomas is next with 328. Coziah Izzard is now third with 199, though he only outpaces Ford’s 186 because the latter was hurt early at Minnesota. It goes without saying that his role is now set to expand. But he cannot be the only interior defensive lineman ready to roll with more reps. Who will take those on? That responsibility will now fall to second-year Nittany Lion Ty Blanding and true freshman Xavier Gilliam, regardless of whether they are ready or not. The pair have just 32 snaps over four games and 24 over two, respectively, but they will hear their number called more, starting first against Maryland on Saturday and then for however long the postseason lasts.
More: Penn State practice notes: Offense | Defense
“I would say Blanding and Xavier are kind of the next two that we’re letting compete this week, to see who’s going to be the next guy,” Lions coach James Franklin said Wednesday night. “But both are going to have to be ready to play. You know, both have put on a significant amount of size since they’ve been here. I think they both showed up probably in the 265 to 270 [pounds] range. Xavier is probably 303-304, somewhere in that range. And Blanding is like 295. So, both have put on enough size to be able to get in and play.
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“They’re learning every single day. I know the vets have done a really good job with them all year, but even more so this week. It’ll be really good opportunity for them, and I think they’re ready. But it’s it’s one thing to do it in practice, it’s another thing to do it in games. So Xavier got a little bit of time. One game as a d-end, which wasn’t ideal, but both have played a little bit. So this will be an important step for both.”
Penn State does not need either to star against the Terrapins (3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network). But, each must show improvement as they get ready for some kind of a postseason role. There is not really another choice. Thus, both will need to help the Lions overcome a scary depth issue at defensive tackle moving forward.
