PSU Defensive Preview

Well now that we're done with the stadiums, we figure it's time to get down to some serious football talk. We're going to preface that football talk by reminding you that we are not professional writers. We're having fun. We like to talk about what we love and during the fall, that's the blue and white. So, take our opinions however you want, just not as fact.

We're going to start things off with the defense.

The core of Penn State football has always been the defense. Sure, we've seen great offenses and great offensive players like Collins, LJ and more recently, the 2005 squad that seemed to score at will at times -- except for that night in Florida -- but the defense has always been the key to PSU's success.

What's changing, however, is where the defensive power must come from. In years past, it's been all about Linebacker U. This year, after losing Sean Lee for the season, the defensive line might be the strongest part of this defense. Maurice Evans will undoubtedly run the show for the D-line. In 2007 he recorded 12.5 sacks. He will be joined by senior Josh Gaines who also had a strong showing in 2007 with 40 tackles. There's no reason this D-Line shouldn't be able to repeat the success of 2007 in which they helped the PSU defense become 7th nationally against the rush, 9th in yards against per game and 2nd in sacks.

Unfortunately, the team loses 7.5 sacks and 57 tackles after the removal of Phil Taylor and Chris Baker from the team. We'd love it if you checked out this gem over at Black Shoe Diaries. Kids these days.

The rest of the defense will be no slouch either. The linebackers, while losing Dan Connor to the NFL and now Sean Lee to injury, will likely show up like they always do. They lack the big name they've had in the past few seasons, but someone always emerges from the linebacker corps. That's just what PSU does. It's going to be a tough task to replace Lee, it will be up to senior Tyrell Sales to keep the talented yet unexperienced linebackers focused.

The secondary will be something to watch this year. Anthony Scirrotto and Lydell Sargeant will lead the squad as they continue the assult on opposing wide receivers. The secondary is fast, powerful and above all, experienced -- I take that back -- and above all, without Justin King.

That's six.

A group of guys that aren't afraid to step up and you hit you in the mouth, this group should be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming season. With their abilities and another year of experience under their belt, they hope to improve on the 214.5 YPG passing allowed in the 2007 season. That's not a particularly bad stat, but compared to conference leading Ohio State (150.2 ypg) and Michigan (178.8 ypg), it doesn't look so good. The group should also improve the Lions' interception total from last season. Their 11 picks were good enough to get them 8th in the Big Ten.

Overall, the defense looks to be as good as any of the previous years, if not better. A lot will ride on the ability of the line to continue the improvement from last season and the linebacking corps ability to cover the loss of Sean Lee. Comprised mostly of upperclassmen, this defense could be the difference maker in many games this season.

And here are some random stats from 2007, just to remind you how things went.
11 interceptions, T-8th Big Ten.
Allowed 93.8 YPG Rushing, 2nd in Big Ten to Ohio State's 82.8 YPG.
Only allowed two 100 yd rushers, Michigan's Mike Hart (153) and OSU's Chris Wells (133).
214.5 YPG passing allowed. Third in conference behind OSU (150.2) and Michigan (178.8). Seeing a theme?
Allowed only 9 rush TDs during the season. Second to, you guessed it, Ohio State (3).

And in closing, I tried to find a video of defensive highlights but instead found this sweet video. It combines PSU and Flogging Molly. You can't go wrong!

The photo in our banner comes from this game. And during halftime some dude proposed to the alumni twirler shown in the video. no one in the stadium seemed to notice it was happening.