How Does Penn State's Defense Feel This Year? 'Unstoppable'

Second-year coordinator Manny Diaz has the Lions playing fast, creative, aggressive defense. His players love it.

Penn State's Chop Robinson won a speed rush around Iowa's offensive line, sacked Hawkeyes quarterback Cade McNamara and stripped the ball free for the third of his defense's four turnovers. Robinson then fell to the ground multiple times in celebration, with teammates joining him, to mock Iowa’s allegations that Penn State faked injuries during their 2021 game in Iowa City.

Robinson’s whimsical celebration, which he continued doing even after returning to the sideline, proved a few things about this Penn State defense: Shutting out the Hawkeyes was personal, the Lions can do just about anything they want right now and, above all else, they’re having fun.

“[Defensive coordinator] Manny [Diaz], he’s creative. You see it in his defense," defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton said after the Lions' 31-0 win. "We have so many different things. We have drops, we have stunts, sometimes we take a receiver. We have a bunch of different things that coach Manny does, and it’s fun. It’s a fun defense to play in. He’s coming up with different things on defense to use all of our specialties."

Penn State shut out Iowa for the first time since 2000, coach Kirk Ferentz’s second year in Iowa City. After a first-quarter fumble from Iowa tight end Erick All, Penn State ran 80 of the remaining 96 offensive plays. Iowa’s totaled minus-5 yards through those last 16 plays. Ouch.

There's plenty more. Here are a handful of statistics from Penn State’s defense through the 4-0 start with their FBS ranks:

• 878 total yards (1st)
• 219.5 yards per game (1st)
• Plus-11 turnover margin (1st)
• 4.08 yards per play (3rd)
• 35 points allowed, 8.75 per game (T-4th)
• .245 opponent 3rd-down percentage (5th)
• 215 plays against (5th)

“We're not a big stat team," Penn State coach James Franklin said this week, "but I do think the stats sometimes tell a story and kind of reinforce some things that you're doing right and allow you to also kind of look into some things that you need to do better."

There has been a noticeable shift in Penn State’s defensive efficiency since last year's blowout at Michigan and loss to Ohio State. Penn State allowed no more than 16 points in its final four Big Ten games and won by at least 19 points in each. Diaz emphasized trust as a sticking point then, and players have bought into that theory as they make that push over the humps that are Michigan and Ohio State.

Cornerback Daequan Hardy said Wednesday that the defense developed a "special bond" through training camp that has led to on-field connection. He couldn’t give it a ranking but said this defense is “up there” with the best on which he has played. Defensive tackle Hakeem Beamon and Franklin both have hit on the idea of being “gap accountable” as major factors in success.

“We’re all just gelling together right now. We’re all just having fun over there," Beamon said. "We’re all doing our jobs at the highest level right now. Nobody's by themselves. We’re just having fun together and turning things up.”

Added Robinson, "It was hard a little bit at first because all the leaders left [from the 2022 team]. But once we found that and the chemistry came back, we're just unstoppable."

Like Dennis-Sutton said, Diaz has a reputation for creative defensive schemes, especially with blitz packages. He broke out an interesting package Saturday with three defensive ends on the field, Robinson manning the middle next to Dennis-Sutton and Adisa Isaac. A safety also moved into the box in the team’s “Prowler” package. It will be used as a third-down package, maybe more frequently now.

Year 2 with Diaz has paid dividends, players said, as they get more comfortable in the scheme. Hardy said there's more mutual trust between Diaz and the defense. Beamon said it’s not a difficult defense in nature, either. The unit has been able to stay fresh, too, thanks to a grind-it-out offensive style and blowouts working in Penn State’s favor.

"We're playing a lot of guys, we've got talent and depth and I think our guys are getting more comfortable and more consistent playing within the scheme," Franklin said. "And I think Manny's done a really good job of not just from a scheme standpoint, but leading that side of the ball."

It’s yet to be seen how far this defense can go, but everything keeps revolving around that one word: fun. "It's a fun defense, man," Dennis-Sutton said. "It's a fun defense."

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Max Ralph is a Penn State senior studying Broadcast Journalism with minors in sports studies and Japanese. He previously covered Penn State football for two years with The Daily Collegian and has reported with the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Follow him on Twitter (X) @maxralph_ and Instagram @mralph_59.

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