Penn State's Defense Sets Some Priority Fixes Vs. Kent State

James Franklin wants to see better tackling and clearer communication vs. the Golden Flashes.

Penn State coach James Franklin looks on from the sideline during the first quarter against the Bowling Green Falcons at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State's first-half defensive performance against Bowling Green might have been an anomaly. The Nittany Lions allowed 24 first-half points but six third-quarter yards, so the reset switch worked. Or, as safety Jaylen Reed said after the game, "we came to our senses."

That said, Penn State coach James Franklin compiled a list of defensive concerns to address during the bye week. They included a common refrain across college football and a very new one that teams with big, vocal crowds are confronting.

The Nittany Lions (2-0) will field-test their corrections Saturday against Kent State, though the resulting data might prove inconclusive. Penn State's defense has an overwhelming edge, as the Golden Flashes rank 123rd nationally in passing offense, 127th in scoring and 132nd in rushing offense. Still, Franklin wants to see improvement in a few areas:

RELATED: Why is Penn State playing Kent State this week? It's a long story

1. Tackling

Nearly every coach and broadcaster in the country laments tackling. Between injury prevention, practice restrictions, rules restrictions, and the season's expansion, teams simply don't tackle much in practice. However, Penn State's tackling success degraded from the opener at West Virginia to the first half against Bowling Green.

"We did not tackle as well in Game 2 as we did in Game 1, and obviously that's an area that we've got to get cleaned up because we need to be getting better as the season goes on," Franklin said. "I think there's a lot of reasons that probably factor into that, but we've got to be getting better from a tackling perspective. I thought we tackled really well Week 1, when that's a concern for most people across the country."

2. Communications

Penn State had a modest issue with its communications technology in its first two games, particularly the home opener. Not that the microphones (used by coaches) or earpieces (used by players) malfunctioned. Instead, the crowd noise at Beaver Stadium inadvertently affected the Penn State defense's ability to communicate signals effectively. Franklin said that was a first-half issue against Bowling Green, though the team "settled" it in the second half.

"We were trying to rely specifically on the headset communication, and at home that can be a little bit more challenging with the linebacker trying to verbally communicate to all 11 guys on the field," Franklin said. "Very similar to what I had explained to you guys about no-huddle teams on offense trying to get the quarterback to communicate to everybody. That was still going to be challenging unless you're huddling.

"On defense you don't typically huddle. You condense a little bit, but you don't necessarily huddle. That created some challenges for us and allowed us some opportunities to get those things cleaned up in the second half and really moving forward."

For Penn State, middle linebacker Kobe King wears the earpiece and communicates calls with the defense. King is a second-year starter and experienced player who has made such calls before. However, since the defense is signaling less, King has to communicate verbally with the defense. That becomes an issue shouting calls to cornerbacks through a din of crowd noise.

"Depending on how you're using it, you're asking that linebacker to turn around and communicate to the safeties. While he's doing that, he's not seeing the formation, he's not seeing the alignment," Franklin said. "So it's created some challenges that we've had to work through in the first couple of weeks, specifically on the defensive side of the ball."

3. Discipline

This was something Franklin mentioned immediately after the Bowling Green without watching film, so you know it was a top-of-mind issue.

"I think early on, we were trying to make plays rather than play the defense," Franklin said after the game. "We need to get out of our gaps, try to make plays, doing things that we haven't done during the week, and we’ve got to get those things cleaned up, for sure."

Several players noticed the same issue, suggesting that some sought to make a highlight play rather than play their role. The explanation made some sense, particularly considering how well Penn State's defense played against West Virginia. Thus, the Bowling Green first half provided useful teaching tape.

"Just the discipline of playing the defense, of not trying to do more than your job," Franklin said. "The more we play great team defense and do their job and be gap accountable, then the plays come to you."

4. Injuries

With safety KJ Winston out "long-term," Penn State confronts a shuffle in the secondary. One player to watch is true freshman safety Dejuan Lane, who will play a larger role in the defensive backfield.

"Dejuan is going to be really important this week and obviously moving forward as well," Franklin said. "He's a guy that we've been trying to get more involved. We had planned on playing him more last week. It didn't play out that way, but he's probably the guy that I would say our focus is on the most right now."

Penn State also has sustained some injuries that have tested its depth at linebacker, making depth an issue there as well. One sign of good news: Linebacker Ta'Mere Robinson is practicing again after getting injured at West Virginia and missing the Bowling Green game.

"We need him," Franklin told reporters in State College after practice Wednesday. "He was really doing well. To be able to get him back is helpful at a position where we’re trying to develop some more depth."

Penn State hosts Kent State at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Big Ten Network will televise.

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.