Defense has a chance to be really special in 2023.

[Sooner Lion]

#33 and #44 at DE are gonna be monsters.
#99 is going to be tough at DT. #51 needs to add 20 lbs.
#11 and #23 should be studs at OLB.
#4 is going to be a stud at CB.

Need to hit the portal for another athletic LB and a big solid DT.

 

[bison13]

#33 and #44 at DE are gonna be monsters.
#99 is going to be tough at DT. #51 needs to add 20 lbs.
#11 and #23 should be studs at OLB.
#4 is going to be a stud at CB.

Need to hit the portal for another athletic LB and a big solid DT.

41 made strides at mlb. Deep secondary but as you said, need a big dt

 

[royboy]

We'll miss #16 at Safety.

Who emerges at that position?

 

[PSU Soupy]

We'll miss #16 at Safety.

Who emerges at that position?

Can he come back?? Or is he done??

 

[bdgan]

#33 and #44 at DE are gonna be monsters.
#99 is going to be tough at DT. #51 needs to add 20 lbs.
#11 and #23 should be studs at OLB.
#4 is going to be a stud at CB.

Need to hit the portal for another athletic LB and a big solid DT.

Chop should be good. Haven't seen enough of Sutton but potential is there.

Haven't seen enough of Izzard but DT is a question mark.

Carter is the most pleasant surprise of the year. LB should be good if Jacobs stays. If not....

Agree that King looked good. We need Dixon, Wheatley. Reed, Wilson, Hardy etc to step up. Porter & Brown will be difficult to replace.

 

[bdgan]

We'll miss #16 at Safety.

Who emerges at that position?

He had a bigger impact than Porter IMO.

 

[lazydave841]

Brown was very good this year, but Brisker was a much bigger loss from last year to this year than Brown going into '23.

We played more guys this year than last in the secondary. Reed, Wheatley, Ellis are a very solid group of 3 at S. Winston will very likely be the #4 and he looks to be a positive player.

DT is my biggest wish list. I love PJ, but he wasn't and never did reach '21 level PJ in '22. If he has a covid year, he should return. Definitely desire a transfer here. A big nose, run plugging guy. Wish we recruited those 330 lbs 3* types. Very rare are they ever high end guys. You just have to develop them.

LB probably #2. Kobe King made some great strides and may be a solid starter next year, but if we can get depth here take it. Manny may improve our young guys too. Will be interesting to see what moves they make.

 

[Kamovitch]

How about the 2 freshman lbs coming in next year. One could hopefully be another Carter

 

[PSUWrestlingFanSince2011]

How about the 2 freshman lbs coming in next year. One could hopefully be another Carter

Tony Rojas is going to be elite.

 

[jimarnp]

#33 and #44 at DE are gonna be monsters.
#99 is going to be tough at DT. #51 needs to add 20 lbs.
#11 and #23 should be studs at OLB.
#4 is going to be a stud at CB.

Need to hit the portal for another athletic LB and a big solid DT.

First, we need Diaz to stay put at least one more year. —We will miss Porter, Brown, and PJ. Brown and PJ ( his size) will be difficult to replace. Those who filled for Porter did a very good job. The remaining starters and back ups are really, really good…. And will be better next year. — I believe we will easily have the best LB group in the big 10 next year, with those returning ( 11, 23, 41, 43, 34, etc) and at least 2 high end recruits back filling. —Defense will likely be even better next year

 

[cntblvitsbutter]

Tony Rojas is going to be elite.

Not at 205 lbs he's not. Maybe he can get to 215 next year, but I think it'll likely take 2 seasons in S&C before he can make any significant impact.

 

[NittanyChris]

We'll miss #16 at Safety.

Who emerges at that position?

Wheatley will be a force at safety. Also have read a lot of good stuff about KJ Winston. Reed is solid.

It’s DT that is definitely a concern.

 

[Wallace Breen]

#33 and #44 at DE are gonna be monsters.
#99 is going to be tough at DT. #51 needs to add 20 lbs.
#11 and #23 should be studs at OLB.
#4 is going to be a stud at CB.

Need to hit the portal for another athletic LB and a big solid DT.

I don't know about special, but very good yes so long as certain holes are filled. Let's see who we lose in the portal and which players will eligibility leaves early.

 

[scrivener]

Wheatley will be a force at safety. Also have read a lot of good stuff about KJ Winston. Reed is solid.

It’s DT that is definitely a concern.

Yep, and we need a legitimate guy with the proper build to be a DT, not this converted, positionless football JF loves. Beamon is too small...same with Durant as an every down DT (but I do like Durant as depth), Van Den Berg, etc. PJ was big, but never regained his 21 form and just wasn't athletic and mobile enough. We need to find or develop a DT that will be an anchor so the LB's and DB's can thrive and we don't need to send the house to get pressure. Replacing Brown and JPJ won't be easy despite our numbers back there, so any help we can get from the front 7 without Diaz having to send DB's all the time will be a HUGE plus for 2023.

 

[Psugo823]

Tony Rojas is going to be elite.

In 2 years. He needs to add about 25 pounds.

 

[Psugo823]

First, we need Diaz to stay put at least one more year. —We will miss Porter, Brown, and PJ. Brown and PJ ( his size) will be difficult to replace. Those who filled for Porter did a very good job. The remaining starters and back ups are really, really good…. And will be better next year. — I believe we will easily have the best LB group in the big 10 next year, with those returning ( 11, 23, 41, 43, 34, etc) and at least 2 high end recruits back filling. —Defense will likely be even better next year

PJ still has a covid year if he chooses to take it

 

[PSU20]

If Beamon, Durant, Isaac, and Chop are on the field at the same time, that gives an average weight of about "254 lbs." How are we going to stop the running game of either OSU or UM with that size of a DL?

We have some bigger DE's waiting in the wings who will be in the 270-275 range next year. We need for them to get more playing time.

 

[AWS1022]

He had a bigger impact than Porter IMO.

Porter didn’t get many chances to make plays because no one would throw at him. That’s a pretty huge impact.

 

[ncgolfer]

I think Adisa Isaac‘s pass rushing really started to flash towards the end of the season. I’m hoping he comes back. I think Carter, Isaac and Chop Robinson give us a very strong core pass rushing group next season. I’m also hoping Dennis-Sutton can develop a little better pass rush technique and join in the party. Beamon and Durant have strong have potential too.

 

[GregInPitt]

41 made strides at mlb. Deep secondary but as you said, need a big dt

Yep, I don't believe PSU will add a LB. King was improving as the season went along, and Wylie and Buddin could be in the hunt for playing time in 2023 as well. Plus two top LB recruits in Rojas and Robinson.

It would be great to find a big DT in the portal, but as they are few and far between finding one that can actually come in and contribute will be tough. I'll be pleasantly surprised if one is added to the roster.

Losing a couple of top players in the secondary in Porter and Brown, but if most of the other experienced DB's return including Dixon, Hardy and Wilson the secondary should be in good shape given the young talent that will come within the 2023 class some of whom will likely be ready to contribute in 2023. Would be great if Ellis returns as veteran leadership at Safety, along with Reed, Wheatley and Winston.

But there will be turnover in order to get to 85 this Spring so it's going to be an eventful couple of months going forward. There are a couple of 2nd and 3rd year players that haven't contributed so far without getting into names that may look for playing time elsewhere, but not many......

 

[psuno1]

We'll miss #16 at Safety.

Who emerges at that position?

Wheatley just needs to play and he will emerge.