Post Blue-White Game Penn State depth chart: Defense
Penn State football exits spring camp and heads into the summer months of conditioning and player-led practice. The next few months will help shape and determine who plays and who doesn’t for the 2024 season. But the Blue-White Game gave us a snapshot of the team’s depth chart and positional battles we previously did not have.
So, let’s reset the Penn State depth chart after the game. For reference, we’re assuming that the first and fourth teams played on the White squad, and the Blue team was made up of the second and third teams, plus freshmen. There are obviously instances where the coaching staff made manual adjustments, but we’ll dive into the specifics below.
** Designates an injured player or non-participant in the Blue-White Game.
Penn State defensive depth chart
Defensive Line
Left End
Defensive tackle
Defensive Tackle
Sam Siafa
Right End
Without All-22 footage, it’s difficult to pin down specific gap alignments from the Penn State defensive tackles, but they stayed in left and right designations by drive. More importantly, we have an accurate view of the body types that pair together on the defensive line throughout the game. The team is split into three-technique and one-technique players, as expected. But without any situational or third-down packages, it’s impossible to say if the defense will break up those pairings later.
Speaking of third-down packages, the defensive end rotation will obviously change, and snaps will be more plentiful when the team isn’t playing base defense in all situations. The combinations for those situations can change drastically. Zuriah Fisher did not participate in the Blue-White game but is likely the primary backup to Dani Dennis-Sutton based on the rest of the rotation we saw.
Penn State linebackers and Lion position
Will Linebacker
Dom DeLuca OR
Splitting the depth chart and playing against 11 personnel obscures our view of the Will linebacker position beyond Tony Rojas. The second-year linebacker started the game and is the logical replacement for Abdul Carter at Will. But is Dom DeLuca the primary backup? Or is Blue Team starter Kaveion Keys the primary backup? For now, we’ll list the duo as an OR to give the flexibility and competition their due. You can make a case for DeLuca’s veteran experience or Keys’ size and tools.
Mike Linebacker
Sam Linebacker
Dom DeLuca
For example, in the H-back position at tight end, we have no information from the Blue-White game about the team’s plans for three-linebacker sets. The most we saw was Jackson Pryts play Sam late in the game for the Blue Team. We saw Keon Wylie get snaps at Sam early in camp before taking a back seat with an injury.
Lion
We’ve heard plenty about the Lion position this spring, but one thing we didn’t see during the Blue-White Game was A.J. Harris taking snaps there. Realistically, the fractured depth chart necessitated some distortion in sub-packages. James Franklin, Tom Allen, and several players mentioned that Harris could play the position, but he saw all of his snaps at the outside corner. That meant Kolin Dinkins got all the reps for the Blue Team and performed very well.
But the top of the depth chart is fairly clear. Jaylen Reed is the team’s primary Lion ‘backer, followed by Cam Miller when Reed’s day was done early. Tyrece Mills is the lone linebacker that we saw play snaps at the position, and as a former safety, it makes sense.
Cornerback
Left Corner
Right Corner
Zion Tracy
Left and right cornerback designations will matter to a degree, but the top reserve players in Tom Allen’s defense will need to play both left and right spots. For now, we’re separating them by their rough position during the Blue-White Game, the number of snaps they played, and which team they were on.
Penn State redshirt sophomore Audavion Collins was the group’s surprise, running with the first-team defense during the Blue-White Game. He saw snaps opposite Miller and has made a push in the battle for playing time in the wide-open cornerback battle. But that doesn’t mean Harris is locked behind him. The Georiga transfer went up against the starting receivers and made them work for every catch and yard during the game.
On the bottom end of the roster, Antoine Belgrave-Shorter saw more playing time with the second-string Blue Team and Jalen Kimber than some of the players who have been in the program longer. The freshman likely isn’t ready to contribute this year, but it says something that he saw more meaningful snaps than Elliot Washington and Zion Tracy.
Penn State safety lineup
Field Safety
Boundary
Zakee Wheatley played the boundary safety role without Kevin Winston in the lineup, and Mack played the field for the starting White Team defense. But Winston played the boundary last season, so at full strength, it makes sense to have Wheatley flip back to his field spot in a regular game situation. In other words, Nelson and Toure aren’t next up if something happens to Winston. Mack played significant reps for the White Team and looked good. In a linear depth chart, he would be the fourth player behind the starting three of Jaylen Reed, Winston, and Wheatley.
The post Post Blue-White Game Penn State depth chart: Defense appeared first on On3.
