While the college football season is still more than eight months away, it’s truly never too early to take a look at how the roster is shaping up entering the offseason.

With that in mind, we discussed Penn State’s offense on Friday, but today is the defense’s turn.

Defensive End

• Shaka Toney, redshirt senior / Shane Simmons, redshirt senior
• Jayson Oweh, redshirt sophomore
• Adisa Isaac, sophomore

Despite losing Yetur Gross-Matos early to the NFL Draft, Sean Spencer’s Wild Dogs are poised for another impressive season in 2020. Shaka Toney will be the most experienced member of the group, as he played alongside Gross-Matos this past season and finished with 41 total tackles and 6.5 sacks.

A lot will be asked of Shane Simmons and Jayson Oweh in 2020, and most are confident that they can deliver. Oweh has already garnered plenty of attention thanks to his freakish athletic ability, while Simmons added 19 total tackles in 2019.

Adisa Isaac has also been mentioned by his coaches as an unbelievable athlete, so look for him to rotate in. The Nittany Lions also added four defensive ends to their 2020 recruiting class. A position that’s been a strength for Penn State over the past few seasons is shaping up to have another productive campaign in 2020.

Defensive Tackle

• Antonio Shelton, redshirt senior / PJ Mustipher, junior
• Fred Hansard, redshirt junior
• Damion Barber, redshirt junior
• Judge Culpepper, redshirt sophomore

Penn State is going to miss Robert Windsor greatly, but it will still have plenty of big hog mollies to work with up front in 2020.

PJ Mustipher had a breakout sophomore campaign in 2019, as he finished with 37 total tackles — 4.5 for a loss of yardage — a sack, and a forced fumble. He’ll play a key role on the defensive line next season, while Antonio Shelton will unquestionably be the unit’s leader. Despite not always putting up the flashiest numbers, Shelton has always been considered one of the most outspoken Wild Dogs. He’ll have one more chance to be a valuable player for the group in 2020.

Fred Hansard and Damion Barber will also add plenty of talent and experience to the group. Hansard finished with 4.5 tackles for loss last season, along with a sack.

Linebacker

• Micah Parsons, junior / Jesse Luketa, junior / Ellis Brooks, redshirt junior
• Brandon Smith, sophomore
• Lance Dixon, sophomore
• Curtis Jacobs, freshman

Despite losing multiple key players, “Linebacker U” will be in good hands in 2020.

Micah Parsons is arguably the best player in the country, and he’ll lead this group next season after putting up 109 tackles, five sacks, and four forced fumbles in 2019. The dude is very good at football, and he’ll likely have a massive season in what could be his last year wearing the blue and white.

Jesse Luketa and Ellis Brooks will step into much larger roles after playing behind Jan Johnson and Cam Brown these past few seasons, but they have already shown flashes of what they can do. Brooks finished his 2019 with 39 tackles and 2.5 sacks, while Luketa added 24 tackles of his own.

Brandon Smith will also see plenty of playing time, as he had a productive freshman campaign that included this massive hit against Idaho in week one.

We’d also be remise not to mention Curtis Jacobs, who may see some time during his upcoming freshman season. The four-star recruit out of Maryland was ranked as the fourth-best player from his home state and the fifth-best outside linebacker in the country.

Cornerback

• Tariq Castro-Fields, senior / Keaton Ellis, sophomore
• Marquis Wilson, sophomore
• Trent Gordon, redshirt sophomore
• DJ Brown, redshirt junior

After John Reid’s graduation, Tariq Castro-Fields will need to step as the group’s No. 1 cover-man. The senior finished with 52 tackles and two interceptions in 2019, and he’ll be relied upon to lockdown opposing teams’ top receivers next season.

Outside of Castro-Fields, there’s a whole lot of youth among Nittany Lion cornerbacks. Keaton Ellis will likely play opposite Castro-Fields in his second season in Happy Valley, as he added some key value during his freshman season.

Marquis Wilson will also see plenty of the field in 2020, as he too had a productive freshman campaign. The Connecticut native finished his season with two interceptions, including a massive pick that helped Penn State hold off Memphis in the Cotton Bowl.

Safety

• Lamont Wade, senior / Jaquan Brisker senior
• Jonathan Sutherland, redshirt junior
• CJ Holmes, redshirt junior
• Drew Hartlaub, redshirt junior
• Tyler Rudolph, sophomore

While Garrett Taylor will be another tough loss to the secondary, Lamont Wade proved that he is more than comfortable at safety in 2019. He added 67 tackles, five pass break ups, and two sacks on the season, and will be the leader of Tim Banks’ group in 2020.

Jaquan Brisker will likely spend plenty of time alongside Wade. He stepped up in his first season in Happy Valley, finishing with two interceptions and 37 tackles to boot.

Jonathan Sutherland has been a staple for Penn State’s special teams unit over the past few seasons, but his role as a safety will grow in 2020. If he doesn’t start, he’ll certainly rotate in frequently with some sort of combination of Brisker and Wade.