Another fall, another season of Penn State football.

The Nittany Lions kick off their season in less than two weeks against West Virginia and James Franklin has yet to release an official depth chart. So, we’ve decided to take it upon ourselves to do it.

In recent years, the Nittany Lion’s defense has been one of the best in the country with a nasty front seven leading the way. Last year’s group led the country in sacks and yards allowed per game and this year’s group is looking to do the same.

But is that realistic with a new defensive coordinator and being without Chop Robinson, Adisa Isaac, and Curtis Jacobs?

It’s hard to say, but the good news is there are many returning starters from last season, like Abdul Carter and Zane Durant, along with former highly-rated recruits, like Dani Dennis-Sutton and Tony Rojas, premiering the Nittany Lion’s defense in 2024.

Defensive Tackle  

Starters: Dvon J-Thomas, Zane Durant

Bench: Hakeem Beamon, Coziah Izzard, Alonzo Ford Jr., Kaleb Artis, Ty Blanding, Sam Saifa, Liam Andrews, T.A Cunningham, Xavier Gilliam, De’Andre Cook. 

Hakeem Beamon and Durant were the starters against West Virginia in last season’s opener but Dvon J-Thomas gets the start this year. Beamon started six of the first seven weeks in 2023 until J-Thomas took over the starting role for the rest of the season. J-Thomas, a redshirt senior, and Durant, a junior, started eight and 12 games last season, respectively, and combined for 43 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks.

However, don’t rule out Beamon because he will start at some point this season as well. The redshirt senior finished with 11 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a sack last season. With Beamon and J-Thomas being in their final year of eligibility, they, and Durant, get the majority of the starts.

Coziah Izzard and Alonzo Ford Jr. are the next two to keep an eye out for this year. Izzard appeared in 11 games last season as a backup to Durant, J-Thomas, and Beamon, and still was able to record 16 tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble. He has played well in his role and that should continue this season.

Just a couple of months after he transferred to Penn State from Old Dominion, Ford suffered a season-ending injury in fall camp in 2023. The injury left him inactive throughout the entire spring too, but, Franklin said last week Ford has recovered from his injury and is in the conversation for playing time.

The rest of the room is filled out by redshirt sophomore Sam Saifa and true freshmen, Liam Andrews, T.A. Cunningham, Xavier Gilliam, and De’Andre Cook, who all will compete for playing time in the future. 

Defensive Ends  

Starters: Abdul Carter, Dani Dennis-Sutton 

Bench: Amin Vanover, Zuriah Fisher, Smith Vilbert, Joseph Mupoyi, Jordan Mayer, Jaylen Harvey, Mason Robinson, Bobby Mear, Aiden Probst, Max Granville, Mylachi WIlliams. 

It’s not often a team can lose both of its pass rushers to the NFL and not miss a beat the following year, but that just might be the case for the Nittany Lions.

Carter showed off his athleticism the second he stepped on campus three years ago and since then, he has only gotten bigger and stronger. When Carter blitzed from his linebacker position in the past, he showed flashes of consistently rushing the passer as he had 4.5 sacks last season from the second level. But this year it will all come together for Carter and he will be the X-factor on this defense.

Dennis-Sutton is a former five-start in 247Sport’s composite rankings coming out of high school and has lived up to that rating so far. As a true freshman, he appeared in all 13 games and was named a True Freshman All-American by ESPN.com. Last season, he appeared in all 13 games again, starting in three of them, and recorded three sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss, along with being named to the All-Big Ten third-team by the coaches.

Not only does this room have lots of talent with Carter and Dennis-Sutton, but it also has lots of depth. Zuriah Fisher, if healthy, Amin Vanover, and Smith Vilbert can all come in and perform when needed. Vanover and Fisher appeared in eight and 13 games, respectfully, last season, however, Fisher suffered an undisclosed injury in June and his return to the field remains in question.

Vilbert also missed all of 2023 due to injury. He has played in 17 games as a Nittany Lion and remains an important depth piece.

After that, the room is loaded with freshmen. Joseph Mupoyi, Jordan Mayer, Jaylen Harvey, Mason Robinson, Bobby Mear, Aiden Probst, Max Granville, and Mylachi Williams are all either redshirts or true freshmen in developmental roles.

Linebackers 

Starters: Kobe King, Tony Rojas, Dominic DeLuca 

Bench: Tyler Elsdon, Keon Wylie, Ta’Mere Robinson, Dakaari Nelson, Anthony Speca, Beckham Dee, Winston Yates, Jackson Pryts, Ben Chizmar 

Like the defensive ends, the linebackers have talent at the top and depth throughout the room and it all starts with Kobe King and Dominic DeLuca. Both linebackers have some of the most in-game experience on the defense and were both named team captains earlier this week. The redshirt juniors have played in every game over the past two seasons and those streaks continue this season.

Tony Rojas, like DeLuca and King, appeared in all 13 games last season, but as a true freshman. The former four-star recruit burst onto the scene against Maryland when he recorded his first career interception and forced fumble in the fourth quarter of the game. Now that Rojas has added an adequate amount of weight to his frame, he’s ready to be named a starter.

Tyler Elsdon, Keon Wylie, and Ta’Mere Robinson are the next three up. Since Elsdon’s freshman year in 2020, he has appeared in 38 games for the Nittany Lions on defense and special teams and started all 13 games in 2022. Now, Elsdon is one of the best reserves on the roster and will continue to play that role well in his senior season.

Wylie and Robinson have less on-field experience but have waited their turn for an increase in playing time, especially with the departure of Kavieon Keys. The rest of the group consists of developmental players like DaKaari Nelson, who switched from safety to linebacker earlier this week, and freshman Anthony Speca, Beckham Dee, and Winston Yates.