Through two weeks of the season, Penn State football fans seemingly have more questions about the team than they did before the season. The offense stuttered in the first half against FIU, with some Penn State favorites struggling hard.

The good thing for Penn State, despite a slow start, is the defense has looked very solid. The Nittany Lions have only allowed 11 points this season, including a shutout against FIU. They have done this while rotating their defense as if it’s the preseason.

According to PFF, 30 different players played for Penn State on the defensive side of the ball, with 26 of those players recording stats.

“Obviously, our first two games, pretty impressive in terms of points and the number of guys that we’ve been able to play, but I do think we can be more of a suffocating style defense,” James Franklin said. “We’ve given up some yards that I think Jim [Knowles] would prefer, obviously, must be a little bit tighter reacting. I still think our defense is thinking and not playing as fast as maybe we have in the past.”

A reason for the overthinking could be the new defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles. Penn State has transitioned from three different defensive coordinators over the last three years, meaning the Nittany Lions have not gotten the full install from a defensive playbook.

Knowles was notoriously average in his first season with the Ohio State Buckeyes, allowing 45 points against Michigan, 41 against Georgia, and 30 against Maryland. It took Knowles until year three, once settled and his defense was fully installed, for the Buckeye fans to really start appreciating him.

“It’s never a finished process, and how quickly we can move forward with it this year depends on how quickly the players keep learning,” Knowles said about the install at Penn State’s media day. “Right now, it’s at a really rapid pace. [We’ll] just keep pushing forward as long as they’re handling everything.”

The former Oklahoma State defensive coordinator also noted that over the years, he has become much better at the install process and feels like he should have the Nittany Lion defense where it should be in the 2025 season.

One advantage Knowles will have in Happy Valley is a team used to installing plays week by week. The softer start to the season also allows Penn State to implement more than just a week’s worth of defense through the first few games of the season.

“I think we’re being aggressive with it, but that’s where his experience is so valuable, where he’s going to say, Okay, we’re going to do whatever we have to do against Villanova to win the game. But then there’s going to be some things that we’re also going to put on them that’s going to be important for us in the long haul during the season, that they need to get more comfortable and confident with,” Franklin said.

The weaker opponents also allow a ton of players live reps in the new defense, something that will continue this week against Villanova.

“We typically have done this, I think, in my 12 years we’ve played a ton of guys early in the season to try to develop depth, and we’ll try to do that again this week,” Franklin said. “It’s developing depth, but it’s also an opportunity to evaluate these guys in games and who deserves more reps and who’s not necessarily ready for prime time yet.”

One of the areas where Franklin and staff will be keeping a close eye on is the defensive line. While Zane Durant and Dani Dennis-Sutton are locked in for two of the positions, the other two spots are wide open.

One of the pass rush options for Franklin, opposite of Dennis-Sutton, has been true freshman Chaz Coleman. Despite only playing defensive end for one year in high school and enrolling late, Coleman has impressed throughout the first two weeks of the season.

“You guys are starting to see what we saw at camp,” Franklin said postgame. “He wasn’t even here for spring ball, so I think you’re going to just continue to take significant strides. But he’s quick, he’s twitchy, he’s athletic.”

Another option is veteran edge rusher Zuriah Fisher. The Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, native missed all of the 2024 season with an injury but played in 13 games in 2023, ending with 16 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 3.5 tackles for loss.

Fisher returned from the injury to play against FIU but didn’t record any stats.

“It was just great having him back,” Franklin said. “Probably played a little bit more than what I wanted him to play in terms of rep count. But he looked quick off the ball. He looked confident. Mentally, looked confident. Physically, he looked confident, emotionally, had a big smile on his face, and was flying around having fun.”

On the interior side of the line, there also is no true No. 2 behind Zane Durant. Multiple guys have been playing well, including Alonzo Ford Jr., who had an interception last week, and Enai White, who made the move to defensive tackle this offseason.

Franklin also noted that he thought his defensive line played much more physically against FIU compared to Nevada. A change, he said, that comes with more live reps. It can be hard to be in football mode at the start of the season when you are playing thud all year in practice.

For those unaware of thud, it’s a football term used in practice when players are told to hit people but to keep them on their feet. This is to protect against unnecessary injuries throughout the offseason.

As Penn State gets closer and closer to what could be a top-five matchup against Oregon on September 27, expect to see more physicality, faster play, and less lineup rotations.