At the beginning of the season, Penn State's defense was falling apart. Linebacker Sean Lee got injured and is out for the year. Starting defensive tackles Chris Baker and Phil Taylor were kicked off the team. Off-the-field issues continued for the defense when cornerback A.J. Wallace, All-American Defensive End Maurice Evans, and linebacker Abe Koroma.
The defensive line, which once had great depth, was now starting second and third string players. Our linebackers were also handicapped when Sean Lee was injured and when Koroma was suspended. Our front seven, which was once unstoppable, suddenly looked vulnerable.
My major concern before the season was our secondary, which always seems to be easily beat by good passing offense. However, our defense looked absolutely great in our first three games, although they weren't much of a test. People may say that Penn State gave up 37 points to three weak teams, but this is not really true.
Against Coastal Carolina, our starting defense only gave up 3 points, against Oregon State they gave up 7, and against Syracuse they gave up 7. So the starting defense only gave up 17 points to three teams. At first, I thought our secondary was weak. After the injuries, I thought that our front seven wouldn't be able to hold.
However, our front seven looks great, especially with Josh Hull and Ollie Ogbu getting better each week at their positions. Our secondary is still questionable, but with a couple new corners and safeties behind our pretty good starters, I think that we can easily improve in that area.
If you're about to ask, "What about the offense?", this article is only for the defense. I will tell you that the offense is arguably the best since the 94 season, and they look outstanding. Penn State's defense has been able to fight through injuries, suspensions, off-the-field issues, and players being kicked off while still looking amazing.
Can the defense get even better? One way they could is if Paterno lets Evans and Koroma play when the Big 10 season starts, then we will have all-stars with fresh legs, and very talented and experienced backups. I expect to see more greatness out of this PSU defense.
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