Victory Bell Rings
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Penn State Football: Week 8 Studs and Duds against Indiana

By Corey Hunter

BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 20: Robert Windsor #54, Ryan Bates #52 and Yetur Gross-Matos #99 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrate as they leave the field after the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. Penn State won 33-28. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 20: Robert Windsor #54, Ryan Bates #52 and Yetur Gross-Matos #99 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrate as they leave the field after the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. Penn State won 33-28. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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EVANSTON, IL – OCTOBER 07: Clayton Thorson #18 of the Northwestern Wildcats passes under pressure from Shaka Toney #18 of the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ryan Field on October 7, 2017 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
EVANSTON, IL – OCTOBER 07: Clayton Thorson #18 of the Northwestern Wildcats passes under pressure from Shaka Toney #18 of the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ryan Field on October 7, 2017 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

DE – Shaka Toney

Shaka Toney had one of the best five-and-a-half minutes of any player on either Penn State or Indiana!

The redshirt sophomore entered the contest having recorded a single sack on the season.  In a span of just over five minutes against Indiana, Toney sliced and diced his way to four more sacks, helping Penn State preserve their victory.  His four sacks tied a single-game record held by Terry Killens (versus Indiana, 1995), Jimmy Kennedy (versus Wisconsin, 2002), and Tamba Hali (versus Wisconsin, 2005).

On the day, Toney finished with six total tackles including his four sacks.  His six tackles were a career-high and were nearly half of his total number of tackles on the season.  Toney has been a mainstay of the Nittany Lions’ defensive end rotations, but he has not been counted on to play the vital minutes like players such as starters Yetur Gross-Matos and Shareef Miller have.

Still, with former four-star recruit Shane Simmons working his way back from a foot injury, Toney’s role has been expanding.  In 12 games last season, Toney recorded four sacks to go along with 20 total tackles.  This season, after playing in just seven contests, Toney already has amassed five sacks and 19 total tackles.

In the upcoming stretch of games, look for Toney to get an increase in playing time.  He is a strong, athletic type of pass rusher that can not only impose his physical will against his opponents, but also use his speed to get around offensive tackles to pressure the quarterback.  Toney’s edge pass rushing should continue to compliment the Nittany Lions interior defensive line going forward and be a nice addition to a group continually looking for game-changers.

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