Penn State football players hyped for 2019 defensive line

Penn State football’s 2019 pass rushers seem to be getting a lot of attention within the team facilities this offseason.

The 2019 NCAA season is fitting to be a crucial one for Penn State football. As they turn a page in their offense this year with a new general in charge under center, nobody knows what to expect from that side of the ball honestly. However, the defensive side of the ball is fitting to be the strength of the team in 2019 as it is an already established unit.

Last season, Penn State’s defensive line was dominant. The pass rush was the cream of the crop in the NCAA, and the numbers back up that claim as they led the nation in sacks with 47 total. Although the Lions lost two key contributors up front from last season in Kevin Givens and Shareef Miller, defensive line coach Sean Spencer believes they are on par to be even better in 2019 than they were during 2018’s effort.

The consensus starting lineup looks lethal as it is. Shaka Toney, Antonio Shelton, Robert Windsor, and the highly touted Yetur Gross-Matos already offer a dominant look toward opposing offensive lines. But don’t count out the depth guys, either. Daniel Joseph, Shane Simmons, and Jayson Oweh have been getting their fair share of attention throughout the 2019 offseason as well.

Recently, The Centre Daily Times’ Josh Moyer caught up with a few Lions last weekend to discuss which specific players made strides in progression during this offseason. To no surprise, a handful of the picks regarded the defensive line. And one player, in particular, couldn’t pinpoint one player. Instead, he highlighted the entire defensive line as most improved.

What they’re saying:

Penn State defensive tackle Antonio Shelton was conflicted. He was asked to label which teammate of his made the biggest strides this offseason, but he couldn’t just point to one guy. As he works with the defensive line all the time, he’s noticed a big jump in progression by everybody. So his response to Moyer’s question was simple; The entire defensive line.

"“It’s hard to say because everyone is going absolutely crazy. Like, we were cleaning the other day — we had a clean-max — and weight was just going up. Everybody’s weight was going up. … It’s just everybody on the D-line. Jayson (Oweh) is a freak; they do him like a crash-test dummy. Just like, ‘All right, OK, throw however many plates on there. Jayson will do it.’ Shaka Toney is a lot stronger than people think, Shane (Simmons) is a lot stronger than people think, Daniel (Joseph) is a lot stronger than people think. I just think, as a group, we’ve really taken a step. It’s not like one person is ahead of the pack.”"

To keep some bias out of the equation, Penn State offensive lineman Michal Menet had no issue mentioning a defensive lineman as well. Although his pick happened to be linebacker, Cam Brown, Menet couldn’t help but mention redshirt freshman, Jayson Oweh. We’ve seen the videos of Oweh going to toe-to-toe with some PSU linebackers in terms of speed.

Now, we’re excited to see how his lean speed translates to the football field this fall. We’re not sure where Oweh’s snap count is going to be in 2019, but we are well-aware that the defensive line as a whole is preparing for another monster season.