Penn State Football: Grading Nittany Lions' performance vs. Pitt

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STATE COLLEGE, PA – SEPTEMBER 14: Cam Brown #6 of the Penn State Nittany Lions tackles Kenny Pickett #8 of the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second half at Beaver Stadium on September 14, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

. LINEBACKERS . A. .

Usually, I grade the defensive line and linebackers very similarly. However, in this game, there was a massive difference between the two. The linebackers played a great game.

Out of the three sacks, the linebackers had two of them, and out of the ten tackles for loss, the linebackers had five and a half of them. Lastly, out of the five QB hurries, the linebackers accounted for four of them. The linebackers also deserve a ton of credit for only allowing 24 rushing yards on 25 Pitt carries.

Micah Parsons led all Penn State players with nine tackles, including two tackles for loss, and a QB hurry. He also had a pass defended. Not surprisingly, Parsons was Penn State’s best defensive player in the game.

Cam Brown had seven tackles, including a sack and a tackle and a half for a loss. He also had two QB hurries and a pass deflection. Jan Johnson had five tackles including a sack and a tackle for loss.

In terms of the backup linebackers, Ellis Brooks had a tackle for loss and a QB hurry, and Jesse Luketa had two tackles and a pass defended.

Overall, the linebackers were a massive bright spot for Penn State in this game.

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Penn State Football: Grading the Nittany Lions’ performance vs. Pitt

By Dylan Burd | Sep 16, 2019