Penn State football: 5 Nittany Lions that are key to victory over Iowa
5. Shaka Toney, DE
Last week, Penn State’s defensive line had a completely dominant day as a whole. With ten total sacks, they almost broke the program’s single-game sack record. Defensive end Shaka Toney was a crucial part of that as he led the pack with three total on the afternoon.
Like many defenses, Penn State’s success comes from the pass rush. If you can get pressure on a quarterback, it makes it hard to throw. And if it’s hard to throw, then teams rely on the run, which Penn State is pretty solid in stopping.
Penn State knows they will get a solid effort from Yetur Gross-Matos, who is consistent with his high level of play. Now if they can get the same type of consistent production from Shaka Toney, who is neck and neck with Gross-Matos when it comes to the sack numbers right now, then this defense can continue to dominate through the tough stretch of their schedule.