Penn State Football 2021: 5 reasons for optimism, 4 reasons to worry

Reason to Worry #3 – Lack of Depth at Defensive End

For this Penn State Football team, defensive end was one of the primary positions they could not afford to lose players due to injury. Well…that is exactly what happened when James Franklin announced that Adisa Isaac, who would have been one of the starters, will miss this season with an injury.

Now, outside of Arnold Ebiketie, there is not much experience among the defensive ends. Nick Tarburton will be the second starter, but he has struggled to stay healthy during his career.

Two names who will be expected to provide depth, Smith Vilbert and Amin Vanover, have only appeared in a combined eight games in their college careers. There are two former linebackers (Jesse Luketa and Zuriah Fisher), who will be in the mix at defensive end as well.

In the modern football game which is so pass-heavy, being able to rush the passer is so crucial to a team’s success. Penn State not having much depth at a position that is supposed to do just that, raises some concerns.

The Nittany Lions will have to hope the defensive tackles can provide pressure from the interior to help this defense. Plus, Brent Pry will have to do a good job at dialing up the blitz from the second and third levels for this Penn State football team to have success pressuring opposing quarterbacks.