Penn State Football game grades, MVP from White Out win over Auburn
Penn State Football DE Jesse Luketa
Grade: B+
It feels like we are running out of superlatives for Jesse Luketa at this point, and its only week three.
Luketa got his first ever start at defensive end against the Tigers, and once again his impact was felt all night in this one. Luketa registered eight tackles, one tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry, but his impact was felt well beyond the box score.
He did a fantastic job of stretching out runs, turning runs back inside off the edge to limit Auburn to shorter gains and keep them from breaking any long runs that could have been potentially devastating to the Penn State Football defense.
His versatility to stop the run, rush the passer and also drop into coverage like we saw last week against Ball State and intercept a pass changes the entire dynamic of this defense for defenisve coordinator Brent Pry.
For Luketa to do this in his first start at a new position against a really good SEC team is as impressive as it gets. His unselfishness to change positions as a senior embodies what it seems at least from the outside looking in this team is all about right now, playing for the guy beside you, they seem to be a family.