Penn State Football vs Indiana: 5 Nittany Lions who need to step up

Curtis Jacobs (LB)

Curtis Jacobs has quietly had a good start to the season, compiling 12 total tackles (10 solo) and one sack. He will need to continue to do so in both run support and in pass coverage.

Penn State Football’s linebackers have played great as a unit, with Brandon Smith and Ellis Brooks commanding most of the attention, and rightfully so. However, Curtis Jacobs has a ton of potential, and he kind of gets forgotten at times.

Re-watching some of the games so far this season, Jacobs seems to be in position to make a play more often than not out on the edge, whether it be on short outside passes or an outside run to his side of the field. There were a couple of times where he could not quite make the tackle, and those are the types of plays that he will need to make in this Indiana game and beyond.

Indiana’s Peyton Hendershot is one of the better tight ends in the Big Ten, and they will look to get him involved early and often. For reasons like that, Jacobs will also need to be great in pass coverage. On the season, Hendershot has 16 catches for 186 yards, an average of 11.6 yards per catch.

Curtis Jacobs often comes off the field on passing downs as Brent Pry goes to the nickel package, but when he is on the field, he can have a big impact on how this Penn State Football defense performs.