Penn State Football: Who needs to step up in season’s second half?

Penn State Football DT Derrick Tangelo

It is a little hypocritical to pick Derrick Tangelo as a key player because of PJ Mustipher’s injury, after I said that I would not do so for Roberson since we do not know details of Clifford’s injury, but with Mustipher out for the season, Tangelo becomes pivotal to the Nittany Lions’ success up front.

Though he has not played bad, Tangelo is probably the weakest link along the defensive front for the Nittany Lions. Arnold Ebiketie has been great, Mustipher might be the most underappreciated player for the defense, and Jesse Luketa has thrived at defensive end too. Now, Penn State Football must figure out how to win along the line of scrimmage without Mustipher’s dominance.

The area where this team really needs Tangelo to make a positive impact is against the run. For a defense that had been excellent so far this year, stopping the run is not quite as good as stopping the pass.

Penn State Football is second in the Big Ten in yards per pass attempt allowed (5.5), while they are only fourth in the conference in rush yards allowed per attempt (3.0).

Three of the Nittany Lions’ remaining opponents (Ohio State, Michigan State, and Michigan) are the top three in the conference in rushing yards per attempt, so even though this defense has been good against the run so far, they will need to be even better going forward.

For those reasons, Derrick Tangelo needs to take his game to the next level. As a defensive lineman, if he can shed blocks and make tackles at the line of scrimmage against the run, it can greatly help this team going forward, especially against some of the great rushing attacks they have yet to face.

The Duke transfer has gradually improved throughout the season, and he will need to continue that trend for this Penn State Football defense.