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Penn State Football: position battles still up for grabs following spring practice

By Nick Kreiser

STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 20: Nick Tarburton #46 of the Penn State Nittany Lions lines up against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the first half at Beaver Stadium on November 20, 2021 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 20: Nick Tarburton #46 of the Penn State Nittany Lions lines up against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the first half at Beaver Stadium on November 20, 2021 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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Penn State Football has a number of important position battles this offseason that began during winter workouts, carried into spring ball, and will continue throughout the summer, right up until the start of the season on September 1st.

The Nittany Lions lost a lot of valuable players from last year’s defense, so many of the competitions are on the defensive side, to determine who will be their replacements.

Plus, they have some key battles among the two most important position groups on offense.

Here are five position battles for Penn State Football fans to keep an eye on throughout the summer.

Defensive End

Nick Tarburton returns as one of Penn State’s starting defensive ends, and he figures to remain there for the time being, though he will have his work cut out for him to hold onto that spot with so much talent and potential in that room.

The redshirt senior is a good run-defender, but as of last season, lacks a little something as a pass rusher, so situation could dictate whether or not he is out there at any given time. However, some improvements on his part in terms of getting pressure on the quarterback, could solidify him as a three-down player.

The second starting spot at defensive end is currently a toss-up between four different names – Smith Vilbert, Adisa Isaac, Dameioun Robinson, and Dani Dennis-Sutton.

Isaac is likely the favorite to start with Tarburton at this point, but don’t count out Vilbert. If his performance against Arkansas was any indication, he’s got an extremely bright future.

Then things get interesting with Robinson and Dennis-Sutton arriving on campus for the summer, one by way of the transfer portal and the other from the 2022 recruiting class. Each are young, but that shouldn’t be much of an issue as they both have extremely high ceilings, so it’ll be hard to keep them off the field.

With so much depth and potential among this defensive end group, it could quietly become one of the strengths of the 2022 Penn State Football team, but who will earn starting jobs at that spot from now until September?

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