Penn State Football: the final depth chart projections for the defense in 2022
By Nick Kreiser
Under the supervision of new defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, the Penn State Football defense will look to once again be one of the top defenses in the Big Ten.
There are elite players at all three levels, both young and old, which could act as the perfect combination of youthful and experienced talent.
There have been two key position battles on defense throughout the offseason, one at linebacker and one in the secondary. How have those played out?
Plus, the defensive line is loaded with potential contributors, making it tough to project a depth chart, but we’re going to try anyway.
Yesterday, we made our final predictions for what the offense’s depth chart will look like to begin the season (find that article here), and now it’s time to do the same for the defense.
Penn State Football defensive line
Defensive End
Starters – Nick Tarburton and Adisa Isaac
Backups – Chop Robinson and Dani Dennis-Sutton
Third String – Smith Vilbert and Amin Vanover
Defensive end is the first of many positions on the defensive side of the ball that will be interesting to watch play out throughout the course of the season, primarily because of three high-ceiling players.
Adisa Isaac returns from injury, Chop Robinson transfers in from Maryland, and Dani Dennis-Sutton is finally on campus as one of the staples of the 2022 recruiting class. All three have a ton of upside, but have proven little to nothing so far in their collegiate careers.
Nick Tarburton is a returning starter and will likely get the opportunity to start game one at Purdue, but he will have his hands full if he wants to hang onto that spot; and what can we expect from Smith Vilbert coming off of a three-sack performance in the Outback Bowl?
As the two eldest in the room, Tarburton and Isaac will likely be the first two to take the field in week one, but Robinson and Dennis-Sutton will get plenty of opportunities in the opener as well. Don’t be surprised if one of them earns a starting job by the time the calendar turns to October.
Defensive Tackles
Starters – PJ Mustipher and Hakeem Beamon
Backups – Coziah Izzard and Dvon Ellies
Third String – Zane Durant and Jordan Van Den Berg
The interior of the defensive line is somewhat similar to the ends in the sense that each have a talented player returning who missed all of last season (Beamon), as well as a true freshman who has generated a ton of offseason buzz and has the potential to make an impact from day one (Durant).
As an all-conference performer, Mustipher is a lock to start, but the second starting spot is seemingly a toss-up between Beamon and Coziah Izzard, who got a lot of reps last season and showed some good things.
Beamon likely has the higher upside of the two and is more fit to play the 3-tech alongside Mustipher at the nose tackle, so I expect him to be the second starter to begin the season.
Dvon Ellis has also gotten his fair share of in-game reps over the past couple years, which might give him the opportunity to be in a backup role to begin the season. It will be tough to hang onto that spot though with Zane Durant behind him.
Barring a string of unfortunate injuries at the position, it’s probably unlikely that Durant cracks the starting lineup as a true freshman, simply because of what’s in front of him, but don’t be shocked to see him slide into a backup role by mid-season.