Penn State Football: key players and keys to success on defense in 2022

Penn State Football had one of the best defenses in the Big Ten a year ago, and they’ll look to build upon that in 2022.

Although they were great a year ago, the defensive unit still had some things that could be improved upon, both of which will be keys to success in the upcoming campaign.

There will also be many players who will be expected to step up and play increased roles with so many key departures from last year’s team.

We already took a look at key players and keys to success on offense, so now we’re going to do the same on the other side of the ball.

Penn State Football key to success on defense – get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks

Overall, Penn State’s defense last season was great, but if there was one area where they struggled, it was this one. The Nittany Lions accumulated just 27 total sacks as a team, tied for 74th in the country. That’s certainly not good enough for this team or this program to be where they expect to be or where the fans want them to be.

For this defense to go from “great to elite” in 2022, they’re going to have to find ways to hurry and harass opposing quarterbacks more often, creating negative plays and forcing them into making poor decisions which can lead to more turnovers.

The secondary is sure to be outstanding, but there’s only so much they can do if the quarterback has too much time in a clean pocket.

I wrote a couple months ago that getting more sacks and QB hurries is something this team needs to improve upon to help turn things around (click here to read that article), and that is exactly why it will be one of the keys to success on defense in 2022.