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Major Piece of Penn State Football’s Defense to Return in 2023

By Alec Whitaker

STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 22: Curtis Jacobs #23 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates with Hakeem Beamon #51 after a play against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half at Beaver Stadium on October 22, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 22: Curtis Jacobs #23 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates with Hakeem Beamon #51 after a play against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half at Beaver Stadium on October 22, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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Penn State Football is looking to load up for the 2023 season and so far, so good.

Penn State football received some major news on Tuesday when linebacker Curtis Jacobs announced he would return for his senior season.

The junior was third on the team in 2022 with 52 total tackles. He had 7.5 TFLs, four sacks and an interception as well.

In his three-year career, the former 5-star recruit has accumulated 122 tackles and seven sacks.

Jacobs returning is big news for Penn State in 2023. The linebacker room added a ton of talent in the 2023 recruiting class, but it’s unclear if any of those guys will be game ready by the start of the season.

The Nittany Lions now return one of the best linebacker duos in the nation with breakout freshman Abdul Carter back for his sophomore season in 2023. The big task for defensive coordinator Manny Diaz will be how to get these two talented ‘backers on the field together as much as possible.

Jacobs started his career at the SAM position but moved over to the WILL this past season when Brandon Smith moved on following the 2021 campaign. WILL just so happens to be the position best suited for Carter as well.

As the 2022 season went on and it was obvious Carter needed to be on the field, Jacobs started to move back to the SAM position from time to time. The likely outcome is that Jacobs will move back to the SAM position full time this offseason.

Penn State’s defense looks like it will be a strength again in 2023 with defensive end Adisa Isaac also announcing he will be back in 2023 and cornerback Storm Duck transferring in from North Carolina to help replace the loss of Joey Porter Jr.

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