Penn State can stake a claim to TEU and has a case as RBU, but nobody is disputing that the real LBU is in Happy Valley. From Joe Paterno to James Franklin, and now to Matt Campbell, the Nittany Lions do linebackers better than anyone. Typically, even before the current studs are gone, the next star linebacker up is already waiting in the wings.
That seems to be the case this year. Campbell brought three linebackers with him: Kooper Ebel, Caleb Bacon, who is spending most of fall camp at edge, and Cael Brezina. All have significant experience, and it seems Ebel will start next to returner Tony Rojas in D’Anton Lynn’s 4-2-5 scheme.
Those veterans figure to hoard most of the playing time at the second level, but even coming off a major injury, it’s going to be hard for Lynn to keep sophomore Alex Tatsch off the field. While he may not be counted on for a huge role this season, Tatsch is going to be a major part of the future of the Penn State defense, so his recovery and his performance in whatever role he plays in 2026 will be an underrated storyline to keep an eye on.
Alex Tatsch could be the future heart of the Penn State defense
The 2025 four-star recruit from Latrobe, PA, was injured during bowl prep after playing in six games as a true freshman and missed the spring and summer periods. Now, he’s getting close to 100 percent at fall camp, and Campbell has stated that he should be ready for game action at some point in September, when the Nittany Lions open the year with Marshall, Temple, Buffalo, and Wisconsin.
He has been doing individual work during fall camp, as Lions247’s Tyler Donohue captured this week, and has earned praise from his teammates and position coach Tyson Veidt for his efforts in the film room. That’s after last season, when assistant linebacker coach Dan Connor, an LBU legend, said Tatsch reminded him most of himself.
That’s high praise, but understandable for a player who missed much of his final high school season with an injury, yet still forced his way onto the field late in the season after Rojas went down. In his 108 defensive snaps, Tatsch managed 14 tackles with one pass breakup, and generally acquitted himself well in Big Ten football.
He was on a trajectory to become the future “green dot” linebacker for the Nittany Lions, but the major question is whether an injury that kept him off the field for such a long time will knock him off that path. Will he trust his lower body to play fast? Will he show the same instincts and physicality that he did in his freshman year cameos? Or will that high-end upside start to fizzle?
The five-in-five rule change could delay Tatsch’s arrival as a star
This offseason, the five-in-five rule finally arrived in college sports, allowing athletes five years to complete five seasons of eligibility. Essentially, redshirts are now irrelevant, which is helpful for Tatsch because he burned his last season by playing six games down the stretch, two more than the previous allowable limit.
So, Tatsch has four more years in college if he wants to use them. It also gave Ebel, an Iowa State transfer and a fourth-year senior in 2026, an additional year. Rojas would have gotten another year as well, but redshirted last season after his injury and is currently a redshirt junior.
While hopes are high for Tatsch, he may be stuck in the same spot on the depth chart in 2027 unless Rojas or Ebel jump to the NFL or he overtakes one of them. And the latter wouldn’t be an easy task.
Tatsch is an important player in the Penn State program right now, but he’s also one with a pretty uncertain future. He can cement his place in Campbell’s plan this year, but much of that will hinge on his recovery, which appears to be going well at fall camp.
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