One of the biggest critiques of Matt Campbell in his first year at Penn State was that he brought too many former Iowa State Cyclones with him and that he has been overly loyal to those transfers. His hands were tied in the offseason by his late arrival and are tied now by the lack of talent on his roster, but Campbell is proving that he is willing to change.
After starting Iowa State transfer safety Marcus Neal Jr. through the first four weeks of the season, Neal played 35 snaps in rotation last week, but through the first quarter of Week 6 against USC, Neal did not play a single snap.
Starters on defense for Penn State:
— Lexie Linderman (@lexielinderman) October 10, 2026
DTs: Siale Taupaki, Keanu Williams
DEs: Ike Ezeogu, Yvan Kemajou
LBs: Kooper Ebel, Tony Rojas
DBs: Audavion Collins, Daryus Dixson, Jeremiah Cooper, Zion Tracy, Jamison Patton
No Marcus Neal Jr., he was the fourth safety to see the field at NW
Instead, Zion Tracy, a multi-year starter at nickel for Penn State under Tom Allen in 2024 and Jim Knowles in 2025, has moved back to safety full-time, a position he played some in Knowles’ three-safety scheme last year.
Tracy will rotate with Jamison Patton and Jeremiah Cooper on the back end of the Penn State defense. It remains to be seen if Neal will have a role in the defense going forward, but for now, he seems to be the odd-man out as Penn State works to fix a unit that allowed over 500 yards to Northwestern in Week 5.
Penn State and D’Anton Lynn keep shaking up the defense
Last week, Lynn, who served as Lincoln Riley’s defensive coordinator at USC in 2024 and 2025, moved from the booth to the field at halftime to help fix a struggling defense as the Nittany Lions trailed Northwestern. It is unlikely, though, that his move will be the salve.
More likely, tinkering with personnel and scheme will help improve the Penn State defense, and Neal was a sensible candidate to replace. Neal is fourth on the team with 18 tackles. He also has two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
However, Neal was the defender who fell down on Wisconsin’s game-winning touchdown, leaving tight end Jacob Harris wide open for a 72-yard catch-and-run. He was also involved in Penn State’s numerous missed tackles at the second and third levels last week.
Linebacker Kooper Ebel, another Iowa State transfer, led the team with four missed tackles last week. However, Ebel is the green-dot for Penn State’s defense, relaying the plays from Lynn, so he’s much more difficult to replace. Plus, the top candidate to replace Ebel, Alex Tatsch, was ruled out on Penn State’s final availability report after spending the week listed as questionable.
Zion Tracy’s versatility has been vital for Penn State’s secondary
Tracy is primarily a nickel, but he has played both safety and outside corner for Penn State. Moving him back to safety does not just improve coverage at the third level, which Neal has struggled with, but it also allows true freshman Josiah Zayas to play more snaps in the slot.
Zayas has been disruptive this season and is one of the most promising members of the Penn State defense. Even if he has some growing pains, it is worth getting him additional work at the position where he projects to be a mainstay for the next few years in Happy Valley.
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