Matt Campbell was known for running a 3-3-5 defense at Iowa State with his longtime defensive coordinator Jon Heacock, and while he didn’t bring Heacock or that system to Happy Valley, he did bring many of the players who made it work at the second level. Though Penn State didn’t play quite as many of them at once, the Nittany Lions have never been hard-pressed to find good linebacker play.
That combination has left Campbell and his new defensive coordinator, D’Anton Lynn, a former Nittany Lion bringing his 4-2-5 system from USC, with one of the deepest linebacker rooms in the country. And strong play from depth pieces during fall camp is only adding to that strength.
Linebacker coach Tyson Veidt spoke to the media on Tuesday and highlighted junior Cael Brezina and redshirt freshman Cam Smith, who both seem to be figuring things out as the season approaches and potentially pushing for more snaps.
“You know, there's a couple guys that have stacked consecutive days, clearly stacked consecutive days from spring to now. Those 2 guys that did that through Saturday were Cael Brezina and Cam Smith," Veidt said. "Honestly, those have been their best days of practice if we counted spring to now. So that part's really encouraging on both of those guys because they're certainly key pieces for us.”
If Cael Brezina and Cam Smith are playing well, Penn State is six deep at off-ball linebacker
In Heacock’s 3-3-5 defensive structure, there are just more snaps to go around for linebackers, and more different styles of linebackers to get onto the field. A player like Caleb Bacon has experience setting an edge and rushing the passer, which is helping him, at least partially, transition to playing defensive end for Penn State.
Still, Bacon is a linebacker. That’s where he spent the entire spring, and where he can fill a role if projected starters Tony Rojas and Kooper Ebel miss time. That duo, alone, is one of the best in the country, but they’re backstopped by multiple tandems that are starting caliber across the Big Ten.
Alex Tatsch is returning from injury after a promising freshman year; Bacon is a former All-Big 12 honorable mention, and Brezina played 328 snaps for the Cyclones and recorded 23 tackles last season. Smith was a four-star recruit in 2025 out of St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia and the No. 11 overall player in Pennsylvania.
That’s three linebacker pairings. No other team in the Big Ten can go that deep at the position. That’s especially important with Rojas coming off a major injury that forced him to medically redshirt in 2025. However, it’s also difficult for Lynn to navigate because linebacker isn’t a position where you can rotate bodies easily.
Either Ebel or Rojas will have the green dot this year, meaning their helmet has the in-game communication from the sidelines. So, whichever player bears that responsibility can’t come off the field. The other probably shouldn’t either.
So, Penn State is equipped to deal with attrition at the linebacker spot, but will Lynn be up to the task of getting all of these talented players onto the field? That remains to be seen.
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