Matt Campbell made a significant pivot upon his arrival at Penn State this offseason, bringing in D’Anton Lynn to run his defense as his longtime coordinator, Jon Heacock, opted for retirement. With Lynn came defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe, who worked with the former Nittany Lions defensive back at UCLA, and a few mammoth defensive linemen.
The philosophy behind Malloe’s affinity for 300+ pound monsters is to have his defensive tackles eat blocks and anchor against double teams to allow linebackers to play free and to stop the run with light boxes. Against Temple, Penn State struggled to do that, allowing a 55% rushing success rate and 5.3 yards per carry to the Owls.
That performance, however, came without two notable defensive tackles, Armstrong Nnodim and Alijah Carnell, who both warmed up at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday but did not make their season debuts. In Week 3, the Nittany Lions should have both available.
During his Tuesday press conference, Matt Campbell clarified that neither was 100% in Week 2, which is why they didn’t see the field, and that he expects both to play against Buffalo at Beaver Stadium in Week 3.
Armstrong Nnodim and Alijah Carnell are expected to make season debut in Week 3
Buffalo isn’t the best test of Malloe’s premise for this defense. The Bulls rank No. 122 in the FBS in rushing offense, averaging just over 100 yards per game after playing Albany and Florida International. Buffalo’s run game is putrid. In Week 2, Terrance Shelton Jr. led the team with 34 yards on the ground.
So, regardless of whether or not Nnodim and Carnell are out there, Lynn’s defense should be able to stop the run without stacking the box and surrendering much over the top. Still, it would be good for both to shake off some rust after missing the first two games of the season.
Nnodim, a 6-foot-2, 310-pound redshirt sophomore, played 243 snaps for Oklahoma State a season ago. Carnell, another redshirt sophomore at 6-foot-5, 299 pounds, played 123 snaps for Iowa State in 2025. Both should figure into a defensive tackle rotation that has been relatively thin through the start of the year.
Against Temple, Siale Taupaki and Keanu Williams led the way in snaps, with Dallas Vakalahi and Ty Blanding close behind. De’Andre Cook was the only other defensive tackle to see playing time on Saturday.
When the Nittany Lions get into Big Ten play against Wisconsin in Week 4 and Northwestern in Week 5 before welcoming USC into Beaver Stadium for the Week 6 White Out, they will need to be much deeper. And a deeper rotation could raise the overall level of play, especially considering what Lynn and Malloe are asking of that position.
Penn State doesn’t need its defensive tackles to play like Zane Durant did the past two seasons, shooting gaps and creating negative plays. It needs a rotating cast of space eaters to allow Kooper Ebel and Tony Rojas to fly around at the second level. Nnodim and Carnell can do that, so their return will be significant even if a real test isn’t coming until Week 4.
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