Which Penn State legend would be the best addition to the 2024 Nittany Lions defense?

With the arrival of College Football 25 a whole new world of possibilities for college football hypotheticals has been opened. The game doesn’t just feature current players and accurate rosters, it also includes legends of the game. So, that begs the question, if Penn State could add one legend to its defense for the 2024 season to improve its chances of winning the College Football Playoff, which one would James Franklin choose?

Penn State’s defense is the ninth best in College Football 25, but last year was much better than that on the field. Yet, there are a few losses that the Nittany Lions suffered that new defensive coordinator Tom Allen will need to sort out if he wants to produce a top three unit in the country as Manny Diaz did. 

Some of the biggest losses came through the draft with Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac both leaving for the NFL, but with Abdul Carter moving to defensive end and Dani Dennis-Sutton’s role increasing, the pass rush should be fine. That eliminates the need for Courtney Brown or Tamba Hali. 

In the secondary, the Nittany Lions are set with Jaylen Reed and Kevin Winston Jr. but there are question marks at cornerback. Kalen King, Johnny Dixon, and Daequan Hardy all departed for professional football, transfer additions Jalen Kimber and AJ Harris appear to be the answer. That takes Joey Porter Jr. or Adrian Amos off the table, and Penn State has never had a great history of elite corners. 

So, that brings us to Linebacker U’s most important position and there are plenty of great options to choose from. 

The options: 

• Jack Ham
• LaVar Arrington
• Paul Posluszny
• Shane Conlan
• Micah Parsons

Jack Ham is a legend and Paul Posluszny was incredible, but nobody quite measures up to LaVar Arrington at Penn State. The 2022 College Football Hall of Fame inductee was a two-time First Team All-American and in 1999 won both the Butkus and Bednarik awards as the best linebacker and best defensive player in the country. 

Arrington would obviously start on any iteration of Penn State’s defense, but this specfic unit has a lot of youth in the linebacker corps and Arrington would be an immediate difference maker on the second level, well beyond what Carter brought last season. 

Tom Allen would love to have Arrington wreaking havoc in opponent's backfields as an outside backer and pass-rusher, or patrolling the middle of the field as an off-ball inside backer. Arrington could do it all and while Penn State has high hopes for sophomore Tony Rojas and will rely on veterans like Dom DeLuca and Kobe King, Arrington would give Penn State the best defense in the country and turn the Nittany Lions into a top-tier national title contender.

His son is heading to Happy Valley in the 2025 recruiting class, but Penn State could use LaVar Arrington The First in 2024.