Hindsight 2020: PSU Defense vs. Illinois
Once Again, Brent Pry’s Bunch Showed Up Fashionably Late on Saturday, but When They Did Finally Arrive the Party Ended Quickly for the Fighting Illini.
Saying the 2020 Penn State Defense is susceptible to “Slow Starts” is the equivalent of saying Santa Claus is susceptible to early onset diabetes.
Technically, both statements are accurate…but grossly understated.
As Joe Juliano of The Philadelphia Inquirer noted in his Monday Season-Wrap story 166 of the 241 points the Nittany Lions allowed this season were surrendered in the first half. That’s 69 percent!
Niiic…wait, that’s not nice. That’s pathetic!
The Illinois game perfectly exemplified Penn State’s 2020 early-game ineptitude. In the first 18 plays, what was left of the Fighting Illini compiled 198 yards on offense, scored 3 touchdowns and pulled off a hyper-sexualized end zone dance Robert Smith couldn’t stop referencing. But over the course of the next 42 plays, Penn State held Illinois to 75 total yards, forced seven 3-and-Outs, never let the Lovie-less lads run a play inside The Nits’ 30, and most importantly didn’t get SERVED, yo!
FORMATIONS
Two weeks after we bitched and moaned in HINDSIGHT about 12-Brandon Smith not staying on the field when Penn State goes Nickel, 12-Brandon Smith finally stayed on the field in Nickel. To confirm we weren’t just nogged up on Nog and seeing things, here’s picture proof:
Does this mean DC Brent Pry is an avid FTB reader and stealth Friend of the Blog? Well, he’s begun swearing in press conferences this season, so we’re going to say, YES…yes he is.
In all seriousness, this move was long overdue. No offense to 40-Jesse Luketa and 13-Ellis Brooks, but Smith is by far the most athletic starting linebacker and often lines up outside the box in PSU’s base 4-3 when opponents go 3- or 4-wide. It was also interesting to note that Pry stayed with 4-3 personnel (so no fifth DB, usually 25-Daequan Hardy) on a few 3rd-and-Long passing downs. As long as Smith isn’t lined up on a KJ Hamler-esque slot receiver and asked to play man coverage, then it’s probably advantageous to keep the uber-athletic sophomore on the field.
Another new wrinkle…Pry put 55-Antonio Shelton at the 0 Tech on what we call 3rd Down DIRTY THIRTY – a sudden shift from 4 to 3 linemen with the Nose (Shelton) right across from the center, the other DT pushed out to a 6 or 7 Tech, the WDE in a 9, and the SDE upright in a freelance, wandering-around role – this guy (Toney here) never joins the rush. THIRTY made its debut Week 1, Drive 1 vs. Indiana (the Joey Porter Jr. sack off the blitz) and has been featured in seven games…but 97-PJ Mustipher has always been the NT until Saturday.
Hey, the personnel switch worked!
PJ pops over to DE. 13-Brooks, playing man, joins the party late when he sees the Illinois RB is staying home to pass protect. But his help isn’t really needed, because Shelton simply wins the hand fight vs. Illinois LG 66-Jordyn Slaughter and kills the unsuspecting QB. Love how Shelton finishes with a violent burst, knocking the ball free. Shelton ended the irregular season with 3.5 sacks, good for second-most behind Shaka Toney (5.0) – a stat that’s both a compliment to Shelton and also points to how poorly PSU’s D-Line rushed the passer this year.
Editor’s Note: Shelton just announced he’ll play his super, super senior season somewhere else. WHY? YOU’RE A STARTER! YOU’D BE A STARTER IN 2021! MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE!
SUBSTITUTIONS
Oh man, it’s Roster Dump Roll Call, Part 2! (cue annoying DJ air horn sound)
27-Aeneas Hawkins, played. 15-Enzo Jennings, played. 21-Tyler Rudolph, played with his nose so bright. 29-Sebastian Costantini (All-Name Team), played. 36-Zuriah Fisher, played. 43-Tyler Elsdon, played. The much-heralded young defensive linemen who saw action on the final drive vs. Rutgers – 56-Amin Vanover, 99-Coziah Izzard, and 91-D’Von Ellies – all reappeared on the field during the final two Illinois drives on Saturday.
Penn State was without its Week 1 starting cornerbacks. 5-Tariq Castro-Fields concluded his collegiate career (we’re assuming) with a big ol’ jacket on. 9-Joey Porter Jr. didn’t play, either. Senior safety 38-Lamont Wade (1st Team All-InfoWars) started the game, but rarely saw the field following his 100-yard-plus kickoff return early in the 1st Quarter. In his place, 0-Jonathan Sutherland played nearly half of all snaps.
At linebacker, the three starters – Brooks, Ellis, Smith – dominated snaps. 10-Lance Dixon was the only backup who entered pre-garbage time and abruptly returned to the heated bench after a poor tackle attempt that we’ll showcase in the LB Section below. The biggest disappoint was 23-Curtis Jacobs’ absence. Really felt the true freshman figured a few things out vs. Iowa, but be it health or other reasons, he hasn’t been able to build on that performance.
On the defensive line, young DEs 92-Smith Vilbert and 20-Adisa Isaac earned substantial snaps. This group will be completely overhauled in the off-season. Assuming he doesn’t do anything dumb (like declare for the NFL Draft) 97-PJ Mustipher is a DEFINITE starter. 20-Isaac SHOULD be a starter. As far as the other two D-Line spots, your guess is as good as ours.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Boy, this breaks our heart and crushes our spirit…but if we’re going to keep this recurring Coming To America 51-Hakeem Beamon bit going (a bit that no one under 35 even gets) we have to roll it out in both good times and bad. Therefore, as a wise Prince of Zamunda once said, “When you think of guys not standing up to double teams, think of Hakeem.”
To be fair, a few guys look bad on the first play – which you might expect when a quarterback runs for 64 yards before being touched. Illinois 79-Vederian Lowe easily moves Beamon off platform and out of his gap assignment with a slight assist from 66-Slaughter. Beamon is actually pushed into 97-Mustipher, which is why 1-Isaiah “Not Juice’s Kid” Williams faces no resistance once PSU’s linebacker fall hard for the RB run fake. On the second play – the other TD run – RG and RT bouncer-throw (verb) Beamon out of the club. 13-Ellis Brooks is doing that weird thing PSU did vs. Ohio State (if you remember our FTB Film Study that week) where he doesn’t read anything, but instead just bails immediately to defend a pass that isn’t coming.
We’re a pro-Beamon blog. But in order for him to be more than a 3rd down pass rusher, he’ll need 8 months in the weight room to thicken up his base. Come to think of it, Beamon DID miss the Rutgers game a week after shining in The Big House…so maybe he’s playing hurt. Who knows?
After Penn State’s 18-play hibernation period mentioned in the opener above, the Nittany Lions’ defensive front reclaimed control of the Line of Scrimmage and generated organic, 4-man –and occasionally 3-man — pass rush. Here’s a 3-man example:
18-Shaka Toney is just spying the mobile QB, so he’s not really a rusher. 34-Shane Simmons gets great push versus the Illinois LT, allowing 97-Mustipher to peel over the top and gain the edge – notice 66-Slaugther tries to come around to pick up PJ, but he runs into Simmons’ “pick.” Penn State ran this two-man DE-DT concept a bunch vs. Rutgers.
Here’s more PJ…the Honorable Mention All-Big Ten performer doesn’t show up in the box score on this play, but he MAKES the play:
Late shift. Watch PJ absorb the C-RG double team and not surrender an inch of real estate. Impressive stuff. By occupying two blockers, no one gets to 13-Brooks, who tallies the TFL without any OL interference.
Finally, let’s end with two standout plays from 18-Toney.
The first is a sack aided by a LB-Safety blitz. Toney dips inside as the Guard and Tackle try to figure out who to block. The blitzers force 1-Williams to step up in the pocket…and into the waiting wingspan of Toney.
The second play is way more impressive. No clue how Toney diagnoses this screen so quickly. Thank goodness he did, though. Because this is a first down and potential huge chunk play if Toney doesn’t use his eyes and runs into the set trap.
LINEBACKERS
Warning: What you’re about to read isn’t going to make any sense, but it’s true – 12-Brandon Smith will be the next Penn State All-American linebacker once he learns how to compose himself/slow down AND play more recklessly and violent.
Confused?
Here’s what we mean…the potential-rich sophomore hasn’t quite figured out “situational speed”, yet – when to crank it up, and when to idle down and make the safe play. We’ll show examples of both:
It’s 3rd and 8 early in the 1st Quarter. Penn State stays with 4-3 personnel despite the high likelihood of a pass. Pry was definitely concerned with 1-Williams’ mobility, because the D-Line is sort of “mush rushing” to keep QB contain while 18-Toney drops and spies.
Though we can’t see, it’s safe to assume blanket coverage downfield. 34-Simmons eventually wiggles free and forces Williams out of the pocket. Remember down and distance…3rd and 8. Situational Speed…slow down, Brandon. Inside-out Williams, play it safe, make him make the first move, and either tackle him or escort him to the sideline for 3 or 4 yards. Instead, Smith foolishly attacks and tries to make a BTN Standout hit Sponsored by Auto-Owners Insurance. He misses…first down.
Now the next play – Smith is blitzing. FOOT ON THE GAS AND BLOW THIS UP!
I don’t know why Smith stops here. Fly to the mesh point and hit something…even if it’s Shetland running back 2-Chase Brown! Just destroy something here. Situational Speed…go fast, cause chaos. Instead, Smith is passive/timid/calculated. He slams on the brakes, gets outmuscled by a sub 6-foot, sub-200 pound back, and lets Williams extend the play.
Once Smith masters the Green Light-Yellow Light-Red Light aspects of playing linebacker, he’ll be an All-Timer at a place known for pumping out linebackers. Because all the tools and gifts are there, as you’ll see:
Very quietly, 40-Jesse Luteka put together a solid end of the season (MSU and Illinois). Those missed tackling issues dissipated late in the year, leaving us with nothing negative to dissect…so positive it is. Let’s show off Luketa’s strength and elite instincts for the position.
On this play, Luketa bumper-cars (verb) the blocker/Dance Machine 87-Daniel Barker back into Illinois RB 26-Mike Epstein before the Canadian punctuates the play with a textbook tackle for no gain. Yeah, go ahead and flex, you Football-Playing Jesse.
Lastly, 10-Lance Dixon…what happened?
RPO. Illinois QB 1-Williams reads Dixon. If he comes in, Williams flips to 87-Barker in the flat. If he steps wide, away from the ball, it’s a run. Dixon does neither – he stays put. This non-decision by Dixon, coupled with his above-average speed, puts him in PERFECT position to make the tackle on the thick-ankled tight end. But, of course, he doesn’t.
Simply put, the redshirt freshman’s gaudy Rivals and 247 rankings haven’t bloomed into beautiful on-field production, yet. At 6-2, 220 pounds, I wonder if Dixon could drop to 205 and switch to safety? Perhaps that’s a better fit for his skillset.
SECONDARY
Was all excited to breakdown the 2-Keaton Ellis 1st Quarter interception…and then I turn on the tape and see this!
It’s like the Pentagon redacted the bottom-third of this play. Can’t see a thing. Replays were worthless, too. Camera angles too tight. All I know is that Ellis escaped the graphics and made a great diving play…but I can’t tell you WHY he did it.
Oh well.
How about a Consolation Prize clip? I can show you another Ellis play…this one a great, flag-free PBU on a slant.
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