Penn State defense learning to thrive by creating chaos under coordinator Manny Diaz

Ji’Ayir Brown recorded a couple of firsts Saturday afternoon in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The Penn State senior safety brought in his first interception of the year and tacked on his first career sack. The latter came with the added bonus of a forced fumble — something Brown was still smiling about postgame.

The safety ran a stunt to earn his sack, lining up inside but rushing outside to get around the edge and get to Auburn quarterback TJ Finley. Brown said the sack was a long time coming thanks to all of the work he’d been doing on the stunt.

“All. Year. All. Year. I’ve been working on it all year,” Brown said after the game. “Ever since they put me in that position, just been working with the D-line every day, hand fighting and stuff like that, just to get an edge on my opponent. Today I got my sack, and it ain’t gonna stop from there.”

Brown lining up at the line of scrimmage and blitzing is one of the many ways he is being used under defensive coordinator Manny Diaz.

He and the rest of the secondary have opened up the playbook for Diaz and allowed him to build the type of fast and aggressive defense he aspires to have — one that thrives on chaos.

The Nittany Lions have trotted out different personnel groupings this season compared to the ones they usually ran under previous defensive coordinator Brent Pry. One of those groupings features seven defensive backs — named the “prowler” package, according to head coach James Franklin — and is only available because of the talent available at both cornerback and safety.

“That’s because we feel like our DBs are our strength this year,” Franklin said.

The variety on defense has allowed someone like Brown to thrive. The senior safety succeeded playing in coverage last year, acting like a magnet to the ball on his way to leading the Football Bowl Subdivision in interceptions.

There’s more on the table for Brown now, who can now pester quarterbacks as a blitzer along with doing it in coverage. He’s showing off his versatility and has opened up the defense for other players to succeed. His own success means Penn State can put whoever it needs to next to him.

Need a bigger, more physical and athletic safety who can turn and run in man coverage? Keaton Ellis can slot in while Brown plays the run or defends the middle of the field against the pass. How about a big hitter, the type of safety who strikes fear in opponents in the middle of the field? Jaylen Reed is the guy, while Brown hovers over slot corners or drops into zone coverage. Or even want to play someone who can free roam and pick the ball off just as well as the senior safety? Zakee Wheatley can do it while Brown defends the run and plays closer to the line of scrimmage.

Those variations have allowed the defense to thrive, and the split playing time hasn’t impacted the morale at the position.

“I said it a while ago, the safety room is deep,” Wheatley said. “We are all great players. We come into practice every day, iron sharpens iron, become better and better every day, we push each other, compete with each other. When you do that, and it comes down to game time, coach is allowed to play many safeties and we are all allowed to go out there and make plays.”

The versatility has created a defense that is fast, can run and can hit while boasting plenty of players who can line up wherever they need to be to maximize any specific play. The turnovers they create have wreaked havoc on opposing offenses. They present looks that make it impossible to tell who is coming from where on a pass rush — putting all of the pressure on the quarterbacks they’re facing.

Create enough havoc, and they’ll be putting the pressure on the rest of the Big Ten on the chase for a conference title.