Penn State’s 2023 class includes athletes who could help next season’s defense

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State’s 2022 defense was one of the Big Ten’s most disruptive units during the regular season. The Nittany Lions’ fan base will get one more look at coordinator Manny Diaz’s troops when the 10-2 Nittany Lions face 10-3 Utah in the Jan. 2 Rose Bowl.

Penn State’s defense causes problems for foes with its depth, speed and size. Diaz also utilizes a number of different alignments to cause confusion.

Diaz can play three pure linebackers. Or he can use two linebackers and converted safety Jonathan Sutherland, a hybrid defender who plays at the second level.

There are also plenty of extra-defensive back sets. The fifth DB is a third corner or a third safety.

It is a tough defense to match up with, and it starts with the talent James Franklin and his assistants bring in every signing day, such as Penn State’s 2023 version, which was mostly finalized Wednesday.

So how do Franklin and his coaches find the right players for all the Lions’ different defensive schemes?

“I wouldn’t say we necessarily at this stage recruit a guy to be a ‘star,’ ” Franklin said Wednesday, referring to the defender, who is that combination of a linebacker and safety. Sutherland is listed at 5-foot-11, 214 pounds. “We try to recruit enough safeties and corners knowing that in a lot of situations we’re going to have the opportunity to play to our strengths and match up with the people that we’re playing from an offense perspective, match up with them.

“You’re really talking about the possibility of five DBs on the field. Sometimes that may come from your third-best safety. Sometimes that may come from your third-best corner, or maybe it’s just an argument who is your fifth best DB to get on the field.”

Penn State’s three-linebacker set includes plenty of Curtis Jacobs, Abdul Carter and either Tyler Elsdon or Kobe King in the middle.

Sutherland’s safety background is an aid to the Lions’ pass defense when he is in the game.

And when facing three- or even four-receiver sets, nickel corner Daequan Hardy is a fixture in the lineup.

“At every position, you’d like to be as big and as long as you possibly can be,” Franklin said. “But, ultimately, that guy better be a really good football player. Obviously, Daequan Hardy has done a really good job for us in that role and I think will continue to do it, but we needed to kind of develop the next guy, find out who that’s going to be.”

Penn State’s 2023 defensive back haul includes safeties Elliot Washington, King Mack and DaKaari Nelson, along with corners Zion Tracy and Lamont Payne, a Chartiers Valley grad.

During Franklin’s nine years in State College, he has not been shy about playing freshmen defensive backs.

Kalen King, who developed into standout corner this fall, saw plenty of work on defense during the second half of the 2021 season.

“Again, whether it’s one of these incoming guys or whether it is a (current) corner or a safety, is really to be determined,” Franklin said, referring to the candidates to play in some of the Lions’ future five-DB sets. “It’s really about, how do we get the next best guy on the field?

“You look at some of the safeties in this class that we recruited, I think some of them could actually play corner, which would make you feel like some of those guys could play the nickel corner. I think we got some corners with some length and some football intelligence that they could play that position.”