Penn State’s linebacking corps was exposed last weekend by a UCLA ground game that racked up 280 yards rushing, including 128 from quarterback Nico Iamaleava. It was a surprise on both sides — the Bruins had only averaged 121.5 yards rushing per game, and Penn State’s defense only gave up 116.8 yards rushing per game. It’s hard to imagine one injury changing so much, but it appears to have had quite the effect on Jim Knowles’ defense.
Without starting linebacker Tony Rojas, the Nittany Lions didn’t have an effective quarterback spy and lacked the overall speed needed to consistently close gaps in the running game. With Rojas out for an extended period of time, Penn State’s linebacking depth will continue to be tested in Big Ten play.
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Transfer Amare Campbell has been a bright spot, including 10 total tackles and one sack against UCLA. Special teams captain Dominic DeLuca started alongside him and made 12 total tackles, although he also missed some tackles and run-fills on Saturday. Behind them is an inexperienced group of linebackers who Penn State appears reluctant to play, but may not have much of a choice.
“Obviously, whenever you lose one of your better players on your team at a position we were already lacking depth, that’s going to create some challenges for us,” Franklin said Monday. “So yeah, that’s going to be a point of attention all week long, with our coaching staff, with the players, and we’re going to have to rotate those [young] guys in there.”
The Nittany Lions barely rotated in other linebackers against UCLA. Franklin specifically mentioned that freshman Cam Smith and redshirt freshman Anthony Speca will potentially start playing more, although Smith only played one defensive snap against UCLA, and Speca didn’t play at all on defense. Redshirt junior Keon Wylie and redshirt sophomore DaKaari Nelson could also see more snaps. Freshmen Alex Tatsch and LaVar Arrington Jr. don’t appear to be in the conversation at all and will likely be redshirted.
Rojas and Campbell are draft-eligible juniors, and DeLuca is in his last year of eligibility, meaning Penn State will be looking for at least one new starter next offseason, if not a complete overhaul. The Nittany Lions have recruited well at the position on paper, but is there a future starter on the roster?
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Penn State will always have the transfer portal as an option, and being nicknamed “Linebacker U” certainly doesn’t hurt in recruiting pitches. But for the foreseeable future, the young Nittany Lion linebackers will have an extended audition for more playing time in the future, and it remains to be seen how many opportunities they receive as Penn State attempts to right the ship.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State could play its young linebackers more against Northwestern
