Confidence grows with sack totals for Lions' DL

James Franklin made no secret of his concerns about Penn State’s defensive line coming into the 2018 season.

Having lost defensive tackle starters Parker Cothren and Curtis Cothran, and primary backup Tyrell Chavis, plus defensive ends Torrence Brown and Ryan Buchholz to career-ending injuries, the Nittany Lions would have a youthful, if relatively untested, look this year.

Even so, junior defensive end Shareef Miller and his fellow cohorts set an ambitious goal for themselves.

“We did,” said Miller. “Fifty. The goal was 50.”

Sacks, that is.

It’s a number that has never been attained in Penn State’s 131 seasons of football, only coming closest in 1998, 1999, and 1979 when those three teams posted 47 sacks each.

With just 11 games played during the ’98 and ’79 seasons, the mark represents an impeccable 4.27 sacks per game average, unheard of in today’s college football. In the past five years, only Utah has come anywhere close to the mark, racking up 55 in 13 games for an average of 4.23 sacks per game.

Unlikely to generate the same type of proficiency, following a five-sack afternoon against Wisconsin in a 22-10 win Saturday at Beaver Stadium, the Nittany Lions’ preseason goal is still within reach.

Boosting its totals to 34 in 10 games, Penn State’s defensive line produced an especially frustrating afternoon for Wisconsin sophomore quarterback Jack Coan and, by extension, his head coach Paul Chryst.

“Early we gave up some pressures, that’s not just on the line, that’s got to be on winning downfield,” said Chryst. “We didn’t throw the ball a ton early and I think we had a number of pressure sacks, so not good enough there.”

Saturday’s sacks divvied among Miller (2), Robert Windsor (2) and sophomore end Yetur Gross-Matos (1), the Nittany Lions came into the game believing one-on-one pass rush opportunities would generate results.

And they did.

Hurrying the quarterback another two times to go along with the five in which the Nittany Lion defensive line got home, the group generated a statement that Windsor hopes speaks loudly of its arrival.

“Our D-line is like that. I think that’s the statement,” said Windsor. “Personally, I think we get underlooked. I think we’re one of the better D-lines in the country. Between Yetur and Shareef Miller on the edge and me and Kevin Givens in the middle.”

Facing Rutgers Saturday in Piscataway, N.J., the Nittany Lions progression toward its preseason goal will face another challenge. The Scarlet Knights, now just 1-9 on the season, have managed to prevent sacks allowed for the majority of the season and will come into the game with the No. 17 ranking in the nation in the category, giving up just 12.

Still, in a season that has seen the Nittany Lion front start as a dilemma, the transformation has been one Franklin now can’t deny.

“Coming into the season, D-line and linebacker were probably two of our biggest question marks. I think as the season goes on, our defense is playing better,” said Franklin. “Why are they playing better? Because our D-line is starting to get better and play with more confidence from a depth perspective. And the same thing with our linebackers. We've got some young players that are starting to gain confidence, and we're kind of starting to have an idea of who our guys are at that position. “We've had some injuries. We've had other guys had to step up, so there's been a lot of different factors there, but I do see us getting better.”