DT: Although Penn State returns Zane Durant (All B1G HM and projected middle rounder), it seems like they lost everybody else. However, Alonzo Ford is back from injury and was pretty good before he was lost for the 2024 season. While Ford and Durant should be one of the better pairs in the B1G, there is not much experienced depth behind them. rFR Xavier Gilliam is widely regarded as the third best player.
WORSE
DE: Losing Abdul Carter is going to get the lions a lower grade, but it isn't like Penn State is awful here. They have a potential first rounder in Dani Dennis-Sutton on one end, and Zuriah Fisher on the other. Fisher was given the "one of those guys nobody’s talking about right now" quote by Franklin, and those only come out when a player is going to be very, very good. The last person I can remember that got that praise was Tyler Warren. Behind those two guys are a handful of players that will factor heavily into the rotation. The projected breakout star, Max Granville, was injured and will miss 2025.
WORSE
LB: Finally some good news. Tony Rojas has been turning heads, including from the guys at BTN. He made Feldman's freak list, and is fully healthy after off-season surgery. I project he will be a breakout star this year. Behind him are a bunch of very talented players that should play quite a bit.
BETTER
SECONDARY: In the words of the BTN guys, this unit is the strength of the defense. I won't go into a lot of detail here, because this unit returns everyone except for Jaylen Reed (6th round). Yes, I know KJ Winston was a third rounder, but he was injured for most of 2024 so for the purpose of this exercise it doesn't matter.
BETTER