Defense
Notable Losses: Penn State had one of the better defenses in the Big Ten last season. The team finished ranked 34th overall, and 15th against the pass. The only issues came against them on the ground as the team finished 72nd in the nation in rushing defense. A few key pieces leave in the front seven and secondary. Safety Nick Scott is gone along with corner Amani Oruwariye. Linebacker Koa Famer is also gone along with defensive end Shareef Miller. Miller decided to forgo his senior year and enter the draft. There will be new faces at linebacker and in the secondary, but fortunately, the defensive line will largely stay intact.
DE: Shaka Toney, Junior | Daniel Joseph, Junior
DT: P.J. Mustipher, Sophomore | Damion Barber, Sophomore
DT: Robert Windsor, Senior | Antonio Shelton, Junior
DE: Yetur Gross-Matos, Junior | Shane Simmons, Junior
Miller and Kevin Givens are the biggest losses on this defensive line, but Gross-Matos and Windsor are returning starters. Mustipher played in eight games as a true freshman last season and he will look to fill the void at defensive end. Toney and Joseph are both coming in looking to replace Miller. They may both compete in the spring for the starting defensive end job.
WLB: Cameron Brown, Senior | Jason Vranic, Senior
MLB: Jan Johnson, Senior | Ellis Brooks, Sophomore
SLB: Micah Parsons, Sophomore | Jesse Luketa, Sophomore
Despite Farmer’s departure, the Nittany Lions have another strong set of linebackers returning for 2019. The biggest name fans should get to know is Micah Parsons. He appeared in all 12 games as true freshman and earned All-America honors from The Athletic, 247Sports and ESPN. He was also an honorable mention All-Big Ten. Johnson and Brown provide much-needed senior leadership for a group that will look to be dominant again next year.
CB: John Reid, Senior | Tariq Castro-Fields, Junior
CB: Donovan Johnson, Sophomore | Christopher Welde, Senior
FS: John Petrishmen, Senior | Drew Hartlaub, Sophomore/Lamont Wade, Junior
SS: Garrett Taylor, Senior | Jonathan Sutherland, Sophomore
Losing Nick Scott was one thing. Losing both players to transfers who were set to replace him is another. With Ayron Monroe now gone, free safety is the position with the most questions entering 2019. Petrishmen will be a senior and his experience may be enough to give him the nod as the starter heading into next year. However, it may take spring camp for a true starter to emerge. Reid and Taylor returning at corner is big. Taylor finished tied for first on last year’s team in interceptions with three and Reid had two of his own.
Special Teams
KR: K.J. Hamler, Sophomore
PR: K.J. Hamler, Sophomore
K: Jake Pinegar, Sophomore
P: Blake Gillikin, Senior
Both Penn State’s starting kicker and punter return. Gillikin is tied for second on the program’s career punting average charts at 43.1 yards per punt. Pinegar started all 12 games last year as a freshman and made 66.7 percent of his field goals and 96.4 percent of his extra points. Hamler was the primary returner last season with 20 returns for 523 yards. With him taking on a bigger role at receiver, the team may look for a new returner.