Note: This is the second in a three-part series previewing different aspects of Penn State’s 2024 season. Click here to read last week’s post.
Welcome to what has now become an annual tradition on the blog.
Writing about Abdul Carter as the focus of the defensive piece in the season preview series.
To be fair, this is only the second year the blog has existed and it’s also the second year that the hype has built around the former four-star recruit.
I’m not trying to take the lazy way out looking for ideas. It’s just that Carter is the centerpiece – maybe even more this season – as Penn State looks to make the College Football Playoff for the first time.
Last year when we published our thoughts on the defense, much of it focused around Carter and how he didn’t have to do it all, and he didn’t. Penn State’s defense probably benefited from that actually happening too.
Opponents had other things to worry about – and didn’t handle much of it successfully. Penn State’s defense largely carried the way to a 10-win season, shut out opponents three times and ranked top three in scoring defense, total defense and turnover margin. Meanwhile, Carter ranked fourth on the team in tackles, cornerback Johnny Dixon had just as many sacks as at 4.5 and seven other teammates forced just as many fumbles as the man wearing No. 11.
Now in 2024, it’s not that Carter has to do it all but it is his time to make this defense go. It’s his defense now. Chop Robinson is gone. Adisa Isaac is gone. They were two pleasant but maybe not completely unexpected surprises of 2023.
Oh, and also gone is the linebacker designation next to Carter’s name.
Carter spent the offseason asking to and then making the move from a traditional linebacker role to more of a hybrid of an edge rusher. While James Franklin and new defensive coordinator Tom Allen have said Carter will be used as both linebacker and an edge, the move is reminiscent of the last highly-regarded No. 11 at Penn State.
By the end of his COVID-truncated time with Penn State, Micah Parsons was lining up more as an edge rusher – the position he now plays in the NFL – than he was a 4-3 outside linebacker. But at times, it felt like Parsons carried the weight of the defense on his back. Parsons racked up an astounding 109 total tackles in 2019 – certainly good enough for the team lead. (Although interestingly enough, that doesn’t crack the top 10 single season tackles for Penn State.)
That 2019 defense finished fifth in the country in rushing yards allowed but ranked 100th in passing yards allowed to finish 34th in total defense – all while still winning 11 games if you count the Cotton Bowl. Its 16.0 points allowed per game ranks second among Franklin-coached teams at Penn State. The first?
2023 at 13.5.
Parsons was a game-breaker back in 2019 – and not to put pressure on Carter – but if the newer No. 11 can build on what he and the rest of the defense was in 2023, it will be a problem for the rest of the Big Ten.
There’s no reason to believe Carter can’t take another next step like he did from 2022 to 2023, too. He played a big part then and will now be the keystone of this defense. Allen and Franklin have made it clear he will be the one things are designed around – much like what happened with Parsons now five years ago. That’s what’s different this year and it will be a miss if Carter’s production doesn’t grow in 2024.
Even if Robinson and Isaac are gone – and we assume that Carter’s output is 60 percent of what 2019 Parsons was – teams will also still have to plan around Dani Denis-Sutton coming from the other side. That’s what made the Robinson-Isaac combo so lethal last year, probably helped Isaac’s draft stock the most and something Parsons didn’t have.
Add in a new scheme – one that’s a bit chaotic and maybe even caused Penn State problems in the past – by way of former Indiana coach Allen, there’s reason for belief that this defense can stack up just as well as last year’s. At the traditional linebacker role, Penn State returns Kobe King – another key leader – who only got better as the season went on last year. 2024 could also mark the arrival of Tony Rojas, whose growth has mirrored several other linebacking greats at Penn State.
There’s less to worry about even if Penn State is replacing four NFL Draft picks than meets the eye with this defense.
It must, however, more than last season, stay healthy though. This defense can be just as strong as last year’s but isn’t as deep. The injury bug has already hit names like Keon Wylie and Zuriah Fisher with some chance of them returning but likely missing the start of the season according to Franklin. In terms of edge rushers, Carter and Denis-Sutton are relatively it unless some step up. Plus, Penn State is short two defenders after Kaveion Keys and Jamiel Lyons were kicked off the roster around the start of camp.
Overall, the secondary feels solid – if not maybe better than 2023’s highly-touted group – with a handful of developed transfers and leadership with KJ Winston plus buzz lingering around Zakee Wheatley. And a strong secondary was not something that Parsons had back in 2019.
It is however something that Carter has in 2024 — plus high expectations for both him and the season.
Much like we said last year, Carter doesn’t have to do it all. But it will be nice if he can do a lot.
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