A common theme that has been across a few of my most recent columns spotlighting the 2025 Penn State defense is how offensive football has forced adjustments to defensive alignments.
This isn’t the first time Penn State fans have encountered this.
Many older fans who remember those undefeated teams in the late 60s and early 70s will recall the base defense that Paterno employed was a 4-4 that utilized four linebackers.
Legends like Dennis Onkotz, Jack Ham, Jim Kates and Mike Smith were the unit that helped Penn State win a program-record 31 games in a row. In the 1970’s, linebackers like Ed O’Neil, Greg Buttle and Lance Mehl were punishing ground games in a sport that you could argue was played in a telephone booth in comparison to today’s spread attacks.
In recent years, Penn State has shifted from its traditional three-linebacker attack on defense now down to two, as modern defenses adjust being spread out to nearly the full 53.3 yards wide.
Penn State coach James Franklin talked about how the linebackers responsibilities will change in first-year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ scheme.
“We were gapped out, linebackers had a gap responsibility,” Franklin said. “This defense requires the linebackers to play more of a traditional linebacker and read things out a little bit more.”
While Knowles mentioned that while the base defense will feature two linebackers, there will be three linebacker sets.
Knowles acknowledged at Penn State Media Day how the position has changed due to the game spreading out, the “natural linebacking ability,” Knowles alludes to is a rare commodity to find anymore.
“You don’t see that as much in this day and age of college football,” Knowles said of that natural linebacking ability, “because a lot of linebackers are, you know, converted from other positions, and there is a there’s a skill to playing linebacker, that a lot of it is innate and instinctual.”
With how the defense is schemed and the game changing, I sought out one of the most venerable linebackers in Penn State history in linebackers coach Dan Connor.
Connor, who accomplished the highest of highs as a player at Penn State, finishing as the program’s leading tackler (419) along with being recognized as a two-time All-American, was recently promoted as the program’s linebacker coach back in February.
“Right now, linebackers are significantly more athletic than what they were back then, where you could have, you know, 240 pounds, 250 pound guys,” Connor said. “The reason that safeties can convert to it, or athletic edges, high school kids who can run convert to it as you’re in space, a lot more in the game now.”
“So with all that space, no matter how big and strong you are, and downhill you are, it isn’t as important as how athletic you are. You know you can run. You can change direction. You can cover a tight end in space. You can cover running back in space, because offense coordinators are so good. I mean, they’re going to isolate every guy and dink off an easy throw, but be able to create a ton of space. You know, for that running back, that tight end, to make a play, you really have to be athletic and fast at linebacker.”
Oftentimes, fans get frustrated with the game in space on defense when they see a defender miss a tackle and will often attribute it to arm tackling and poor technique.
While there may be a kernel of truth to that notion, Connor advises fans as they watch his linebackers operate in space, the modern schemes place more emphasis on leverage.
“Leverage is the number one thing,” he said. “I mean, you’ll always have leverage on the ball that you know you’re responsible for, or just based on how the play you know is sorted out. So whatever leverage you are, we try to keep them on that side of the ball carrier.”
Connor explained in detail the technique his linebackers have to employ to be successful.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“I got to keep them (ball carrier) on my inside pad. It’s an open field tackle, but there’s 10 other guys who should be in pursuit. As long as I can keep them on my inside pad, make it or miss it, I want to send them back to where my help is. So that takes a lot of the pressure off of an open field situation where you might think you’re the only person on the field.”
One of the major things Connor pointed out is in many modern defenses, to combat the spread and provide support for the defender, build in various leverage points to combat the isolation techniques offenses attempt to employ.
For many generations of Penn State followers, the linebacker position was a position of importance.
In many ways, a linebacker at Penn State was on par to the starting quarterback at many colleges.
The game has changed to put more emphasis and shine a light on edge rushers who target the quarterback. You often hear football analysts talk about the “three pillars” in football where the team is built with elite quarterback play, the quarterback’s blindside tackle and an EDGE rusher.
It should come as no surprise as Penn State has risen since the 2022 season, elite defensive ends have disrupted quarterbacks.
Although some may say the prominence of the linebacker position in the schemes have diminished, the emphasis of them supporting the line or secondary hasn’t.
While Knowles recognizes changes in the responsibilities of his linebackers, he recognized that Penn State is “Linebacker U.” What distinguishes Penn State linebackers from the rest of the country is “they do everything,” and will continue to do so in his scheme.
