Defensive Line
Defensive End
- Keyshawn Burgos: Snaps – 46 – Tackles – 7
- Breeon Ishmail: Snaps – 29 – Tackles – 3
- CJ Madden: Snaps – 19 – Tackles – 3
- Aiden Solecki: Snaps – 13 – Tackles – 1
Nose Tackle
- Curt Neal: Snaps – 57 – Tackles – 5 – Sacks – 2 – T.F.L. – 2
- Rodney Lora: Snaps – 2 – No Stats
Defensive Tackle
- Ian Jeffries: Snaps – 55 – Tackles – 4
- TJ Lindsey: Snaps – 34 – Tackles – No Stats
- Josiah Hope: Snaps – 4 – Tackles – 1
Outside Linebacker / Edge Rusher
- Jeremy Lewis: Snaps – 45 – Tackles – 4
- Trey Smith: Snaps – 5 – No Stats
Kyle’s Grade: D
Drew’s Grade: D-
Kyle
The Defense gave up 269 yards in 51 carries, and the defensive line was moved by Penn State’s offensive line the vast majority of the game. The defensive line did their best but were outmatched throughout the game by Penn State’s offensive line and run game.
Drew
Purdue’s defensive line continues to struggle against teams that dedicate themselves to running the ball. Most of these guys are fine individually, but as a unit, they lack the size and strength to hold up
between the tackles. Curt Neal played his best game of the season at nose guard, but too often, he got pushed off the line of scrimmage by a double team. Keyshawn Burgos continues to be a positive at strong side defensive end, but it feels like Purdue has a bunch of decent rotational pieces and no starter level talent. Jeremy Lewis might be the exception, but I’m fairly certain he would be more of a situational pass rusher, and not and every down defensive end for most defenses.
At the end of the day, these guys are playing hard, but regardless of who calls the defense next season, they’re going to struggle if the defensive line isn’t significantly improved this off-season.
Linebacker
Middle Linebacker
- Charles Correa: Snaps – 69 – Tackles – 6
- Anthony Speca: Snaps – 5 – Tackles – 2
Middle Linebacker
Jojo Hayden: Snaps – 73 – Tackles – 10
Weak Side Linebacker
- Winston Berglund: Snaps – 29 – Tackles – 3
- Tre Moore: Snaps – 42 – Tackles – 9
Drew’s Grade: C
Kyle’s Grade: B-
Kyle
Hayden and Correa did their best to clean up the defensive line’s mistakes. They led the defense in tackles; Hayden remains a bright spot on a defense that has been up and down (most recently, down).
Drew
I agree with Kyle, Hayden, after a rough start, looks like Purdue’s best linebacker and one of their best overall defenders. I won’t lie; I’ve been disappointed in Charles Correa this season. He’s not a bad linebacker, but I can’t identify a single skill of his that stands out.
I want to point out that Kevin Kane changed his base defense in this game by taking off the slot corner and running 3 linebackers. As I’ve mentioned before, the problem with Purdue running 3 linebackers is that they only have 2 linebackers they’re comfortable playing. Winston Berglund got the start, but he’s not a starting-caliber linebacker. I like him as a nickel linebacker with, in theory, decent coverage skills, but I don’t like him as a run-stopping outside linebacker. It looks like Purdue’s staff agreed with me, because they brought in reserve Tre Moore to try to give the defense more bite around the line of scrimmage. Interestingly enough, PFP graded Moore as Purdue’s best run defender on Saturday.
This group did their job for the most part, but they didn’t make enough plays in the run game and allowed several drive-extending 3rd-down completions in front of their zone coverage. Penn State wasn’t afraid to throw the ball over the middle.
Secondary
Right Cornerback
Don Saunders: Snaps – 72 – Tackles – 5 – Targeted – 3 – Rec Allowed – 1 – Yds – 3
Left Cornerback
Hudari Hines: Snaps – 71 – Tackles – 0 – Targeted – 2 – Rec Allowed – 0
Nickel Corner
- Mister Clark: Snaps – 10 – Tackles – 1 – Targeted – 1 – Rec Allowed – 1
- Smiley Bradford: Snaps – 6 – Tackles – 1 – Targeted – 1 – Rec Allowed – 1 – Yds – 17
Drew’s Grade: B
Kyle’s Grade: C+
Kyle
The secondary held a veteran QB to under 200 yards while completing 66% of his passes. Penn State didn’t put much on his plate, given how dominant the run game was. The corners were fine but didn’t have much to do here.
Drew
Penn State didn’t need to throw the ball, which was fortunate for them, because they didn’t have any healthy wide receivers. Mister Clark and Smiley Bradford were replaced at the nickel corner spot by an outside linebacker.
My grade’s a little higher because I’m giving Hines and Saunders credit for staying focused and not giving up something big because of boredom. In fact, Saunders saved a touchdown by coming all the way across the field to break up what would have been a pass to a wide-open receiver heading down the opposite sideline to his zone. I also thought Saunders was one of Purdue’s better run defenders and made a couple of nice tackles on the edge.
Free Safety
John Slaughter: Snaps – 77 – Tackles – 6 – Targeted – 3 – Rec Allowed – 3 – Yds – 38
Strong Safety
Justin Denson Jr.: Snaps – 76 – Tackles – 15 – Targeted – 6 – Rec Allowed – 5 – Yds – 74
Drew’s Grade: C-
Kyle’s Grade: B
Kyle
The safeties played fine and were consistent on defense but struggled against the pass. Denson was great in run support and recorded 15 total tackles.
Drew
One downside of taking a slot corner off the field and replacing him with an outside linebacker is that the safeties end up in more man coverage against tight ends and backs. Only 1 of the 4 receptions Denson allowed ended up in the hands of a wide receiver. Denson gave up a 33-yard reception to tight end Benjamin Brahmer, and 4 of the 5 receptions allowed went for Penn State first downs. John Slaughter allowed only 3 receptions, but 2 of those went for first downs as well. The defense needed one of these guys to make a play on 3rd down, and they couldn’t get the job done.
Denson did get the job done in run defense, leading the team in tackles. He played more like a fourth linebacker than a safety and held up well. Slaughter, on the other hand, missed a couple of tackles and wasn’t as active as Denson, mainly because he played more like a deep safety.
The safeties weren’t the reason the defense struggled, but I thought neither made enough plays for my taste.
