MMQB – How Will the Defense Look?

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 20: Defensive Coordinator D'Anton Lynn of the USC Trojans reacts against the Michigan State Spartans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 20, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images

We’re a couple months away from the start of the season, but MMQB is looking ahead and pondering how the Penn State defense will look.

First, the formation. D’Anton Lynn is the new defensive coordinator, coming over from USC after a stint as the UCLA DC before that. I won’t claim to be a football formation aficionado, but it appears D’Anton most often utilizes three down linemen, with the linebackers and secondary flexing as needed. He’s also gone heavy on the line at times with four DL, so all I can really say is that D’Anton is flexible.

Given Penn State’s general roster, what sort of formation do you think the “base” will be?

By and large, it appears that there is a good amount of players along the DL. Max Granville, Yvan Kemajou, Alexander McPherson, and Ikenna Ezeogu are a solid 2-deep at defensive end, while DT has a whole host of new bodies: Armstrong Nnodim, Keanu Williams, Siale Taupaki, and Alijah Carnell are all transfers and very well may comprise the entirety of the two-deep on the interior.

Linebacker is still the light spot on this defense. Tony Rojas is back, and will be joined by transfers Kooper Ebel and Caleb Bacon, but the position in general is a little thin. Perhaps Lynn will employ a two-linebacker set like last season?

Unsurprisingly, the secondary appears to be the strength of the defense. Daryus Dixson and Audavion Collins should be CB1 and CB2, with Zion Tracy as the nickel. Marcus Neal and Jeremiah Cooper are your safeties, with Jamison Patton another senior transfer able to chip in.

Based on all that, I’d hazard a guess that the “base” of D’Anton Lynn’s defense in 2026 will be a 4-2-5 setup, with obvious flexibility as needed depending on the opponent.

Formation aside, there are a LOT of transfers on the defense. By my estimate, five starters are transfers, and another seven players in the two-deep are transfers as well.

Additionally, the defense is learning a new system, unlike the offense where the majority of the transfers were already familiar with offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser’s scheme.

All of these words to ask: will the defense be good in 2026? Will it take some time to finish jelling? Or will they pummel opposing teams from the jump, hearkening back to the days of Manny Diaz and make teams fear the Blue and White?

Sound off in the comments, what do you think?

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