Penn State’s edge room is suddenly looking thinner than expected, and the latest development only sharpens that concern.
Jackson Ford, a true freshman, has forced his way into the edge-rusher rotation after logging 18 snaps in Week 3, and D’Anton Lynn confirmed Tuesday that he’ll keep getting work going forward. That’s a win for Ford, who signed with Penn State before Matt Campbell was hired and now looks like a useful piece in Campbell’s 2026 class. But it also serves as a reminder that the Nittany Lions may have misjudged how much proven depth they had at defensive end.
Campbell and general manager Derek Hoodjer spent the offseason trying to remake the defense around Lynn’s 4-2-5 system after the program moved on from the 3-3-5 look associated with Jon Heacock. Lynn, who came over from USC and has long run the 4-2-5, inherited a roster that had to adjust not just to a new scheme but to different body types and different jobs across the front.
That was especially true up front. Ikaika Malloe was brought in to coach the defensive line, and he led a major shift inside, moving away from the undersized gap-shooters Deion Barnes preferred and toward 300+-pound run stuffers. That left the edge as a spot where Penn State leaned heavily on retention and projection more than proven production.
The staff’s two biggest bets at defensive end were Max Granville and Yvan Kemajou. Granville is now out for the season, and the rest of the room has not exactly answered the bell.
Campbell and Hoodjer also moved Ikenna Ezeogu from the interior to the edge, a transition that has taken time, and added Alex McPherson from Colorado. Even then, the staff kept talking up the group until fall camp, when linebacker Caleb Bacon was shifted to the edge as well.
Bacon is now starting opposite Kemajou, and Ford has climbed into the picture too.
That leaves Penn State heading into Big Ten play in Week 4 with a rotation that includes a true freshman, a former linebacker, and a former interior defensive lineman - or two, if Liam Andrews is included with Ezeogu. That’s not an ideal setup for a pass rush, especially with a defensive tackle group built more to absorb blocks and free up linebackers against the run than to create chaos in the backfield.
Lynn, though, has dealt with this kind of problem before. At USC last season, the Trojans ranked No. 118 in pressure rate even while blitzing at the 29th-highest rate on passing downs. USC finished No. 73 in points per drive, so it wasn’t a great defense, but Lynn at least has experience trying to manufacture a pass rush when the front four isn’t doing enough on its own.
Penn State still has time to sort it out, and the first three weeks were more like a dress rehearsal than the real thing. Ezeogu and Bacon are still learning the position, and Kemajou is now the one offenses are setting protections around. The group could improve.
If it doesn’t, Lynn may have to lean on the blitz more often than anyone expected. And if that happens, the ceiling on this defense may come down a notch. Ford’s emergence is promising, but it probably won’t be enough on its own to solve that problem in 2026.
In Other News...
Penn State Suddenly Has A Koby Howard Concern Heading Into Next Week
Penn States injury watch after the Buffalo game centered on a few familiar names, but Koby Howard is the one carrying the biggest question into next week. Matt Campbell said Howard was hurt on a long touchdown run, and with the Lions moving on to the next opponent, his availability is now uncertain. For a team trying to keep early-season momentum rolling, even a single injury note can matter when it involves a player who was in the middle of a scoring play.
Brock Riker appears on sturdier ground and is expected to be available for the next game, while Andrew Rappleyea and Tyler Armstead are still listed as questionable after leaving the Buffalo contest banged up. For Penn State, the focus now shifts from the box score to the training room, where the answers on a few key depth pieces could shape how the rotation looks when the Lions line up again. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Fans Face One Annoying Hurdle For Wisconsin Opener
Penn States Big Ten opener against Wisconsin at Beaver Stadium arrives with the usual conference-stage stakes, but there is one wrinkle for fans planning their Saturday around it. The 5 p.m. ET kickoff makes for a prime-time atmosphere in State College, yet the game will not be on traditional television. Instead, it will be available exclusively on Peacock, NBC Universals streaming platform, which means anyone wanting to watch will need a subscription.
Peacocks role as a Big Ten Saturday Night home will extend beyond this matchup, with the service carrying other conference games throughout the 2026 season while also offering football and entertainment programming. For Penn State supporters, though, the immediate issue is simpler and more annoying: if they want to see the opener against Wisconsin, they will have to navigate another streaming paywall first. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Just Got An Early Recruiting Sign Matt Campbell Needed
Penn States 2028 recruiting class got a noticeable boost this week when quarterback commit James Armstrong climbed 40 spots in Rivals latest rankings, landing at No. 61 overall and No. 7 among quarterbacks. Even in a staff that is known to trust its own evaluations more than outside lists, movement like that matters, especially when it comes from a quarterback and especially when it helps validate the early work being done in Pennsylvania.
There is still a long way to go with this cycle, and rankings will keep shifting as more evaluations come in, but Armstrongs rise is the kind of public sign a program can point to while building momentum. Another in-state commit, cornerback Deonte Flemings Jr., went the other direction with a 50-spot drop, a reminder that the early stages of recruiting rarely tell the full story even when they offer a glimpse of where the class might be headed. [Read more 🡒]