ALTOONA, Pa. -- Despite losing Yetur Gross-Matos and Robert Windsor to the NFL this spring, the Penn State defensive line will boast one of the most athletic defensive end pairings in the Big Ten and even the country in Jayson Oweh and Shaka Toney.
A fifth year senior, Toney has progressively gotten better in each of his seasons for the Nittany Lions and has developed into a disruptive force along the defensive front. Toney has amassed 80 total tackles with 40 coming just last season in addition to a steadily improving sack count that has risen each year he's played at Penn State starting at 3.5 his freshman year to five his sophomore year before accumulating 6.5 sacks last season.
"For me, the biggest thing is growth," Toney said at Penn State's virtual media day. "Nobody starts out perfect, I wasn't one of them. I just want to keep keeping better. I try leave a lasting impression that I gave my all to this program."
Toney's speed and athleticism allow him to not only be a force in the opponent's backfield but also in space where he's spying on the quarterback.
That type of versatility allows defensive coordinator Brent Pry the ability to use a bunch of different looks and schemes to keep offenses off-balance. It also allows Pry the fortune of utilizing the athleticism and raw ability of Oweh on the opposite side of the line.
It's Oweh's time to shine for the Nittany Lions and live up to the hype as an elite edge rusher. The speed has always been there with a self-proclaimed 4.33-second 40-yard dash which is impressive for any skill position player yet for a defensive lineman listed at 6-foot-5, 257-pounds, they're nearly unheard of.
The depth of the defensive line at Penn State has been deep since Oweh arrived on campus in 2018. Now, it's his time to shine as a starter. Much like Toney, Oweh has gotten better with each opportunity they've been given earning five sacks last year during his redshirt freshman campaign following up a two sack campaign his freshman season where he played only two games.
"It's been a longtime coming and I still feel like I have a long way to go," Oweh said during Penn State's virtual media day. "I've made a lot of steady progress and I pride myself on that. Every year, every game, every practice I'm not trying to get just one percent better but like 15, 20 percent better, working on every little aspect. I think I've gotten a lot better and I can't wait to show that in games."
While Toney and Oweh look to provide and elite pass rush off the edge, it's the run-stuffers up the middle in PJ Mustipher and Antonio Shelton at defensive tackle who have the most to prove.
Mustipher has only started a game for the Nittany Lions, but has racked up quite a bit of snaps. Shelton will be a second-year starter, but has had a checkered past with Penn State earning a game suspension last season for spitting on a Michigan State player.
Shelton and Mustipher essentially shared their defensive position last season with Shelton getting the bulk of the starts while Mustipher got the bulk of the snaps. Now, they will be tasked with playing alongside each other in tandem this season.
With Toney and Oweh looking to get in to the backfield from the outside and keeping opposing backs and quarterbacks to stay between the tackles, Mustipher and Shelton will be charged with staying in position and having those players funneled right to them.
Having the discipline to remain gap sound will be important for both Shelton and Mustipher as they reap the benefits of quality edge rushers.
Of course it's not just the starters who will be lining up on Saturdays as Pry likes to rotate quite a bit up front. The second group should feature fifth-year senior Shane Simmons and sophomore Adisa Isaac at defensive end and redshirt junior Fred Hansard and redshirt sophomore Judge Culpepper at defensive tackle. When healthy Simmons has the potential to push for a starting spot at end but he's had a terrible run of luck injury wise throughout his career at Penn State.
Hansard and Culpepper probably won't show up in many box scores this fall and winter but they should be able to make quite an impact when they get on the field as run stoppers. Isaac, though, is an intriguing prospect as he played as a true freshman last season. Under the tutelage of new defensive line coach John Scott, Jr., Isaac could be the next Nittany Lion to take a big step up along the defensive line.
Behind the back ups is where the youth and inexperience is found as the reserves feature two redshirt sophomores, four redshirt freshmen, and five true freshman. The talent is there for Penn State as former defensive line coach Sean Spencer was a quality recruiter, it remains to be seen whether it will translate to the game or not.
The Nittany Lions will need Toney and Oweh to live up to their bill as potential elite edge rushers, but they will need to get production from everyone in the defensive line room if they want to get back to the Big Ten Championship and more. The talent is there, but will they be able to put it together on the field?
In less than two weeks, the start of the answer to that question will begin, on the road against Indiana.