How good can Lions' defense be? Here's the easy answer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Let me show you two graphics. They go hand in hand, and they tell a whole bunch of the story of why Penn State is expected to be so good this year.

We talk so much about quarterback Drew Allar and the offensive potential, but these two graphics about the defense are really even more important.

The first:

And the second, which explains the first:

If you ask me, the second graphic is even more impressive than the first. Sure, to have the No. 4 projected defense in the nation entering the season is terrific, but ...

Goodness, to have the top projected unit in the Big Ten at all three defensive levels, that's a testament to just how well things have been going of late for the Penn State program when it comes to overall talent evaluation, acquisition and development.

Even the very best teams usually have one unit that doesn't quite stack up with other excellent units. But when you see where Phil Steele ranks the Nittany Lion defensive units in the Big Ten, it's tough not to do a double take after seeing Penn State at the top in all three spots.

And as you can see, Steele has the Lions with the No. 1 defensive back group in the country, while placing third on the D-line and fourth at linebackers.

Can Penn State live up to those extremely lofty rankings?

Let's take a look at each group.

DEFENSIVE LINE

James Franklin certainly has very high expectations for this group.

"We've got a chance to have one of the best defensive lines in the country from a depth and talent standpoint, but also from a size standpoint," Franklin said this summer.

The star of the D-line entering the season will be end Chop Robinson, a potential first-round NFL draft pick next year. I recently profiled him and the expectations in this piece.

The other starting end will be Adissa Isaac, a third-team all-Big Ten selection last season, when he had four sacks, 11 tackles for loss and eight QB hurries. There's also Dani Dennis-Sutton, who has phenomenal potential.

Hakeem Beamon will be one of the starting tackles, and Dvon Ellies could be the other, with Coziah Izzard and Zane Durant battling for playing time, as well.

As is the case every year, Penn State will be judged on how it performs against Ohio State and Michigan. The Lions were shredded last year at Michigan when they allowed 400 yards rushing, so no matter how much we may want to praise this unit now, there's no doubt it will be strongly tested.

LINEBACKERS

Abdul Carter has a chance to be a superstar, and he'll only be a sophomore. It's exciting to think about how much better he could be, after enjoying an impressive freshman season.

Senior Curtis Jacobs will be looking to end his Penn State career on a high note, and Tyler Elsdon should be the other starter.

To be honest, I'm surprised the linebacker unit is rated the best in the Big Ten, and stunned that it's rated No. 4 in the country by Phil Steele. While I love Carter and his enormous potential, I still have some questions about other players and their consistency.

But hey, maybe Carter can be so good that carries the entire unit to stardom, just as Micah Parsons did in 2019.

Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz was asked about Carter's versatility and the potential of moving him around. In a long and winding answer, Diaz gave an interesting baseball anecdote that offers insight into the thought process.

"Abdul is certainly a guy that has some versatility, but you don't want to be a jack of all trades and a master of none," Diaz said. "I think it's important still to be great at one thing. ... Like in baseball, having a great fastball makes you a dominant pitcher. You don't need 13 pitches. You need a dominant fastball and a good changeup to be a great pitcher. Let's make sure we're working on your fastball ... which is the goal in this program that has a lot more to do with your fastball than it does with your third or fourth pitch."

Carter definitely has a good fastball, that being his tremendous intensity and ability to attack the ball, a la Parsons.

"He also has a great sense of confidence in himself when he's on the field," Diaz said. "I think he has great belief in his abilities when he's out there."

SECONDARY

Kalen King, a projected first-round draft pick, will be the lockdown cornerback, taking over for Joey Porter Jr.

Johnny Dixon will be the other corner, and he could be in position to make a lot of plays as teams try to avoid throwing at King -- much the same as they did avoiding Porter a year ago and trying to attack King more.

Daquan Hardy and Cam Miller provide depth at the corner spots.

At safety, this will finally be the year State College native Keaton Ellis gets his chance to be the primary stopper deep. Jaylen Reed figures to be the other starter, although Zakee Wheatley could change that.

Ji'Ayir Brown is gone, and he was such a huge part of not just the defense, but also the entire team as a tremendous leader. Porter is a big loss, but Brown actually could be the tougher player to replace on defense.

"I don't know if we'll have one guy (trying to replace Brown)," Diaz said. "That can be because he was so unique, he was so special. ... He was a rare player that, when he spoke, everyone in the locker room stopped and turned to look at what he was saying. Do we have that guy right now? I don't know that we do."

THEY DO HAVE THIS GUY

That would be Diaz.

Because if you truly want to believe that Penn State will have one of the top five defenses in the country this season, we can talk about players such as Robinson and King, but perhaps the biggest reason will be Diaz himself.

As I've said repeatedly, the single most important factor of this offseason was the fact that Diaz didn't leave for a head coaching job and will return to Penn State for a second season. He's that special, and he proved it a year ago when he came in and changed the overall philosophy on defense.

Penn State has always had a good defense, and Diaz's predecessor, Brent Pry, did excellent work before leaving to become head coach at Virginia Tech. But what Diaz was able to instill in such a short period of time was a sense of extreme aggressiveness across all three levels, while also playing smart and preventing big plays.

Now, all of that blew up at Michigan when the Wolverines torched the Lions for two long touchdown runs. It was a bad, bad day for Diaz and everyone on defense.

But you know everyone in the program learned a great deal from that fiasco and what it will take to prevent it from happening again. So, when Michigan visits Beaver Stadium later this year, expect Diaz to have a much better game plan.