Penn State has at least one huge advantage as the coaching staff searches for two new starting defensive ends. Defensive tackles Austin Johnson and Anthony Zettel are so disruptive inside, the ends are free to attack with a huge majority of one-on-one situations. The same support helped Deion Barnes and C.J. Olaniyan combine for 18 tackles for loss and nine sacks last season.
A handful of Nittany Lions are competing for those spots with veterans Carl Nassib and Evan Schwan, along with redshirt sophomores Curtis Cothran Garrett Sickels and redshirt freshman Torrence Brown. Meanwhile, Johnson and Zettel could both be playing their final seasons at Penn State, which threatens to leave a potentially huge void in the middle of the defense in 2016. Johnson is a redshirt junior, and Zettel a redshirt senior.
Bob Flounders, Ross Tucker and Dustin Hockensmith took a look at the position group entering the 2015 season in a segment for the Keystone Sports Network this week. Check out audio from the show in this post and get plenty more podcasts and analysis on KeystoneSportsNetwork.com and by following @KSNSportsNet on Twitter.