Jim Knowles kept quiet as he paced from position group to position group, closely analyzing the options in his arsenal. Tuesday marked the start of Penn State’s spring practice schedule and Knowles’ first opportunity to see his entire unit in full pads since taking over as the Nittany Lions’ defensive coordinator. He’ll have some major decisions to make in the coming months.
Above all else, Knowles will have to determine how he wants to run his defense. And that answer could revolve around one position in particular: linebacker. With the departure of Kobe King, there’s a competition brewing at middle linebacker, a battle that could dictate the defense Knowles ultimately opts to base out of.
As it stands, it’s looking like Knowles and James Franklin have narrowed their focus on a familiar scheme — a 4-2-5 defense with four defensive linemen, two linebackers and five defensive backs. It’s a different scheme than the one the Nittany Lions ran for most of last year, but one that could make the most sense in a 2025 season with national title aspirations.
“We’ll probably base more out of a 4-2-5,” Franklin said on Tuesday. “… With some of our youth and lack of experience at linebacker, this is a way that I think fits our personnel this year and also fits with what Jim has liked to do in the past, and obviously these were a lot of our conversations before the coming year.”
This was supposed to be the defense Penn State ran under Tom Allen this past season. That was until safety Kevin Winston Jr. sustained a season-ending injury in the second week of the campaign that forced Jaylen Reed from nickel back to safety. The Nittany Lions reverted back to a 4-3 base for the remainder of the season, starting just four defensive backs.
“Obviously, last year, we really did it the same way, right? We started the season, before we lost KJ, where we had three safeties on the field,” Franklin said. “And I think we would have been very, very difficult to deal with if we would have had those guys all year long. So that’s going to be the process this spring, saying, ‘Okay, where are those nickels going to come from?’”
That’s the next question. Franklin and Knowles could choose to start three safeties, as was the case at the start of last season, or they could opt for a three-cornerback look. A.J. Harris and Elliot Washington II are presumably on pace to lock up two starting cornerback spots, but another player who saw extensive time at nickel in 2024 could emerge as a third starter.
That player could be Zion Tracy, who made four starts in a breakout campaign that saw him tally 35 tackles, three pass deflections and a pick-six on the opening drive of a 20-13 loss to Ohio State on Nov. 2. Tracy won’t only be competing with other cornerbacks this offseason, but also with the safeties and linebackers looking to present themselves as Knowles’ best option.
“Jim’s been doing it long enough to understand we got to get our best 11 guys on the field,” Franklin said. “At Oklahoma State and other places, that may have been three safeties. At Penn State, that may be three corners, that may be three safeties. … If we had three killer linebackers, we may play more true 4-3 base, however you want to call it, than maybe he’s played in the past.”
Tony Rojas and Dominic DeLuca are almost certainly on the path to retaining their starting roles at linebacker. Meanwhile, Zakee Wheatley and King Mack are the likely favorites to start at safety. Given the fact that the depth at linebacker and safety is already thin, transitioning to a 4-2-5 defense with an extra cornerback who has nickel experience could make a ton of sense.
That type of scheme wouldn’t be new to Knowles, either. He started cornerback Jordan Hancock at nickel in almost every game of Ohio State’s national-championship winning 2024-25 season. Knowles could get creative the more he evaluates his playmakers, but a three-cornerback look could be in the works early into spring practice.
“That’s why spring ball is important,” Franklin said. “It’s going to give Jim the ability, not only to install some of the changes that we’re making on defense, some of the tweaks that we’re making on defense, but also to evaluate our personnel, to say, ‘How are we going to play at our best?’”
