Penn State will have some new looks on the defensive side of the football this fall. After sending off four players through the NFL draft — [autotag]Jaquan Brisker[/autotag], [autotag]Brandon Smith[/autotag], [autotag]Tariq Castro-Fields[/autotag], and [autotag]Jesse Luketa[/autotag] — in the spring, the Nittany Lions will have some big shoes to fill in the fall. And with a new defensive coordinator, [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag], the fate of the defense is one to pay close attention to for Penn State in 2022. But despite all of the turnover on the entire defensive side of things, there are some good reasons to be excited about what the defense could be capable of doing this year.
But what about what happens after 2022? What might the Penn State defense look like in 2023, and again in 2024? ESPN took a look into its analytical crystal ball to see how the best defenses in the nation may stack up over the span of the next three seasons. And while things look pretty solid overall for Penn State, the ESPN ranking of future defensive strengths wasn’t particularly high on what Penn State will be doing on defense.
Penn State comes in at an otherwise respectable No. 17, matching its outlook in the 2021 version of this three-year window exercise. But compared to the rest of the Big Ten, Penn State has some catching up to do on defense.
Wisconsin has the best three-year projection on defense in the Big Ten according to ESPN’s ranking. The Badgers rank No. 5 overall in ESPN’s ranking, which is led by Clemson and followed by Georgia, Texas A&M, and Alabama before reaching the Badgers. Iowa has the second-best projection among Big Ten teams by coming in at No. 7, with only Notre Dame sitting between the Hawkeyes and Badgers.
Michigan checks in at No. 10 after an incredibly strong season en route to a Big Ten title in 2021. Just behind the Wolverines is Ohio State at No. 11 in ESPN’s ranking.
Penn State is the fifth-best Big ten team in defensive futures according to ESPN’s methodology here. No other Big Ten team managed to break into the top 25.
You can check out the entire future defensive ranking from ESPN with an ESPN+ subscription.
[mm-video type=video id=01g37pw9b9vzmtn16kb2 playlist_id=01ey902ehrs6e9bvhw player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g37pw9b9vzmtn16kb2/01g37pw9b9vzmtn16kb2-632af56ffe84932e4c8a292347854522.jpg]
[vertical-gallery id=19493]
[listicle id=19442]
[lawrence-related id=19507,19503,19497,19488,19465]
Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.