Adisa Isaac signs on to Senior Bowl, launching NFL pursuit
Adisa Isaac entered his fifth year at Penn State as part of a defensive end triumvirate eager to create havoc. Named to the Senior Bowl preseason watch list thanks to his bounce-back 2022 season, Isaac looked to build on his impressive showing.
Through the Nittany Lions’ 12-game regular season, Isaac more than lived up to the billing.
Announced on Friday afternoon, Isaac has accepted an invitation to participate in the Senior Bowl following the season. This cycle’s game is set to be played on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, in Mobile, Alabama. Full rosters have not yet been announced for the game, but Isaac is the first Penn State player to be announced as a participant.
The event that serves as a week-long springboard to the NFL was made possible thanks to Isaac’s outstanding fifth year with the Nittany Lions. He led Penn State’s vaunted defense with 15.0 tackles for a loss, which was also good for 24th nationally in the category. His 7.5 sacks were also the best among the Nittany Lions and were 32nd nationally. Combined with 35 tackles, four quarterback hurries, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery, Isaac emerged as one of Penn State’s most productive pieces on the defensive side of the ball.
Moving on from Penn State
In the process of the announcement of his Senior Bowl acceptance, Isaac also ended any speculation regarding his plans for next season. A 2020 season participant, with a full season lost to injury during the 2021 campaign, Isaac would have had a sixth, and possibly seventh year of eligibility available to him after this season.
Overcoming the challenge of the entire lost season due to an unspecified leg injury that summer, Isaac was recognized by head coach James Franklin even before the start of his 2023 season thanks to the perseverance he’d shown throughout his career.
“The adversity at the time is hard. It is. But I think Adisa is the player and the person he is today for going through it,” Franklin said in August. “I think that’s a valuable lesson that we all learn over time. With age, and wisdom, all these battles and all these adversities and challenges that may come at you, a lot of times they’re blessings. And they force you to grow in ways that you normally wouldn’t grow.”
Adisa Isaac’s next steps
Playing as a true freshman in 2019, Isaac’s progression has been undeniable. First appearing in 11 games in his debut, he made 1.5 sacks and 3.0 TFL in a limited role. He followed it by playing in all nine games of Penn State’s 2020 COVID slate, making 13 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Upon his injury in the summer of 2021, Isaac responded in 2022 with breakout production across the board. Pairing with Chop Robinson and Dani Dennis-Sutton, he put up 11 TFLs and four sacks, ultimately setting up an exclamation mark for the 2023 campaign.
“Adisa is just in a really good place. He’s in a great place academically; he’s in a great place athletically, from a leadership standpoint,” Franklin said. “He’s an Impressive, impressive young man. His family situation, how his mom has raised him, his brothers and sisters, he’s just a phenomenal young man.
“I got no problem pounding the table with NFL teams for Adisa… that’s kind of our goal, and our objective, is to develop these guys as football players, but also develop these guys as young men, that you’re comfortable putting your name on them whether it’s in football or outside of football.”
Isaac has a mid-round NFL Draft projection at this stage.
