Penn State DC Tom Allen Discusses The Challenge of Bringing Down Ashton Jeanty | Fiesta Bowl Preview

The Penn State Nittany Lions started the week of preparation for the Fiesta Bowl on Wednesday evening when the team held its first practice of the week. On Friday morning, the Nittany Lions held open practice for the media in a modified version of the typical weekly schedule. Afterward, Penn State defensive Coordinator Tom Allen spoke with the media via Zoom to preview the upcoming game. You can catch the full interview embedded below or on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Channel.

Penn State facing a tough task in bringing down Ashton Jeanty

The Penn State defense has been very good at stopping the run for most of the 2024 season. Yet they haven’t faced a running back like Ashton Jeanty, who leads college football with over 2,400 yards of rushing. The key to his success? Allen says it’s his stature and the way he breaks tackles.

“It amazes me to just see how many times, how many good players have a shot at him, have a good angle on him, and just don’t have any success at all of getting him on the ground where you think he’s about to go down,” Allen said.

“He doesn’t because he has such, such powerful legs, and there’s just not, you know, we’re talking about the strike zone. The way his strike zone is so compressed because of his build that it’s hard to really get a good shot on it, you know? So you’re going to have to gang tackle.”

Allen compared him to another rare specimen on the other side of the size spectrum from the 5-9 Jeanty.

“We played against Derrick Henry when I was at Ole Miss. [Henry] Obviously, is taller, but, similar in regards to very hard to get on the ground, a guy that can stiff arm you.

Game Day Schedule

The Nittany Lions kick off against Boise State at 7:30 on Tuesday. We’ll bring you plenty of coverage before then! Join the BWI Live Show on Monday at 10 a.m. as we preview the game and give our predictions.

Then, join us on New Year’s Eve for a full day of action. We’ll bring you the Penn State Football Tailgate Show at 4:30, three hours before kickoff. Join the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Channel for plenty of postgame content after the game. We’ll have Franklin’s postgame press confernece, Instant Analysis from the crew in Arizona, and the Labatt Postgame Show immediatley following the conclusion of Penn Sate and Boise State.