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Penn State enters 2025 with offensive, defensive lines that are among the nation's best

Greg Pickelby: Greg Pickel06/08/25GregPickel
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Defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton. (Credit: Steve Manuel | Blue White Illustrated)

Penn State football will have premier play in the trenches this fall, according to Pro Football Focus’ preseason offensive and defensive line rankings. The Nittany Lions have the No. 5 defensive line in the country, per PFF. They are behind Clemson, Alabama, Texas Tech, and Florida.

“While the Nittany Lions might not have the depth of other schools on this list, they still place in the top five for the two superstars they have in Zane Durant and Dani Dennis-Sutton,” Max Chadwick writes. “Durant is my second-ranked defensive tackle in the nation after leading them all with 14 tackles for loss/no-gain last year. His 28 pressures were also a top-25 mark among FBS interior defenders. Dennis-Sutton could be the third-straight Penn State edge defender to go in the first round of the draft, following Abdul Carter and Chop Robinson. Since 2023, he’s second among returning Power Four edge rushers in pressures (75) and in our wins above average metric. He’s my No. 9 edge in the country.

“While that’s it for proven players on the Nittany Lions’ front, keep an eye on redshirt senior defensive tackle Alonzo Ford Jr. His 77.2 run-defense grade last season was 10th among Big Ten interior defenders who played at least 175 snaps.”

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As for the offensive line, it earns honorable mention honors. That leaves it as the No. 11 unit in the country entering the season. Position coach Phil Trautwein returns multiple starters and key depth pieces, as well.

“The Nittany Lions have plenty of experience along their offensive line, returning five players who played at least 400 snaps in 2024,” Chadwick writes. “The star is left guard Olaivavega Ioane, my No. 8 interior offensive lineman in America. He finished last season as the fourth-most-valuable Power Four guard according to our WAA metric.

“Right tackle Nolan Rucci finally started to show signs of why he was a five-star recruit coming out of high school in 2021 with a 73.2 PFF grade during his first year as a starter. Nick Dawkins is back at center and was 10th in the Big Ten with a 65.4 run-blocking grade last season. Drew Shelton returns at left tackle and had a 65.7 pass-blocking grade in 2024. The only new starter is at right guard in sophomore Cooper Cousins. But he was the No. 1 interior offensive line recruit from the 2024 class and played 172 snaps as a true freshman.”

Penn State opens the 2025 season when it hosts Nevada on Aug. 30. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

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