Penn State to rely on young, inexperienced group of defensive tackles

Penn State’s defensive tackle room — although veteran and built for it — took on an extremely heavy workload in 2024.

Dvon J-Thomas, Coziah Izzard and Zane Durant combined for 1,571 snaps, a large portion coming through the four-game postseason stretch because of Hakeem Beamon’s surprise departure and Alonzo Ford Jr.’s injury.

On a 2025 roster aiming for the national championship, only Durant (658 snaps) and Ford (186 snaps before season-ending injury) return from that group. The rest of the defensive tackle group is uncertain, as Penn State will move forward with some combination of Xavier Gilliam (55), Ty Blanding (53), Kaleb Artis (23) De’Andre Cook (3), Liam Andrews (0), Owen Wafle (0) and freshman Randy Adirika.

“It’s opportunity, right? That’s what you would want. I mean, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” defensive line coach Deion Barnes said. “If I’m a young guy, I’m able to come on that field and make an impact right away, and I get those snaps early. That’s how I’ve already been preaching, but if I’m a second-year guy or I’m a guy that didn’t get that many snaps, I’m foaming at the mouth to show what I could do.

Durant is a bona fide star who could have headed for the NFL last season. He’ll anchor this group with little doubt. Ford, though, was labeled a “pleasant surprise” by James Franklin before dealing with a serious injury for the second straight season.

Can he return fully healthy and provide as a true No. 2 run stopper up the middle? Ford has started running, according to Barnes, but he did not divulge much further than that. Ford ended his 2024 with 16 tackles and 3 1/2 tackles for loss in 11 games.

Penn State will seek to use roughly five defensive tackles in its regular rotation. Beyond the top two, Gilliam is the clear favorite for extra playing time.

He’s turned into a monster in the weight room after playing defensive end in high school, and Franklin and Barnes have made it clear they trust Gilliam if the season started right now. The 6-foot-2, 300-pounder was a three-star out of high school but has developed quickly and is a key for this group next season.

The bigger question is if Blanding or Artis are ready to take the next step in their third and fourth years on campus, respectively. Neither has broken through to this point, with Blanding appearing in seven games and Artis in 26, though that’s almost exclusively on the field goal unit.

Andrews looks the part now, as the former four-star dealt with injury in Year 1 but has gotten on the field and has some buzz around his name. Cook and Wafle, the Michigan transfer, sat out for pretty much all of Year 1 and may take time to develop.

Finally, Adirika has surprised some people since early enrolling in January, but he needs more physical development before making an impact.

It’s possible Barnes will have to get creative at the position to get through what could be 17 games, and that certainly includes using young players.

“We’ve got guys for different roles as they’re gonna play this year,” Barnes said. “We’ve got a lot of youth, but the youth is going to be able to come kick in first game, and we’ll see what they do when the football starts rolling.”

Penn State’s defensive line on the whole, after losing Max Granville at defensive end, has become perhaps the biggest question mark for this upcoming season. Barnes has attempted to quell concerns for an inexperienced but talented group.

“We might be talking about somebody that might not have risen yet,” Barnes said. “Somebody is gonna rise to the top, and we’re gonna have a dominant D-line.”