Shaka Toney’s turn to serve as Penn State leader, provide NFL-caliber pass rush

Shaka Toney didn’t take long to make a positive first impression on his new position coach. So imagine what some of Toney’s Penn State teammates who have known him for three or four years think about him.

“He’s well respected among our teammates,” Nittany Lions cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields said, “so Shaka is the leader of the whole team.”

A fifth-year senior defensive end who is projected as a mid-round NFL Draft pick next spring, the 6-foot-3, 236-pound Toney is coming off a season in which he had 6½ sacks and 41 total tackles. That led to speculation he would declare for the 2020 draft.

Instead, he came back to University Park. And when John Scott Jr. met his position group after being hired as Penn State’s defensive line coach in February, Toney stood out.

“The first time I met Shaka Toney, I was impressed with how good a teammate and how connected he is with the guys,” Scott said last month. “When you walk in that room, all the guys look up to Shaka. The way he plays and cares deeply about his teammates, his teammates look up to him.

“He has some strong leadership qualities. His ceiling can be pretty high.”

One Last Ride with my brothers. I couldn’t leave without fighting for one more B10 championship #weare #portbreak pic.twitter.com/YxtAjrAwGm

— Shaka Toney (@SackA_Toney) April 11, 2020

Castro-Fields called Toney “the overall leader in the room.”

“He brings his Philly swag to it,” he said.

A rare — relative to population — Division I football recruit out of Philadelphia, Toney seems to have the body type and skillset to develop into an NFL-caliber pass rusher. He has spent much of his career, though, playing a complementary role behind the likes of NFL Draft picks with similar profiles: Shareef Miller and Yetur Gross-Matos.

Fellow fifth-year senior end Shane Simmons said Wednesday on a video call with reporters Toney bulked up to 250 pounds during the coronavirus-induced stay-at-home orders of the past two months.

“That (weight) is really good for him,” Simmons said, “but he’s still fast, quick, and he’s really smart, too.”

Plenty of talent remains at defensive end and tackle for Penn State in 2020, even if a player at each position was taken in the NFL Draft last month. Via @C_AdamskiTribhttps://t.co/hSxqGOnbt7

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) May 21, 2020

With tackle Robert Windsor and Gross-Matos drafted last month and the D-line group having undergone a coaching change after the departure of the popular Sean Spencer, Toney’s has become the face of the unit.

“Really big,” Simmons said about Toney’s impact on the defense. “He’s very vocal. He doesn’t put up with anything. He holds everyone accountable for what they do, and I think he’s a really good asset for the Penn State football team.”