Penn State football roundtable: Who will be the defensive MVP in 2021? Here are our picks
We’ve already projected our offensive MVP and our picks to break out in the 2021 season, so it’s time to move to the defense. The Nittany Lions should have a strong defense once again this season, leaving plenty of options for an MVP.
Let’t take a look at our choices for the unit’s most valuable player.
Jon Sauber: DE Arnold Ebiketie
The potential loss of Adisa Isaac — who may miss the season with an injury — puts even more pressure on the rest of the team’s defensive ends to step up. Fortunately for Penn State, Ebiketie is in prime position to take a leap at the position.
The redshirt senior set a career high with four sacks in only six games last season with Temple and should build off that in his final college season. He’s stepping up a level in competition from the AAC to the Big Ten, but he’s also taking a step up in strength and conditioning programs. Ebiketie moves extremely well for a defensive end and has the bend and burst off the edge to ruin an opposing lineman’s day.
He should lead the team in sacks this season, and that alone makes him a contender to be the team’s most valuable defensive player. Factor in the need the defense has for a pass rusher to step up and the fact that he should be good against the run game with added strength and suddenly Ebiketie looks like a safe bet to have a big 2021 season.
Kyle J. Andrews: LB Curtis Jacobs
Jacobs has had the talent to have a standout season at Penn State, even before coming to campus. His athleticism allowed him to play most positions on defense at McDonogh and he punished wide receivers, tight ends, running backs and quarterbacks alike.
With a full year under defensive coordinator Brent Pry’s system and another year in the weight room, the bulked-up outside linebacker looks quicker and more physical as a true sophomore in his second season at Happy Valley. Expect him to take his game to new heights in 2021.
Lauren Muthler: S Jaquan Brisker
Brisker has had all the preseason hype — being named to the Associated Press’s Preseason All-America second team, the Jim Thorpe, Bednarik and Bronko Nagurski watch lists, and Bruce Feldman’s football “freaks” list — but all for good reason. With his ability to excel in both pass and run coverage, Brisker has been one of the most productive players on the field for Penn State.
Last season, Brisker totaled 57 tackles — 33 solo and 24 assisted — one interception, two QB hurries and a team-high six pass breakups. After choosing to take advantage of the NCAA’s extra year of eligibility and return to the Nittany Lions, Brisker is poised for a magical season.
The Lackawanna College transfer’s reason for returning for an additional season was to make up for unfinished business following last year’s 4-5 season. According to his coaches, he’s well on his way, taking steps forward not only on the field but off it, as well.
“He has always been one of our best workers, but his consistency off the field, the maturity he shows right now, he’s speaking out, he’s holding guys accountable,” defensive coordinator Brent Pry said. “I’m super excited about the role he’s taken and the growth he’s shown.”
If Brisker can live up to even part of the hype he’s received thus far, he’ll run away with this season’s defensive MVP nod.
Derek Heid: LB Ellis Brooks
Brooks could be listed as a surprise choice to win this title, because there is a lot of talent on this Nittany Lion defense, especially at the linebacker spot. But Brooks had an impressive 2020 campaign, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him build off of that season.
Last year, in his first year as a starter, he recorded a team-leading 60 tackles, finishing just one tackle ahead of fellow linebacker Jesse Luketa.
However, Brooks’ impact on the field stretches a lot further than his ability to wrap up the ball carrier. In addition to his impressive tackles number, he finished last season also leading the team in forced fumbles, with 2 FF, and fourth on the team in tackles for loss, with 5.5 TFL.
The junior will be entering the season as the anchor of the linebacker group, a position that former first-round draft pick Micah Parsons starred in. If Brooks can handle the pressure of that spot and continue to bring to the table what he did in 2020, MVP of the defense is more than achievable.
Andrew Porterfield: LB Jesse Luketa
This was a gimme. Jesse Luketa is one of a handful of seniors in defensive coordinator Brent Pry’s group, and he may be the most talented. Couple that with the Canadian team captain playing the two positions of linebacker and defensive end, and you get a player who will play a larger role than any other Nittany Lion on the defensive side of the ball this season.
Long gone are the days of former defensive line coach Sean Spencer’s “wild dogs” in the trenches with NFL talent like Yetur Gross-Matos, Shaka Toney and Shareef Miller, so it’s time for a revamp — and Luketa could turn out to be the much-needed catalyst for the blue-and-white front seven to get back to that level of production.
The linebacking corps was relatively underwhelming in the first leg of the 2020 campaign for a program that routinely calls itself “LBU,” but Luketa was arguably the most consistent of the bunch — posting a position-leading 31 solo tackles on the season with three pass breakups thrown into the mix, too. With defensive end Adisa Isaac expected to miss a substantial amount of time, expect to see Luketa flip-flop between his two positions, especially in the early goings of the season as he gets his feet wet at defensive end.
This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 11:02 AM.
