Who are Penn State’s best defensive players of the last 25 years? How our panel voted

Our summer series ranking the best Penn State football players of the last 25 years has now moved onto the overall rankings — and continues with the defense.

As a reminder, we had 10 Penn State beat writers form a panel of voters to determine the best Nittany Lions at each position since the 2000 season, along with the top 10 offensive and defensive players overall, based on their stats, accomplishments and the eye test.

That panel is made up of Neil Rudel (Altoona Mirror), Rich Scarcella (Reading Eagle), Audrey Snyder (The Nittany Dispatch), Mark Brennan (Lions247), Mark Wogenrich (Penn State on SI), Frank Bodani (York Daily Record), Daniel Gallen (Lions247), Johnny McGonigal (PennLive), Josh Moyer (Centre Daily Times) and Jon Sauber (Centre Daily Times).

Earlier this week, we looked at the Nittany Lions’ 10 best offensive players of the last 25 years. So let’s turn our attention now to the top-10 defensive players since the year 2000.

Note: All stats and years played are from 2000 and beyond unless otherwise noted. First-place votes are in parentheses for players with a high rank of one.

10. Michael Mauti

High rank: 4 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 9.2

Years played: 2008; 2010-2012

Even if Mauti never saw the field over his Penn State career, he’d still be revered in Happy Valley for the leadership role he took when the program initially received sanctions “worse than the death penalty” in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal. Mauti helped keep the team — and program — together, calling team meetings and ensuring more players didn’t bolt. But, as crucial as that was, that’s not why Mauti made this list. He was as important on the field as he was off. He suffered three torn ACLs over his Penn State career, but he played every down like it was his last. He wasn’t the fastest player, but he was a quick-thinking, instinctive linebacker who was always around the ball. He was a first-team All-American in 2012 and the Butkus-Fitzgerald Big Ten Linebacker of the Year. If anyone could play on sheer willpower, it was Mauti. Despite those three torn ACLs, he went on to have a five-season NFL career before other injuries/ailments ultimately cut it short.

9. Michael Haynes

High rank: 5 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 9.0

Years played (after 1999): 2000-2002

Haynes was just fine as a sophomore and solid as a junior, as he tied for the team lead in sacks in 2000 (6) and boasted the lead in 2001 (4). But something clicked for Joe Paterno’s favorite “knucklehead” — the coach used the word while teasing him over his untapped potential — and, come Haynes’ senior season, he used his natural athleticism to reach a whole other level. The late-bloomer was quick and persistent off the edge, and he finished his final season with 15 sacks, 23 tackles-for-loss and seven forced fumbles. It was a record-breaking season. At the time, Haynes’ sack mark tied the school record (since broken by Nassib). His forced fumbles remain a single-season school record, and he ranks third on the PSU list for most TFLs in a season. He was a first-team All-American, the 2002 Nagurski-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the national Ted Hendricks Award. He is tied for third in the program lead for career sacks (25.5) and ranks sixth in tackles-for-loss (42). He was a first-round NFL draft pick.

8. NaVorro Bowman

High rank: 3 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 8.9

Years played: 2006-2009

Tell Bowman what you needed, and he would get it for you. The versatile linebacker — who also played running back in high school — could stuff a runner, blitz a quarterback or drop back into coverage. He diagnosed plays quickly, and his explosive athleticism got him to the ball even quicker. The two-year starter finished with 37 career tackles-for-loss, eight sacks and three interceptions before declaring early for the NFL draft. He thrived under adversity. A day after his high school coach died in a car accident, Bowman took the field in the Rose Bowl and set a school bowl record with five tackles-for-loss. And, when Sean Lee suffered a torn ACL in 2008, Bowman stepped up in his first year as a starter. He was a two-time All-Big Ten first-team selection, and he was named a second-team All-American in 2009. He went on to be taken in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft, and he was a four-time first-team All-Pro over eight seasons.

7. Jimmy Kennedy

High rank: 4 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 8.0

Years played (after 1999): 2000-2002

Kennedy played before 2000, but his play from that year on was still enough to earn plenty of praise from our panel. He was elite in both 2001 and 2002 when he earned first team All-Big Ten honors, but the latter year was when he was at his best. Kennedy earned first team All-America honors with 16 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks that season and was named the Big Ten’s defensive lineman of the year. His four sacks against Wisconsin that season remains tied for the most in any game by a player in program history.

6. Jared Odrick

High rank: 4 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 7.6

Years played: 2006-2009

Like Jimmy Kennedy, Odrick was elite for two seasons and was one of the best defensive tackles in the country. Odrick was named the 2009 Nagurski-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the 2009 Smith-Brown Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year along with being a first team All-American. He was an All-Big Ten first team member in both 2008 and 2009 and led the team in sacks in 2009 with seven. Panelist Mark Brennan put it succinctly — and best — when it comes to the defensive tackle rankings: “Odrick is the man.”

5. Micah Parsons

High rank: 2 | Low rank: 9 | Average rank: 5.5

Years played: 2018-2019

If it wasn’t for the lost COVID season of 2020, when Parsons opted out, the Pennsylvania native could very well be ranked even higher. The former five-star prospect arrived to Happy Valley with sky-high expectations, and he didn’t disappoint. He became the first freshman in school history — true or redshirt — to lead the team in tackles (83), earning honors as a Freshman All-American (The Athletic) in addition to being an honorable mention on the All-Big Ten team. As a sophomore, he was a consensus first-team All-American, the Butkus-Fitzgerald Big Ten Linebacker of the Year and a finalist for the national Butkus Award. Parsons made plays few other players in the nation could make. It wasn’t uncommon to see Parsons on one side of the field and, a few moments later, making a stop on the other side — usually near the backfield. His pursuit was legendary and his motor non-stop. Despite playing just two seasons, he’s tied for No. 7 on Penn State’s all-time career list for forced fumbles (6). The first-round NFL draft pick finished his college career with 192 tackles, 19 tackles-for-loss and 6.5 sacks.

4. Tamba Hali

High rank: 1 (1) | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 5.2

Years played: 2002-2005

On Sept. 23, 2003, Joe Paterno said the following about Tamba Hali at his press conference: “One of these days he will be a dominant football player, but he isn’t there yet.” Paterno didn’t need to wait much longer. Hali could shake off double teams and zero in on the ball-carrier or, as he matured, he could use his violent hands and explosive first step to sack the quarterback. He was the total package, a talented player and team leader who helped guide the 2005 team to an Orange Bowl. He always stepped up when the moment called for it, like forcing a fumble against Ohio State in 2005 in the waning minutes for a historic upset. He collected 50 tackles in three straight seasons, became a two-time all-conference selection and reached total “dominance” by his senior season. In 2005 he had 17 tackles-for-loss, 11 sacks, 65 stops — and became the Smith-Brown Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year while achieving first-team All-America status. He was a finalist for the Nagurski and Hendricks, in addition to being a first-round NFL draft pick. His stats may not appear as impressive as others on this list but, for those who watched him play, it felt like Hali willed his defense to make big plays and crucial stops. He came from war-torn Liberia, helped turn around the program after back-to-back losing seasons — and did exactly what Paterno predicted. He dominated.

3. Abdul Carter

High rank: 2 | Low rank: 6 | Average rank: 3.5

Years played: 2022-2024

We could point out all Carter’s explosive plays, his elite athleticism and stunningly quick get-off — but let’s try another tack. The three-time All-Big Ten selection had the ability to impact the entire field, and maybe nowhere was that more evident than during a simple screen pass against Purdue. (James Franklin said it was his favorite defensive play that game.) During that third-and-long play, Carter started on the right edge and then immediately adjusted after a quick screen-pass to the receiver on the other side of the field. Carter turned up and chased the wideout down less than 2 seconds after the catch. “Holy cow!” the CBS broadcaster exclaimed. “Watch that explosiveness. ... Holy man, that is scary.” That was the Abdul Carter watching experience in a nutshell: A typical play made in non-typical fashion, one that’s easy to miss but gets more impressive each time you see it. Carter was one of the best defensive players in the nation, as evidenced by his 2024 stat line: 12 sacks, 24.5 tackles-for-loss, 68 tackles, 9 QB hurries. He was named a first-team All-American and the Nagurski-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, in addition to being a finalist for just about every major defensive award — Bednarik, Nagurski and Lombardi. Carter sits among the top 10 of Penn State’s all-time leaders in career sacks (23) and TFLs (39.5), and he was taken No. 3 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. He is ranked ahead of Tamba Hali here, despite being ranked behind him at defensive end, because two panelists believed his experience and talent at linebacker made him the better overall defensive player but not the better choice strictly at DE.

2. Dan Connor

High rank: 2 | Low rank: 5 | Average rank: 2.9

Years played: 2004-2007

Let’s not bury the lede here: Connor was a two-time first-team All-American, becoming just the 14th Nittany Lion in school history to earn multiple such honors. He is a central figure of the Linebacker U tradition, a physical player who always competed with high effort while boasting solid fundamentals and rarely appearing out of position. He’s No. 1 on Penn State’s career tackles list (419), and he won the Bednarik Award in 2007 while also being named the Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year. (He was also a finalist for the Bednarik in 2006.) He specialized in run defense, recording 20 career double-digit tackle games, and finished his career with 34 tackles-for-loss. He was taken in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft, as 4-5 injuries shortened his pro career to six seasons.

1. Paul Posluszny

High rank: 1 (9) | Low rank: 2 | Average rank: 1.1

Years played: 2003-2006

You might think a school that’s produced so many elite defensive players wouldn’t have one player that’s so easily ranked above all the others, at least since the year 2000. But, if you think that, then you’ve clearly never watched Posluszny play. Our panel was nearly unanimous in ranking him No. 1 — there was a single holdout — and for good reason. He is a College Football Hall of Famer, a two-time first-team All-American, a two-time winner of the Bednarik Award (only Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald has also won multiple Bednariks), a one-time winner of the Butkus Award — and he was basically a finalist for every conceivable national defensive award during his career. The western Pennsylvania product could anticipate schemes and diagnose plays as quick as anyone, and the lead-by-example ‘backer developed a reputation for his discipline and toughness. (There’s a reason he was the program’s first two-time captain in nearly 40 years.) He was taken early in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft, and he went on to amass more than 1,200 tackles over his 11-season NFL career. He’s one of the greatest ever to suit up for the blue-and-white.