Penn State Nittany Lions

Who is Penn State's Defensive MVP Through Six Games?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Through six games so far, it’s time to look at who has been Penn State’s defensive MVP.

Yesterday, VBR brought you staff picks for Penn State’s offensive MVP through the first six games of the season. Quarterback Trace McSorley and running back Saquon Barkley were the popular picks.

Today, the focus switches to the defensive side of the ball.

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Penn State has had to deal with more adversity on defense than any team in the nation. The team entered 2016 having to replace several key starters on defense, including three of the four defensive linemen. On top of that, all three starting linebackers suffered injuries early in the season.

Freshmen and guys buried on the depth chart to start the season have been thrust into action earlier than imagined.

Although it’s been rough, the unit has shown some improvement over thefts two games and really took a step forward against Maryland.

It’s time to take a look at Penn State’s defensive MVP for the first half of the 2016 season.

Site Expert Barry Leonard Jr.

Things haven’t been great on the defense, but it’s starting to look up. Injuries have decimated the unit, particularly the linebackers. A strong case can be made for safety Marcus Allen being the team’s defensive MVP. However, I’m going with linebacker Brandon Smith.

The walk-on has suddenly found himself thrust into a key role this season, and he’s certainly made the most of it. He has appeared in six games, making two starts. That includes the game at Michigan in which he was ejected int eh first half on a controversial targeting call.

Smith is third on the team with 31 total tackles and is coming off a 14-tackle game against Maryland. He’s an unlikely hero, but Smith has come up big for the Nittany Lions so far.

Contributor Shane Lunnen

Picking the defensive MVP was tough considering how banged up the defense is. I’m going to go with safety Marcus Allen.

Through six games, Allen leads the Big Ten in tackles with 57. That is nearly 10 tackles per game and 10 more than the next player on the list, Hardy Nickerson of Illinois. He also has two passes defended and forced a fumble.

Now many will think that’s not a good sign for the rest of the defense if a safety is leading the team in tackles. But Allen is “Mr. Reliable” and is making the tackles needed when called upon. He’s all over the field playing good run and pass defense, as evidenced by his outstanding 22 tackle performance against Minnesota. He’s a big part of Penn State’s strength in their secondary and look for him to continue his sure tackling in the second half of the season.

Contributor Corey Hunter

I am tempted to go with the PSU training staff for all the injuries they’ve had to deal with over six games. However, I am going with junior defensive back Marcus Allen.

Allen leads the Big Ten in tackles and ranks 19th nationally in that category.

Only once this season has Allen failed to record at least seven tackles. He has routinely been able to get involved in big plays including this past weekend’s stuff of Maryland running back Jake Funk on fourth and five from PSU 22 when the game was still in doubt.

Contributor Marty Leap

Just as everyone would have predicted in August, Penn State’s defensive MVP so far has been Brandon Smith. Okay, so, no one predicted this. However, the walk-on redshirt junior has played a huge role in the Nittany Lions’ defense through six games.

Smith was forced into action against Temple due to Penn State’s linebackers being decimated by injuries. And every since the Temple game, he has been as important as anyone on Penn State’s defense. This was evident by the Nittany Lion defense being trounced by Michigan for 49 points when Smith was out after being ejected.

Through six games Smith has 31 tackles, two and a half tackles for a loss, two pass break ups, and an interception. Most importantly, Smith has been playing the MIKE position and aligning the Nittany Lion defense.

Penn State’s linebacker situation is a mess. However, the linebacker situation, and the defense, would each be ten times worse without the play of Brandon Smith.

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