Veteran DT getting into a groove
Mustipher broke out in win over Chippewas
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Fifth-year Penn State defensive tackle PJ Mustipher knows he wasn’t quite himself during the first three games of the season.
While No. 11 Penn State (4-0) jumped out to a 3-0 start with wins on the road against Purdue and Auburn, Mustipher’s contributions weren’t up to the standard he’s set for himself as a Nittany Lion.
In his first three contests coming back from a season-ending left knee injury that Mustipher sustained during the 2021 campaign at Iowa, he totaled just two tackles.
“In my head, I kind of wanted to be right back where I was, and that’s not really going to happen,” Mustipher said. “It just doesn’t work like that.”
But in the Nittany Lions’ 33-14 win over Central Michigan on Saturday, Mustipher more closely resembled the version of himself from years past that resulted in All-Big Ten accolades and team captain honors.
Mustipher had three solo tackles and contributed to a trio of others in Penn State’s winning effort, leading the team with a combined six stops.
“I’m just more comfortable coming off the injury,” he said. “I was kind of in my head a little bit, thinking about like, ‘All right, what if this happens, this happens?’ Now, I’m getting more comfortable playing faster. It’s kind of like I really started over as a freshman again.”
Mustipher also said he feels he’s “past” his injury and continues to improve every week. When watching film of himself from the season opener at Purdue compared to now, Mustipher can tell how much better he’s been getting, even if the stat sheet made that abundantly clear Saturday afternoon.
Not only was Mustipher’s play more in line with what he showcased in the first half of the 2021 season, but he also was a vocal leader for first-year defensive coordinator Manny Diaz’s unit. After Penn State jumped out to a 14-0 lead against Central Michigan, the Nittany Lions’ defense gave up
back-to-back second-quarter touchdowns to the Chippewas — a fact Mustipher was none too happy with entering the break.
“I was kind of on them a little bit. I was kind of yelling,” Mustipher said of his halftime speech to the defense. “I was like, ‘Man, this isn’t our standard. This isn’t what we do here at Penn State.’ I told them, ‘Wake up!’”
When asked Mustipher’s vocal leadership worked, the burly 6foot-4, 318-pound defensive tackle had to leave time for a quick chuckle before giving his answer.
“I mean, did they score again?” Mustipher said. “Nah, they didn’t score again. So, something worked.”
As has been the case at every position in Diaz’s defense, an emphasis on rotating guys in and out has been apparent at defensive tackle as well. While some defensive tackles who saw significant playing time last year such as third-year Coziah Izzard have yet to see the field in 2022, others like fourth-year Hakeem Beamon have provided their much-needed presence in the trenches for the Nittany Lions.
“It makes my job much easier because just being able to get out, get a breather, rest for a little bit, it really helps,” Mustipher said. “[Defensive line coach ifJohn Scott Jr.] has done a phenomenal job rotating us and putting me in the proper situation. Down the road, I think it will show up much more because I’ll be ready and fresher for the games down the road.”
Penn State’s win over Central Michigan marked the conclusion of a perfect 40 month of September. Now, the calendar will have turned to October the next time the Nittany Lions are in action against Northwestern on Oct. 1 for a 3:30 p.m. kick.
After that, it’s a bye week and then three straight ranked matchups: a road game at No. 4 Michigan, home against No. 21 Minnesota and then a big rivalry clash when No. 3 Ohio State comes to Happy Valley.
It’s not clear yet whether Mustipher will truly be firing on all cylinders by the time that brutal stretch of games rolls around. But for one of the team’s biggest leaders, being back at full strength isn’t weighing too heavily on his mind.
“It could be next week; it could be the last game of the season. I’m comfortable with anything,” Mustipher said. “I just got to focus on getting better and focus on my team. Anything after that, I really don’t care about.”
Freshman emerges
Freshman defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton has made up for a relatively quiet start to his Penn State career. After the former fivestar recruit was limited to two tackles in his first pair of games, Dennis-Sutton has exploded on the scene his past two Saturdays.
The edge rusher got his first career sack in the Nittany Lions’ win over Auburn and got two more in their victory over Central Michigan, both of which came during a four-play stretch in the fourth quarter. Dennis-Sutton is now Penn State’s sack leader with three.
“He’s starting to really get comfortable with what he’s doing. He’s starting to get a grasp of the defense, and he’s just playing faster,” Mustipher said of DennisSutton. “You can see it. He’s improving on a week to week basis, and I think that’s huge. If you can do that early on in your career, you got something special — and he’s done just that.”