What Abdul Carter’s move to defensive end means for Penn State’s defense in 2024
One of Penn State’s best defenders has a new position for the 2024 season.
Abdul Carter was listed as a defensive end on the team’s updated roster Thursday after beginning his career at linebacker.
Carter wasn’t the only player with a new position — Mekhi Flowers is listed at wide receiver instead of safety, Lamont Payne is at safety instead of cornerback and Tyrece Mills is back at linebacker after being a safety for the 2023 season — but he is the most consequential.
Here’s what the move means for the program in 2024.
How Carter fits at defensive end
First and foremost, Carter’s ability to excel off the edge will be key. He’s an elite athlete who has drawn comparisons to former Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons from that standpoint. Parsons has gone on to become one of the best pass rushers in the sport with the Dallas Cowboys but did not come off the edge all that often at Penn State. Carter will be making the full-time transition in college instead of the NFL and should reap some of the same rewards. He’ll have to improve from a technique standpoint, but there’s no denying that his explosiveness should play well when he’s rushing the passer.
Carter’s ability to hold up against the run will be worth monitoring, but there’s no doubt that he has all of the requisite tools to succeed at his new position.
Replacing lost production
Carter’s position switch will help replace two of the team’s best defenders from the 2023 team. Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac were major threats off the edge for the Nittany Lions last season and with both off to the NFL, the 2024 team was bound to see a step back in production. Dani Dennis-Sutton was set to take over one of the starting spots and should be on the same level of production — if not even better — than his predecessors, but there were questions about who else would start at the position. Jameial Lyons was a strong candidate after a good freshman campaign, as was veteran Amin Vanover.
With Carter now in the mix, and almost assuredly starting, Lyons can slide in as the third defensive end and fill the same role Dennis-Sutton did during his own sophomore season while Vanover can maintain a rotational spot in the group.
Changing the shape of the defense
The first question some will ask will be about which linebackers step up to replace Carter, but that may end up being misguided. Defensive coordinator Tom Allen frequently deploys a 4-2-5 (four down linemen, two linebackers, five defensive backs) with the fifth defensive back as a hybrid. That’s not too dissimilar from what his predecessor Manny Diaz did, but he could lean into the package even more. If that’s the case, Kobe King and Tony Rojas are well positioned to start in the middle, with one of the team’s many defensive backs seeing more playing time rather than a third linebacker.
That opens the door for the team to get more of its corners and safeties — two of the deepest positions on the roster — on the field.
