James Franklin Wants Penn State to Develop a More 'Suffocating-Style Defense'

The No. 2 Nittany Lions have allowed one touchdown in two games, but they're still learning coordinator Jim Knowles' defense.

Penn State Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jim Knowles looks on from the sideline during the third quarter of the Blue-White spring game at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

STATE COLLEGE | Jim Knowles brought a complicated defensive package to Penn State when he became the team’s defensive coordinator this year. The product isn’t perfect yet through two games, and plenty needs to be fixed. There have been bright moments indicating the defense’s potential, but will it be ready in time for Oregon’s visit to Beaver Stadium on Sept. 27?

Good but not great – yet

Penn State Nittany Lions defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton (33) reacts following a tackle during the first quarter against the Nevada Wolf Pack at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

It felt like nearly everything went right for Penn State’s defense against Nevada in the opener. When the defense forced turnovers on the Wolf Pack’s first two drives, it’s hard to argue otherwise.  Through two games, Penn State has allowed only 11 points, but head coach James Franklin still wants to see more. 

“I do think we can be more of a suffocating-style defense,” Franklin said when asked to evaluate Knowles’ defense through two games. “We’ve given up some yards, and I think Jim would prefer us being a little bit tighter and reacting. I still think our defense is thinking and not playing as fast as maybe we have in the past, and that’s what’s going to be important this week and then obviously moving forward.”

Players have called Knowles’ system difficult, and even NFL-style, but said he’s very open-minded. Safety King Mack and defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam both said this week that they’ve had extra meetings with their defensive coordinator to work through any actual or potential challenges.  

“If you’re confused about anything, he’s patient with you,” Mack said. “He will sit down with you and answer all of your questions.” 

RELATED: What we learned about the Nittany Lions at practice

Communicating through an avalanche of sound 

Penn State fans cheer during the second half of the 2024 College Football Playoff game between the Nittany Lions and the SMU Mustangs. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

If you walk past Holuba Hall and hear a sudden burst of noise trying to replicate Beaver Stadium on a Saturday, don’t be alarmed. The defense is practicing. Communication on defense has been “a challenge” so far, Franklin said.

Linebackers Dom DeLuca and Amare Campbell are wearing the green-dot helmets that allow them to hear Knowles’ calls and relay them to teammates. But because the Beaver Stadium crowd is louder when the opposing offense is on the field, it has been more difficult to communicate on defense. Hence the crowd noise blasts at practice. 

“We need to work more on defense in practice with crowd noise,” Franklin said after practice on Wednesday. “And the hard part is, now that limits coaching, right? Because we have got some tweaks to our system now with Jim and we’re trying to coach — well, it’s trying to. It’s hard to coach when we’re blowing their eardrums.” 

Penn State had similar issues last season, when linebackers coach Dan Connor took over the headset from then-defensive coordinator Tom Allen. Connor said that the increased crowd noise at practice has made a difference. 

“Our biggest thing with having the green dot is, be calm, be patient, wait on the call and then communicate it out to the 10 other guys,” Connor said. “But the crowd noise at practice, as a point of emphasis, has been helpful. It’s allowed us to work through any kinks that we might have had in that communication, and it’s been turned up this past week in practice, so that has been helping us.”

Not only is Penn State’s first conference game of the season in two weeks, but it is also the White Out, usually the loudest game of the season. Oregon will have to navigate the avalanche of sound, but so will Penn State’s defense.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re working on it enough on defense, because at home, that’s where we’re really going to deal with it,” Franklin said. “Sometimes we've had some technology issues, sometimes we’re not clear enough and sometimes the tempo of the offense can make things challenging too.”  

RELATED: Five things Penn State needs to get right before playing Oregon

Emerging leaders and big-man touchdowns 

This was the first INT of Zane Durant's career

Penn State scored a FG off the turnover https://t.co/X2MnbzFHDj

— amanda vogt (@amandav_3) August 30, 2025

Gilliam wasn’t in the rotation last season as a true freshman and played in only five games. But in the opener, he pressured Nevada quarterback Chubba Purdy, leading to tackle Zane Durant’s first-career interception. 

“I said [to Durant], good play,” Gilliam recalled after practice this week. “I told him he should have scored it.”

Against FIU, Alonzo Ford Jr. found a ball falling right in his lap, for the second interception made by a defensive tackle this season. It’s the first time Penn State defensive tackles have made multiple interceptions in a season since 1990. 

“[Defensive tackle] Owen Wafle was ‘takeaway king’ in the spring, so I feel like that goes to prove, you know, practice does translate to the games,” Gilliam said. 

Defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, like Durant, has been a key leader on this defense. Dennis-Sutton forced two fumbles against Nevada — he had two in 2024 — but depth has been an issue behind him. Then Zuriah Fisher returned to the field last week after missing the past 17 games, and young players like freshman Chaz Coleman are developing nicely through live game reps. 

“They’re good leaders, you know, they’ve got a lot of snaps under their belt, so it’s good to be out there with some experience,” Gilliam said, adding that Dennis-Sutton’s energy “radiates through the whole D-line.”

Saturday’s game against Villanova will be one of Penn State’s last opportunities to test different depth options, because players will be rotated less frequently when the Big Ten season arrives. Franklin said the developmental squad scrimmages on Sundays are pivotal to evaluating players who don’t see much action in games.  

“That’s going to be important for us moving forward, getting those guys playing fast and confident and running the defense and the back half and creating some depth,” Franklin said. “If a guy’s helmet breaks and needs to get his chin strap fixed, [it’s about knowing] that we got somebody else we can put in the game we feel good about.”

Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle Enai White (45) sacks FIU Panthers quarterback Keyone Jenkins (1). | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images