College Football

Penn State football all-time roster: Defensive starters and backups

Penn State football all-time roster: Defensive starters and backups

Penn State may be known as Linebacker U, but the Nittany Lions have a pretty strong legacy on the defensive line playing in its favor as well. Coming up with an all-time roster for the defense was a pretty easy task for the most part, but there just was not enough space to include some very worthy and memorable names.

For example, Sean Lee is one of the best linebackers in school history and recently brought a close to a stellar NFL career. Yet, he couldn’t quite make the cut on this all-time roster. That should give you an idea of how stacked Penn State’s defenses have been over the course of the program’s history.

This is our first crack and putting together an all-time defense on Nittany Lions Wire, but feel free to reach out to us and let us know who would make your roster.

See the all-time Penn State offense here.

Check out our other College Wire all-time defenses: Alabama / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Florida / Georgia / Iowa / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Nebraska / North Carolina / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / USC

Starting DE1: Dave Robinson

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Robinson is in both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Having played under Rip Engle and assistant head coach Joe Paterno, Robinson was a first-team All-American in 1962 and the MVP of the 1962 Gator Bowl even though Penn State lost.

Starting DE2: Courtney Brown

Photo By USA TODAY Sports

Courtney Brown was two-time consensus All-American and the No. 1 overall pick of the 2000 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns. Brown was the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1999.

Backup DE1: Tamba Hali

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

Tamba Hali had a breakout 2005 season for the Nittany Lions and made one of the signature plays of the Big Ten championship season with his sack of Ohio State’s Troy…

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