STATE COLLEGE − There was a 320-pound shirtless man jogging and stretching and laughing during pregame warmups in a cold rain.
Afterward, Penn State defensive tackle PJ Mustipher smiled about it all in Beaver Stadium.
Said he’s never really liked feeling restrained by wearing jerseys playing football − no matter that he’s almost certainly relegated to the toughest, roughest most unglamorous position on the field.
Mustipher is the Nittany Lions’ stud defensive tackle and senior leader. Coming back from a crushing knee injury in the middle of last season? Battling through double-team blockers all day − most no one really noticing his efforts?
He swears to have felt better than ever in the 17-7 victory over Northwestern, a sloppy, raw kind of football game where nothing really looked as smooth as it should.
He was the one who led the Lion in tackles with eight, four of them solo − quite an accomplishment for a defensive tackle who usually is well-regarded for simply engaging blockers and allowing others to make plays.
He led the surge that stopped Northwestern quarterback Ryan Hilinski from scoring from the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats could have really tightened the game with a touchdown.
Mustipher made sure that did not happen. A bonus, in a strange kind of way, was that he found himself at the bottom of that seemingly dangerous pile of oversized bodies at the goal line.
Somehow, he relishes such a thing.
My PSU grades:Penn State report card: Defense steps up, offense still stuck, bye may lift up
“It’s fun, that’s what I do. The guys next to me, they like to pass rush. The guys behind me, they like to drop in coverage. I like to take on double teams and get in those piles. That’s what I do. I love doing it.”
But what does it feel like, PJ?
“You got 600, 800, 900 pounds laying on top of you, man, in a rainy, Big Ten game. It feels fun. I like it.”
Put it this way: No one does the defensive dirty work better than him, which may be a key for the Lions if they hope to contain impressive rushing attacks coming from Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio State. Those games should be determined, well enough, at scrimmage.
Penn State’s defense, for now at least, seems like the best shot this team has of holding on against their three best opponents.
Mustipher leads the unit and was sorely missed last year when he was injured against Iowa, along with quarterback Sean Clifford. Mustipher never returned. The 5-0 Lions lost that day and struggled to win just twice more the rest of the season.
They missed his presence inside, significantly. His abilities make things easier for everyone else, even if the stat sheet usually doesn’t show it.
He’s said he’s still on his way back toward his pre-injury abilities from last fall, which All-America status. That he still has more to gain now is probably a positive for this 5-0 team that needs him just as much.
A PSU revelation:A Penn State punting star like no other. Who’s got a story like Barney Amor?
“I’m close, I’m not there yet,” he said after Northwestern.
“It’s one of my better games, but I’m still just continuing to get better and it’s starting to show up on the field on Saturdays. It’s a day-by-day thing. I don’t know if I’ll be able to play my best football until the end of the season.”
Teammate Nick Tarburton gave this diagnosis: “He’s making tremendous strides. He obviously had a tough injury. He’s playing better than what I’ve seen before. He’s worked on certain aspects of his game that’s helping him … helping us a lot, too.”
Can he help even more?
He’s got two more weeks to rest and keep improving, which certainly is something for this uneven team.
Maybe even a game-changing kind of difference, after all.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on Twitter @YDRPennState.
