Penn State 2026 Breakout Candidates: Defensive Tackle

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

There was a ton movement at defensive tackle for Penn State over the offseason, and it’s clear with the moves that were made, Matt Campbell wanted to get bigger — much bigger — inside. While this group currently lacks anyone who projects as an all-conference performer, there’s a couple guys I’m keeping my eye on to potentially breakout.

Armstrong Nnodim

If we go back to the 2024 recruiting class, Armstrong Nnodim was a 6-foot-1.5, 250-pound defensive line prospect that looked destined to be a tweener. He had a pretty impressive physical profile back then, so the common belief was that he was about maxed physically. Meaning he was likely too small to ever be a real defensive tackle, but not having the twitchiness to play on the edge either. He committed to Rice before flipping to Oklahoma State, but even with his move to a Big 12 program, he was the 214th ranked prospect in Texas.

As it turns out though, Nnodim still had some growing to do. He took a redshirt year and added *40* pounds to his frame, and ended up having a nice redshirt freshman season, totaling 11 tackles, 2 TFLs, and 1 sack. Now he makes the move to a Penn State defense where he’ll play in a four-man front, which should suit his abilities much better. And, oh yeah, he added another 20 pounds this offseason, now coming in at 310 pounds.

I don’t expect Nnodim to get 10+ TFLs or 5 sacks or anything crazy from an interior defensive line position. But the kid is strong as an ox and now that he has a 300+ pound frame, I think he could end up being the unsung hero of the defense.

Dallas Vakalahi

Continuing with our trend of “big people” let’s discuss Utah transfer Dallas Vakalahi. The 6-foot-2, 326-pound Vakalahi had a really strong freshman season in 2025, putting up 16 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, and 2 sacks and even started some games. For a strong Utah defense, a true freshman starting is nothing to sneeze at. But Vakalahi battled injuries as a sophomore though, playing just 9 games and finishing the year with just 11 tackles and no TFLs or sacks to his name.

Still, there’s a lot of promise with Vakalahi. I think out of all of the 300+ pounders they brought, he’s the closes to a 3-tech and probably has the most twitchiness. Of course, he’s not going to be mistaken for Zane Durant or Kevin Givens, but if he’s back to full health I think he offers something unique on the line of giants.

Ty Blanding

Speaking of unique, let’s go with Ty Blanding for our last selection here. Blanding is a Penn State holdover who saw a decent amount of time for the Nittany Lions last season, finishing the year with 9 tackles and 2 TFLs. I think what intrigues me about Blanding is he’s someone who has mostly toggled around the 290-pound area, but now finds himself at 301 pounds. Now, those ~10 pounds might not sound like much, but I think it’s a good sign he’s still progressing physically. Plus, compared to basically all of the transfers, he’s a real, natural 3-tech which could help carve out a role for himself.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos