Penn State football: Jesse Luketa's selflessness rewarded with big moment

Penn State Nittany Lions football's Jesse Luketa found his home in Beaver Stadium's south end zone.

A man consistently sliding between two positions for this Penn State defense, Luketa had been waiting for this.

Lined up at defensive end — a new role for the senior — Luketa felt Ball State running back Donny Marcus slide through the line of scrimmage toward the flat. So he eased off his rush and snagged Drew Plitt's pass with his left hand, bringing it under control before scampering 16 yards into the end zone.

The play gave Penn State six points on the way to a comfortable 44-13 win, and gave Luketa — and the Nittany Lion coaching staff — some additional proof of concept to what they already knew.

Their experiment is working.

"Just being able to be a hybrid, play off the edge, play in the box when need be, it just presents so much more opportunity for me," Luketa said.

Does he like defensive end better than linebacker, where he'd spent his entire Penn State career?

"I'm comfortable," Luketa said with a big grin. "So, I'm not complaining."

Luketa's big play was not vital. The Nittany Lions were already ahead 24-6. Ball State's offense had shown no real indication of an ability to move the ball reliably against the Penn State defense.

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Yet, it carried weight. Not in a pragmatic sense, but in a sentimental one.

Here was a player who was making a sacrifice, vacating a starting role at linebacker last season to become a man without a designated role, popping up wherever needed.

Luketa has, according to accounts from his teammates and coaches, handled the situation with grace and enthusiasm. And this was a fitting reward.

"I'm super proud of Jesse Luketa," Penn State head coach James Franklin said after the game. "He didn't really know what his role was going to be coming into the season, he just trusted the coaches and trusted the program, and right now he's impacting at defensive end, he's impacting at linebacker."

His teammates feel the same way.

Marquis Wilson — another Nittany Lion showcasing versatility by playing on both sides of the ball — wished he could run on the field to celebrate with him, knowing what it takes to get it done the way Luketa did Saturday.

"It's just being versatile," safety/linebacker Jonathan Sutherland said. "It's being able to play multiple positions on our defense, and doing it for the team."

Having spent the majority of the first half at linebacker due to a suspension to Ellis Brooks before sliding to defensive end in time to make this play, Luketa stressed repeatedly postgame that the positional uncertainty is not an issue for him.

He feels comfortable at linebacker after three years spent there, and he now feels the same about defensive end — because he's done the work.

Luketa spent time this summer receiving specialized instruction from a group that includes former Cowboys defensive end Jason Hatcher. He works daily with Penn State graduate assistant Deion Barnes, who played defensive end for the Nittany Lions.

The result, Luketa says, is a peace of mind that he can do what's asked of him.

"It's my preparation," he said. "Film studies, working with my coaches in Dallas, even workin with Coach Barnes. Big kudos goes to Deion Barnes because I've been working with him every single day, working on my technique, details, little things, steps, strikes, placements."

He'd had similar opportunities to make this kind of play before. He'd dropped interceptions against Maryland last season and against Idaho two years ago.

Now, playing defensive end, where it takes something truly special to make that kind of play, he got it done.

And he's going to let his former teammates know about it.

"[Odafe Oweh] and Micah [Parsons] are going to give me my kudos," he said with a laugh.

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