Ole Miss WR compares Penn State defense to Alabama and Georgia

The SEC is used to a certain style of teams. Traditionally, the SEC has strong defenses from top to bottom. But more recently other schools around the country have proven themselves to compete at the same or a higher level. The Penn State football team has been statistically one of the best defenses in the country in 2023. Depending on what metric you are comparing, the Nittany Lions even lead the country in specific areas. Ole Miss has recognized that before the Peach Bowl, wide receiver Tre Harris even compared the Nittany Lions to the top teams in the SEC.

Ole Miss WR compares Penn State defense to Alabama and Georgia

Defense isn’t specifically an SEC strength anymore. Teams such as Penn State, Iowa, Texas, and several others have showcased their talents on that side of the ball. During his Peach Bowl media availability today, Ole Miss wide receiver Tre Harris compared the Penn State football team to Georgia and Alabama.

Harris said, For us, they compare pretty well [to Georgia and Alabama]. We know statistically they’re the top defense in the country. Going out there against them is going to be a great matchup, and we’re really excited for it. The way they compare to those other teams, I feel like they have a lot of — I feel like D-linemen, the way they go out there and pretty much wreak havoc out there, the D-linemen are pretty good, as well as pretty much the SEC guys. To us, we’re going to go out there and play our game, play our tempo, and be the most dominant team on the field.”

Replacing Manny Diaz

One of the most difficult challenges of the offseason for Penn State was replacing Manny Diaz. The now-Duke head coach was the driving force behind the Nittany Lions’ success on defense over the past few seasons. Thankfully adding Tom Allen as the next defensive coordinator should be a smooth transition.

James Franklin spoke highly of Allen and the respect he has for him. Franklin said, “When he was the defensive coordinator at Indiana, they were the most improved defense in the country. That was telling…This is a football guy who is still heavily involved in what’s going on from a scheme and fundamental perspective. That was obvious.”

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