Penn State Defensive Tackle Devon Still Emerging as a Top Ten Pick

The Penn State Nittany Lions have one of the top defenses in the Big Ten, one that was on display and in rare form against the Iowa Hawkeyes last Saturday.

One player who is really leading the charge is senior defensive tackle Devon Still, one of the best breakout players in the country on the defensive side of the ball. Still is commanding a double team on pretty much every play, and is having quite the season for Joe-Pa’s crew.

Through six games, the 6’5″ 310 pound kid from Wilmington, Delaware has 30 tackles, two sacks, and eight tackles for a loss. His play has been so strong, that not only are local reporters taking notice, they are saying he might be the most dominant Penn State defensive lineman in recent memory. The following is from an article written before Saturday’s Iowa game.

The Lions’ senior defensivetackle is playing at a level very few former PSU players have reached at the position. Jared Odrick comes to mind and that’s about it. Odrick ended up winning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2009 and that’s where Still is headed. Any offense that doesn’t double-team Still is inviting serious damage to the quarterback.

This is a guy who is really not just taking up a lot of space, but turning heads and becoming one of the most dominant defensive players in all of college football. As I was watching the game on ABC, I heard Urban Meyer and/or Chris Spielman call Still a potential top ten draft pick, and then I really started to take notice of his pure dominance.

He led the Lions’ defensive effort against a red-hot Hawkeyes offensive attack that attempted to slow the game to their pace, speed the game up by using the no-huddle, and Still’s crew would have none of it. He was causing havoc in the backfield and really messing up any flow Iowa could find offensively.

Maybe this kid is one to watch as a potential top ten pick and possibly the best defensive tackle in the country right now.