Sept. 13, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" The box score from Saturday's 27-13 win over Buffalo on a soggy afternoon in Beaver Stadium doesn't really do Carl Nassib justice.
At a glance, the numbers jump off the page.
Nassib had three sacks, two forced fumbles, an interception and five total tackles in the home opener.
The West Chester native's afternoon was outstanding by anyone's standards, but his dominance in the trenches went far beyond the numbers in the final stats.
Simply put, the fifth-year senior has been nothing short of remarkable during the first two weeks of the season. Nassib is setting the tone on a defensive line that has tallied 13.5 tackles for loss in two weeks.
"I think that we established an identity of just that we are a bunch of guys with the mentality that we are going to give it are all no matter what the circumstances," Nassib said. "I think we responded well today to a lot of different circumstances- we didn't let the weather conditions effect us, we are just a bunch of hard workers, blue collar defense."
A biology major on track to graduate in December, Nassib came to Penn State as a walk-on. Former head coach Bill O'Brien awarded Nassib with a scholarship in the early stages of training camp in 2013. The tireless worker didn't change a bit when he received a scholarship. Nassib has always been one of the team's most driven workers, and he approaches everything with the mindset that he isn't going to be denied.
"Every day I just try to get better, and improve on things that need improvement," said Nassib. "Last week I thought I got in too much of a grabbing battle with the tackle so today I tried to stay away from that and every week we learn from film."
The former Malvern Prep standout had been productive every time he played during the past two seasons, but what 2015 granted Nassib is an opportunity. His peers aren't surprised about what they are seeing because they knew it was coming when Nassib was given the chance to flourish as a starter.
"You know he's always made plays when he gets in the game, but this year the difference is he's added 25 pounds of muscle," said senior defensive tackle Anthony Zettel. "He also got a little faster as well so he can just bully people around."
Nassib's big day against Buffalo included a highlight reel interception on a tipped ball from Anthony Zettel in the second quarter.
"Zettel and I got a lot of penetration, and he does a great job getting his hands in the quarterbacks face and he tipped it, I saw it in the air, so I grabbed it," said Nassib.
"It was a screen, but I was already committed so I just kind of ran with it. I knew he was going to throw it so I just tried getting my hands up," said Zettel. "The ball was so wet it just slipped out, but Nassib was right there with his 7-foot wingspan to grab it so we were pretty fortunate there."
Through two games, Nassib is tied with fellow defensive lineman Austin Johnson for the team lead with 15 tackles. He has 5.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. Nassib is second in the nation in sacks and fifth in the nation in tackles for loss.
"I'm really proud of Carl Nassib," said head coach James Franklin. "I've been bragging about that guy all offseason; the way he works, the way he handles his academics, the love he has for this program and Penn State. To see him come out and have that type of day as a redshirt senior, I'm really happy for him."
Nassib's never-ending motor sets the tone for what has been an impressive start to the season for the Nittany Lion D-line. The group has been instrumental in Penn State's 22 tackles for loss during the first two weeks of the season. Penn State ranks No. 2 nationally in TFLs through two games, but this is just the beginning for Nassib and his fellow 'wild dogs'.
"Overall, I'm really proud of those guys. But I actually think they can be even more dominant," said Franklin. "They've shown signs of taking over a game."