The Face of Linebacker U: Jason Cabinda
After week one the Nittany Lions had a big question looming over their head. James Franklin and the rest of his squad were unsure what would happen after the injury to mike linebacker Nyeem Wartman-White and didn’t know who would step up to fill his role.
Five weeks later, the Nittany Lions have undoubtedly found their future middle linebacker star who will carry on the tradition of “Linebacker U.”
“I think Cabinda did an amazing job this week filling in for the middle linebacker position,” captain and senior safety Jordan Lucas said, after Cabinda’s first start this season at mike linebacker. “His communication level was out of this world and everything he said, we did. That is how it should be.”
The Flemington, N.J. native initially started at will side linebacker but after Wartman-White went down, he entered a position battle with redshirt junior Gary Wooten Jr.
Cabinda’s outgoing personality helped him get the job.
“I've always been a very social person,” Cabinda said, who leads the team with 46 tackles through six games. “The kind of guy who can walk into a place where I don't know anybody and within a half hour, I have a good feel for everybody in the room. That's kind of my personality.”
The true sophomore has also been dubbed the hardest hitting linebacker on this year’s team, a true honor at one of the top defensive schools in the nation.
“I come from a place where toughness is really huge,” Cabinda said, who has also recorded one forced fumble and two sacks this season.
“Being a hard-hitter is about how tough you are, wanting to defeat the guy in front of you, never losing one-on-one battles. We talk about that all the time in our linebacker room, never give up one-on-one.”
At will side linebacker last season for the Nittany Lions, Cabinda was named to the honorable-mention Big Ten All-Freshman team, and was one of three true freshman with a start on defense. He appeared in nine games, making his first career start at Illinois. In his debut season Cabinda recorded 17 tackles.
Through six weeks this season Cabinda has helped the Nittany Lions to a top 25 total defensive ranking, standing at 21, only allowing 276 total yards per game which is good for 11th in the nation. This season the Nittany Lion defense only allows an average of 117 yards per game which Cabinda believes is key for Saturday’s game at Ohio State.
“One of our main goals as a defense every week is to stop the run,” the 6-foot-1, 245-pound sophomore said.
“It's always our number one goal because when a team is able to establish the run that allows them to be able to take more shots down the field, and with a team like Ohio State who has the speed that they have at the receiver position, it is something that they do well.”
One of Cabinda’s biggest reasons for sticking with Penn State amid the turmoil and coaching changes--the history. And after this season, there will be no question that he’s added to it.
“One of the biggest reasons I came here was because this is Linebacker U, Paul Posluszny, Dan Connor, Glenn Carson, NaVarro Bowman, LaVar Arrington,” he said. “There's so many guys in this long line of guys that came here and did so well. I think that definitely played a big part in my recruitment as well.”
With the one-two combination of Cabinda and redshirt freshman Troy Reeder, the will side linebacker who has tallied 30 tackles this season, will be leading this Penn State defense for years to come.
The Nittany Lions travel to Columbus this Saturday for a primetime matchup against longtime rival Ohio State. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m.
Brandon Pelter is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism and finance. To contact him, email brandon.pelter@gmail.com.
