One of the key members of Penn State’s defense for the 2019 season will be returning to Happy Valley next fall.

With the NFL Draft deadline past, Toney did not enter his name into the pool, therefore signifying his return for the 2020 season. That’s a significant boost for the Nittany Lions, as they will be without Yetur Gross-Matos and Robert Windsor along the front line next season.

Toney finished the 2019 campaign with 41 tackles and 6.5 sacks, the second-highest total on the team behind only Gross-Matos. He also broke up one pass and blocked a kick as Penn State finished the season with an 11-2 record.

Over the course of his three seasons at Penn State, Toney has piled up 15 career sacks and 84 total tackles. He’s also forced three fumbles.

Penn State was expected to have a bit of a rebuilding year in 2019, but ended up losing just two conference games — road contests against Minnesota and Ohio State. Both the Gophers and Buckeyes finished ranked inside the top 10.

With Toney, linebacker Micah Parsons, defensive backs Tariq Castro-Fields and Lamont Wade and defensive end Jayson Oweh all returning next season, the Nittany Lions will likely start out in the top 10 of the preseason poll for the 2020 season, with a legitimate shot to win the B1G East.