2020 Vision: Breaking down next year's OL & DL

The Penn State football program was only about an hour into its 2020 off-season, but already, James Franklin was looking ahead. Penn State had just beaten Memphis in the Cotton Bowl to cap an 11-2 campaign that few had seen coming, and before his postgame presser was over, he was already thinking about next year. Being James Franklin, he was thinking big-picture.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do in a lot of different areas, but I think most people would agree that the program is headed in the right direction. We’re developing well. We’re game-planning well. We’re recruiting well,” he said. “And really, at this point, where we are as a program, you’ve got to do it all at a very, very high level. We’ve got great support from President [Eric] Barron and [athletic director] Sandy Barbour and the administration and the board. I think it’s really important for us to continue doing that and be in alignment, all of us, always putting Penn State first. It’s always about the university first and what’s in the university’s best interest and also the athletic department. But we think we can have a big impact in that.

“So I’m going to enjoy this win, but I do think this game and this win and these 11 wins and these young players who are going to be returning are going to give us a lot of momentum going into next season, which we’re going to need.”

The Nittany Lions gave themselves a tough act to follow, having put together their third 11-win season in the past four years. But many of the players who were responsible for those 11 wins in 2019 will be returning in 2020. The program bid farewell to only 16 players on senior day in November, and 13 of the starters listed on the Cotton Bowl depth chart are expected to be back next fall. That list includes the bowl’s offensive and defensive MVPs: running back Journey Brown and outside linebacker Micah Parsons. It also includes starting quarterback Sean Clifford, four starting offensive linemen and All-Big Ten tight end Pat Freiermuth.

Franklin said after the Cotton Bowl that the 2019 team “lays the foundation for the future.” The team will be working toward that future in the months ahead.

Throughout the week, Blue White Illustrated editor Matt Herb will take a closer look at next year’s squad. Today, he focuses on the offensive and defensive lines.

KEY RETURNEES C: Michal Menet, Juice Scruggs; G: Bryce Effner, Mike Miranda, C.J. Thorpe, Anthony Whigan; T: Will Fries, Des Holmes, Rasheed Walker, Caedan Wallace, Sal Wormley

KEY LOSS C: Hunter Kelly, G: Steven Gonzalez

NEWCOMERS Golden Achumba, Jimmy Christ, Nick Dawkins, Olu Fashanu, Ibrahim Traore

OUTLOOK What to make of this position group? The Nittany Lions ended their season with a record-setting performance against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl, rushing for 396 yards, the most ever by a Penn State team in a bowl game. Three days later, they fired their offensive line coach. Surprising? Yes. Inexplicable? Not entirely.

This much we know: Barring any injuries or unexpected transfers, Penn State will field a veteran-laden line in 2020. Menet and Fries both announced in December that they planned to return for their senior seasons at center and right tackle, respectively, while Walker will be back for his redshirt sophomore season at left tackle. The Lions will also welcome back a pair of experienced guards in Thorpe and Miranda. They were essentially co-starters at right guard this past season, so it’s likely that one of them will slide over to the opposite side of the line to fill the spot vacated by the graduated Gonzalez.

In addition to having an experienced starting five, the Nittany Lions should have some depth up front, too. Of the 15 offensive linemen listed on their Cotton Bowl depth chart, Gonzalez is the only one who isn’t eligible to return next fall. He’s a big loss, having started 42 games over the course of his career. But Thorpe and Miranda will both have junior eligibility next fall, so it’s not as if the Lions will have to rely on an inexperienced player to take over the position.

After its big day in the Cotton Bowl, Penn State finished fourth in the Big Ten in rushing offense with an average of 190.6 yards per game. Only Ohio State, Wisconsin and Nebraska fared better. The Lions were third in the league in total rushing yards with 2,478, better than all but the Buckeyes and Badgers.

But Penn State hasn’t been as successful at protecting its quarterbacks. The Lions surrendered 32 sacks in 2019, including four against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl. It’s possible to give up a lot of sacks and still win big; Ohio State gave up 2.5 sacks per game, equaling Penn State’s average. But in general, fewer sacks mean more wins. Of the seven teams that finished in the bottom half of the Big Ten standings in this category, four finished with losing records.

The biggest knock on Penn State’s offensive line in recent years has been that it hasn’t always matched up well against the East Division powers that it needs to beat in order to vie for the Big Ten championship. The Lions rushed for 99 yards while surrendering five sacks in a 28-17 loss to the Buckeyes this past November. Earlier in the year, they rushed for 101 yards vs. Michigan and 113 vs. Michigan State. Still, they won two of those three games, defeating the Wolverines and Spartans.

What’s more, they showed in other games that the unit’s overall trajectory has been upward. The Lions were able to close out victories over Iowa and Michigan by generating first downs on the ground, and they put together long, run-oriented touchdown drives in the second halves of games against Pitt and Indiana. The fourth-quarter drive against the Hoosiers was especially noteworthy. It numbered 18 plays, 16 of which were runs, covered 75 yards and took nine minutes off the clock, essentially deciding the outcome. It was the Lions’ most time-consuming drive since a 9 minute, 49 second drive against Kent State in 2010.

When you can run the ball in those moments when everyone in the stadium knows that you want to run, you’re doing something right. The challenge facing new position coach Phil Trautwein will be to get the Lions do that against the best teams in the conference.

QUOTABLE Franklin on Menet: “He really can play multiple positions for us. He’s really worked himself into a leader on our team. Obviously, when you talk about experience, game experience, we think he’s got a very, very bright future not only in the remainder of his Penn State career but also at the next level as an in-state young man who decided to stay home and put Penn State on his back. He’s been fantastic, so we couldn’t be more proud of him and what he’s accomplished so far.”

KEY RETURNEES DE: Adisa Isaac, Jayson Oweh, Shane Simmons, Nick Tarburton, Shaka Toney, Smith Vilbert; DT: Jospeh Appiah Darkwa, Damion Barber, Hakeem Beamon, Judge Culpepper, Dvon Ellies, Fred Hansard, Aeneas Hawkins, P.J. Mustipher, Antonio Shelton

KEY LOSSES DE: Yetur Gross-Matos, Daniel Joseph; DT: Robert Windsor

NEWCOMERS DE: Bryce Mostella, Brandon Taylor; DT: Cole Brevard, Coziah Izzard, Fatorma Mulbah, Amin Vanover

OUTLOOK The Nittany Lions must replace at least two starters from one of the toughest defensive fronts in the country vs. the run. Penn State allowed only 95.0 rushing yards per game this past season, fewest in the Big Ten and fifth-fewest in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Windsor and Gross-Matos both played key roles in that effort, combining to account for 20 of Penn State’s 101 tackles for loss.

Windsor was one of the team’s unsung heroes, and he’ll likely get a shot at an NFL career after starting 25 games in his final two seasons at Penn State. But the Lions have a very solid player set to take over, as Mustipher is in line to become a full-time starter. At 6-4, 311 pounds, the rising junior figures to team up with returning starter Shelton in the middle, giving Penn State two defensive tackles who will be very hard to move.

Of course, it takes a lot more than two players to have an effective defensive tackle corps. Position coach Sean Spencer would prefer a five- or six-man rotation, and it appears he’ll have that next fall, with Hansard, Culpepper, Hawkins and Barber all returning and Appiah Darkwa, Ellies and Beamon coming off redshirt years. Don't be surprised if Beamon is part of that rotation in 2020. The defensive tackle spots were also a recruiting priority this past year, but unless the Lions experience a few injuries at the position, it’s probable that all four of their incoming signees will redshirt.

At defensive end, Penn State will miss Gross-Matos, a two-time first-team All-Big Ten performer who has left early to enter the NFL Draft. His departure opens the door for Simmons and Oweh. Simmons will be a senior next fall. He’s been slowed by injuries throughout his career, but he played in all 13 games this past season as Gross-Matos’s backup. Oweh was listed behind Toney throughout the season and is poised to play a major role going forward.

Toney gave the Nittany Lions a lift when he opted to return for his final season. Often cited as a team leader, he had 11.5 sacks the past two seasons and was mulling whether to leave early for the NFL Draft. One of the players behind him – Adisa Isaac – is by all accounts a rising star. Isaac saw action in 11 games as a true freshman, finishing with three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He has been hailed by teammates as a player to watch in the coming years.

As a team, Penn State finished with 45 sacks this past season – the fifth consecutive year in which it totaled 40 or more sacks. That was good enough for third place in the Big Ten and ninth in the FBS. But there were some moments during the regular season in which the pass rush wasn’t as dominant as many had expected going in. Penn State totaled only four sacks in nonconference games against Buffalo and Pitt, prompting Franklin to note after the win over the Panthers, “We’ve got to get to the quarterback more consistently.” The Lions finished their season with six sacks against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl. They’ll be looking to keep the heat on opposing passers in 2020.

QUOTABLE Franklin on Mustipher, a former standout high school wrestler: “I love wrestlers. Obviously, being here at Penn State with our wrestling program, [you] see what Cael [Sanderson] does, see how those guys work, how they compete. I think it’s a really, really good sport for junior high and high school football players to play. The work ethic and the mentality are so good. And that’s who [Mustipher] has been. He’s a worker.”

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