3/10/2023 football Edit

Is the OL finally a strength for Penn State? - 2023 Spring Position Preview

Dylan Callaghan-Croley • Happy Valley Insider

Editor

Throughout his tenure in Happy Valley, Penn State head coach James Franklin has had to answer question after question every offseason and fall about his offensive line. Over most of that time period, the offensive line was an Achilles heel for the program, often hindering the Nittany Lions' offensive from reaching the heights that many believe they could.

However, the 2022 season saw Penn State's offensive line put together their best full-season performance of the James Franklin era. Offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, who was under scrutiny of his own after his first two seasons with the program didn't produce the desired results in the trenches - turned an average offensive line for the Nittany Lions into one of the best in the Big Ten, their pass protection was superb and their run blocking was dramatically better, helping pave the way for two freshman running backs to combine for over 1,900 rushing yards.

The strong season helped quell many of the questions and worries surrounding the offensive line and whether if would in fact be a strength for Penn State last season. Now, entering this spring, the offensive line for the first time in James Franklin's tenure does appear to be a legitimate strength for the program entering spring practices. While the 2017 offensive line seemed promising at the time, the Nittany Lions offensive line entering this spring has six players who can legitimately start as well as multiple emerging rotational players who could emerge as starters in the near future as well.

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DEPARTURES

Juice Scruggs

Scruggs leaves Penn State after being the Nittany Lions' starter at the center each of the past two seasons. After suffering a back injury from a car accident early in his Penn State career, the Erie native became one of the better centers in the Big Ten, only allowing three sacks and 34 total pressures in his career with over 1,800 career snaps.

Bryce Effner

Effner leaves the program after playing in 13 games last year as mostly a backup but did see starting time as the season progressed due to injuries. During his career, Effner was an adequate pass blocker and run blocker, providing the Nittany Lions with strong depth, and was looked at as a "sixth starter" by the coaching staff.

ADDITIONS

Alex Birchmeier

Birchmeier teetered on being a potential five-star prospect for most of the 2023 recruiting cycle before ultimately ending up as a top-40 prospect nationally. While many believed his future was on the inside, and it still may be, James Franklin has already noted that the Ashburn (VA) native will start his career as a tackle. As a superb wrestler in high school, Birchmeeier has shown the strength, flexibility, and athleticism to be a dominant offensive lineman.

J'Ven Williams

Williams comes to Happy Valley after being a top-100 prospect in the 2023 recruiting class. Williams is well built, has great athleticism, and has all the makings of being a multi-year starter at left tackle for the Nittany Lions. Some believe he could see playing time as a true freshman and while it's certainly possible, it will likely come down to his abilities as a pass blocker, not receiving a lot of opportunities to show his pass-blocking traits at Wyomissing due to their wing-t offense.

Anthony Donkoh

Donkoh is guaranteed to redshirt this upcoming season for the Nittany Lions and is a bit rawer as a prospect. That being said, with patience, the Virginia native has quite a high ceiling.

STARTERS

LEFT TACKLE - OLU FASHANU

A potential top-10 or potentially even top-5 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Fashanu returns to Penn State after a terrific 2023 campaign that skyrocketed his draft stock. He would miss most of the second half of the Nittany Lions season after suffering an injury against Ohio State but in his eight games played was by far the Nittany Lions' best pass blocker allowing just seven pressures across 281 pass-blocking opportunities. He also only allowed just one quarterback hit while not allowing any sacks. He'll be the anchor of their offensive line this season.

LEFT GUARD - LANDON TENGWALL

Tengwall is coming off an abbreviated season of his own, after appearing in the Nittany Lions' first five games he would miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery. In his five games played, Tengwall allowed seven pressures on 124 opportunities. While he did have some struggles, the 6-foot-6 offensive guard showed plenty of promise building off several brief showings as a freshman in 2021. As long as he's fully healthy, he should be the Nittany Lions starting left guard.

CENTER - HUNTER NOURZAD

The Cornell transfer played in 11 of Penn State's 13 games this past season spending time at left and right guard. This season, it seems likely he moves to the center position where he spent time at with Cornell. At guard, Cornell played well, for the most part, allowing just two sacks on the season over 300 pass-blocking opportunities. Pro Football Focus graded his run blocking out to just 51.3 on the season, so improvement will be needed there, especially at the center position. Either way, Nourzad will once again provide versatility and a strong inside presence on the offensive line.

RIGHT GUARD - SALEEM WORMLEY

Wormley was a full-time starter for Penn State in 2022 after missing the 2021 season due to injury. It was in reality his first true taste of college football after seeing just 10 snaps between the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Wormley played in 13 of 14 games for the Nittany Lions missing the Rose Bowl with an injury. However, during the regular season, Wormley was adequate - he had his ups and downs in pass protection but put together a good season as a run blocker and graded out as one of the program's better run blockers overall.

RIGHT TACKLE - DREW SHELTON / CAEDAN WALLACE

Right tackle is an interesting spot as both Shelton and Wallace are bonafide starters entering this season which isn't a bad thing to say the least. Chances are unless one player truly outperforms the other consistently, the Nittany Lions will end up splitting the reps at right tackle between the two.

Shelton last year played in six games for the Nittany Lions, all at left tackle. He performed admirably in his first taste of college football as a true freshman, his pass blocking for the most part was solid, though his run blocking surely will need to improve going forward. Either way, a full spring under his belt should help the Downingtown (PA) native quite a bit in improving his run blocking.

Wallace, on the other hand, has been in Happy Valley seemingly for a while now and returns for a fifth season in the blue and white. Last season, he played in each of the Nittany Lions' first eight games before missing time and only returning for the Rose Bowl where he took just 20 snaps. Wallace has had ups and downs throughout his career but has graded out to be a fairly average but also a sufficient right tackle. Splitting reps may also be the best course for Wallace as in the one season he was a full-time starter in 2021, he allowed five sacks, 24 hurries, and 33 total pressures in 468 total passing blocking opportunities.

ROTATION

LEFT TACKLE: DREW SHELTON

Shelton will provide the ultimate depth at tackle, if Olu Fashanu were to go down with an injury, Shelton would slide over to left tackle. If Caedan Wallace were to be injured, he would be able to fill in as the full-time starter right tackle as well. In the case that both Fashanu and Wallace were to be injured, Shelton would likely take over as the starting left tackle while Jimmy Christ fills in at right tackle.

RIGHT GUARD: VEGA IOANE

Don't be surprised if Vega Ioane forces his way onto the field - the Washington native was a late addition to Penn State's 2022 recruiting class and has shown a ton of promise in his short time in Happy Valley thus far. He's incredibly well built at 6-foot-4 and 352-pounds and is a fierce blocker. He only collected 35 snaps last year including 15 pass-blocking snaps but was phenomenal in that small sample size.

CENTER: NICK DAWKINS

Dawkins garnered 14 snaps in 2022 after seeing playing time in 11 games on special teams in 2021 and will be the primary backup center in 2023 behind Nourzad. He added some weight this offseason so far with more potentially to come, the Nittany Lions will need him to be bulky enough to withstand the rushes of the Big Ten's better defensive tackles but still maintain the athleticism needed to be a good center.

LEFT GUARD: JB NELSON

Nelson was a bit banged up last year which prevented him from playing as much as originally thought, he ended up playing in just three games and totaling 59 snaps between right guard and left guard. That being said, Nelson has the size at 6-foot-5 and 330-pounds to withstand Power Five pass rushes and showed the ability to do so in his brief time on the field last season.

DEPTH:

RIGHT TACKLE: JIMMY CHRIST

Christ will be a depth right tackle for the Nittany Lions behind the duo of Wallace and Shelton. This past season, Christ recorded 60 total snaps, showing adequate pass skills for the most part - his run blocking will need work, however.

GUARD: GOLDEN ISRAEL-ACHUMBA

Israel-Achumba over his first three seasons has appeared in four games, mostly on special teams. He saw five snaps at right guard for the Nittany Lions in their 41-12 win over Auburn last September.

TACKLE: IBRAHIM TRAORE

In his three seasons on campus so far, Traore has yet to record a snap. He'll strictly be a depth piece for the Nittany Lions in 2023.

WALK ONS: DOMINIC RULLI, IAN HARVIE, JIM FITZGERALD, BEN HARTMAN, MATT DETISCH

The two names to know out of the walk-ons are Dominic Rullia and Jim Fitzgerald. Rulli enters the season as the Nittany Lions, No.3 center While Fitzgerald played in two games last year as a true freshman tackle, recording 15 snaps.