Roster movement coming out of spring practice has long been a norm in college football. With the transfer portal, it has only increased in recent years. While there is not expected to be many departures from Penn State's roster following spring practice, to expect none also was not going to be realistic.
Well, the Nittany Lions are now facing their first roster departure of the spring. Offnesive lineman JB Nelson is no longer listed on the team's roster, dropping the roster total from 120 to 119.
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Nelson came to Penn State in 2022 from Lackawanna Community College. During his career at Penn State, Nelson played in 31 games including playing in all 16 games of the team's run to the College Football Playoff semi-finals last season.
Nelson was a starter when the 2023 season began, but was limited to 11 games and 8 starts due to injury. Despite this, Nelson still earned All-Big Ten honorable mention accolades in 2023.
While it was unclear if Nelson would start for the Nittany Lions this fall, he was expected to be feature prominently at right guard where he was battling with Cooper Cousins for the starting role. If Nelson chooses to move on and continue his college career elsewhere, he will have one year of eligibility remaining.
Losing Nelson is a blow to Penn State's offensive line depth, but Phil Trautwein's unit remains one of the deepest in the country. In addition to all the pieces that return, young offensive linemen such as J'ven Williams, Eagan Boyer, and Garrett Sexton have garnered praise and buzz this spring. The rise of these younger offensive linemen combined with the Nittany Lions returning five other offensive linemen with starting experience, the high expectations for Cousins in year two in the program, and the addition of TJ Shanahan who started games for Texas A&M last season still gives the Nittany Lions one of the deepest, most talented offensive line units in the country.
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