As Penn State continues their spring practices, Happy Valley Insider continues to preview each of Penn State's position groups this spring and today moves onto the offensive line.
Last season, the Nittany Lions offensive line put together one of its best full season performances under head coach James Franklin and offensive line coach Phil Trautwein. That being said, the Nittany Lions will have to replace a trio of starters in Olu Fashanu, Hunter Nourzad, and Caedan Wallace.
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Who will replace each of those starters? We take a look below.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Working from left to right...
Drew Shelton will likely step into the void left by Olu Fashanu in 2024, unfortunately for Shelton. He will miss all of spring practices after undergoing surgery following the Peach Bowl. That being said, the Nittany Lions have a ton of faith in the junior out of Downingtown (PA) who has appeared in five games in his first two seasons with the program including making five starts as a true freshman.
At left guard, J.B Nelson should reprise his role as the Nittany Lions starter. He was solid in 2023, playing in 10 games and allowed just one sack across 199 pass blocking opportunities.
Center is one of the position battles that we will be watching closely this spring. The redshirt senior will be battling it out with true freshman Cooper Cousins for the starting job, redshirt sophomore Olaivavega Ioane will also have the opportunity to compete for time at the position.
At right guard, Sal Wormley returns for another season. He played over 670 snaps for the Nittany Lions in 2023, allowing just one sack and 10 pass pressures across 342 pass blocking opportunities. He'll provide quality stability on the right side of the Nittany Lions offensive line.
Another position battle is set to take place at right tackle as Wisconsin transfer and former five-star Nolan Rucci will be battling with redshirt freshman Anthony Donkoh. Donkoh entered his Penn State career last year as a guard but impressed the coaches at right tackle as well, including playing extensively in the Peach Bowl against Ole Miss. Both players will likely see quite a bit of time on the field this fall.
PROJECTED BACKUPS
At left tackle, redshirt freshman J'ven Williams continues his growth and development with the Nittany Lions. In the program's first spring practice last Tuesday, he looked much bigger and stronger than he did as a true freshman a year ago. While he won't be a starter this season barring injuries, Williams should still be able to see plenty of playing time this fall.
Birchmeier, another redshirt freshman, feels like a bit of a forgotten name in the offensive line room but the former high four-star prospect is not one to forget. During his high school career, Birchmeier had to keep around 285 pounds due to competing in wrestling, meaning last year was mostly a year for him to gain weight and muscle. Now, the Virginia native is up to 305 pounds and closer to seeing on the field action. It will be intriguing to see this spring and fall camps of where he is in his development but his collegiate debut should come sometime this fall.
At right guard, the massive Olaiavavega Ioane will be the Nittany Lions primary backup at right guard. The Washington native played in all 12 games last season, allowing three sacks and 13 total quarterback pressures on 282 pass blocking opportunities.
DEPTH
When it comes to Penn State's depth at offensive line, names to know include the following players;
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