Promise, injuries surround offensive line as Blue-White approaches
Penn State's struggles on the offensive line were hardly a secret in 2021.
The unit's lack of success led to the Nittany Lions having one of the nation's worst run games and to unnecessary hits on quarterback Sean Clifford, which eventually led to Clifford getting injured and the derailing of a once-promising season.'
It's also no secret that the unit, as well as the run game, have been the overwhelming focus of Penn State's spring practice.
The offensive line looks set to feature three new starters in 2022, with Olu Fashanu and Landon Tengwall taking over for Rasheed Walker and Eric WIlson on the left side, while the now-healthy Saleem Wormley appears set to slot in at right guard. The new faces bring promise, with Fashanu in particular drawing rave reviews from teammates Keyvone Lee and Nick Tarburton.
"Olu is extremely impressive, especially this spring," Tarburton said on Tuesday. "His hands are really quick and really strong. He's a really strong guy. Run game, pass game, you don't want to run right down the middle of that guy, he'll just eat you up."
While Cornell transfer Hunter Nourzad, who figures to compete for one of the three interior offensive line spots, won't arrive on campus until the summer, veterans Juice Scruggs and Caedan Wallace have filled out the first-team offensive line at center and right tackle respectively.
Speaking with media on Wednesday, Wallace said that he's personally taken steps forward in the spring, as has the unit as a whole as they look to improve the much-maligned run game.
"I'd say I'm taking a big step mentally to my approach and the way that that affects me on the field," Wallace said. "It goes into it with my hands and feet and stuff, but just the mental approach to it."
Wallace continued by praising Fashanu's ability to take things that they discussed in the group's meetings and applying them on the field.
But it hasn't all been sunshine and roses this spring for the big guys up front. When asked Tuesday to discuss what plays stood out in their minds from the spring, more often than not Tarburton, Lee and Daequan Hardy spoke about the defense and plays made up front.
Additionally, the injury bug has struck the offensive line in a big way, as the unit has often had just seven or eight healthy players available at practices. The problem is so significant that head coach James Franklin has had to discuss altering the format of Saturday's Blue-White game due to lack of available bodies. In a recent scrimmage, the Nittany lions were forced to intersperse special teams work between scrimmage periods to keep the line fresh.
"Really, we've got one offensive line right now," Franklin said. "...I want to make it as game-like as I possibly can. We'll have some scrimmage aspect, whether it will be a two-sideline game (with the roster split into teams) like we've done in the past, I'm not sure."
When asked about the dwindling numbers on Wednesday, Wallace said that there are two sides of the coin from his perspective.
"It's the way that you look at it," he said,. "The way that we look at it is that we have more time and more reps. We can make a direct focus on things and we have more reps to go out and directly improve on them."
Whether that focus translates come the fall or whether the numbers game ends up too much to deal with, there's no questioning that the offensive line will once again be the unit that is most under the microscope when the season begins.
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