Q&A: Olu Fashanu Discusses Recruitment, Phil Trautwein & Much More

Penn State added three offensive tackles in last year's Class of 2020, one of whom was Washington, D.C., resident Olu Fashanu. A four-star prospect, Fashanu was one of the staff's top offensive line targets. After earning an offer from the Nittany Lions during an unofficial visit at the end of the 2018 season, he returned for two more visits last March and June. He announced his commitment on June 3, 2019, two days after his final unofficial visit with his family.

With just over a month to go before he was expected to enroll at Penn State, I caught up with Fashanu to get a feel for some of the ins and outs of his recruitment, what he's been doing to stay in shape and what it's like to be a high school senior during a pandemic.

Snyder: When did you start playing sports? When did you start playing football? Did you play basketball or any other sports?

Fashanu: Growing up, I always played basketball. I played basically my entire life. I first started playing recreational basketball around first grade and up until around fourth grade. Then I decided to try out for a travel basketball team so I could play a little bit more serious ball with better competition. I played travel from fourth grade to the end of eighth grade. I decided to try out football for my freshman year and I just liked it a lot. I actually liked it a lot more than basketball my freshman year, so I just decided to completely stop playing basketball and just focus on football. I could kind of guess at the time that I could go a lot further in football than basketball, but I also just liked football more.

Snyder: What are your hobbies? What do you like to do in your free time?

Fashanu: During the season, if I have any free time, I watch film just to watch film. Honestly, even outside of my season, I still like to watch high school film just to like see my mistakes and see where I can be better, stuff like that. But when I really have free time, it's just the normal stuff for me. Just hanging out with friends, playing video games, watching movies and all that stuff. Nothing really special for me.

Snyder: In November 2018, you came up to Penn State for a game and that's when the staff offered. After that trip, was Penn State instantly one of your favorites or did that come with time?

Fashanu: Before they even offered me, they were already talking to me a lot. I decided to visit because I wanted to check out the place and the game day atmosphere, all of that. The previous times I was there, it was just for camps with my school. We would come up to Penn State for the big man challenge and the seven-on-seven tournament. But after that [trip] and getting an offer from them that day, they were definitely at the top of my list to start. I was already interested in the school and that visit was a lot of fun. It was a great experience.

Snyder: In spring 2019, you went to Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. Did either of those other schools really give Penn State a challenge after those visits? You ended up committing three months later, but at the time, were you seriously considering Michigan or Ohio State?

Fashanu: After those visits, it was really between Michigan and Penn State. There was just something about Penn State. They just had a lot more pros than cons compared to Michigan. So honestly, by then, I kind of knew that Penn State was going to be the school. I didn't commit right away, but I was pretty sure that it was going to end up being Penn State.

Snyder: Can you share a few of those things that put Penn State over Michigan?

Fashanu: Compared to Michigan, I really liked how [Penn State's] coaching staff was just on me all the time. My parents and I really appreciated the love that they gave us during the recruiting process. It seemed like they really wanted me. There was also a period of time where Michigan kind of fell off for like a month. They didn't send anything or call or anything like that. At that same time, Penn State was really heavy on me. But I also really grew to like my relationship with Coach [Tyler] Bowen and Coach [James] Franklin. Also, Penn State is a lot closer to home. Michigan is about a nine-hour drive from my house, and Penn State is only about three-and-a-half. So, there were a lot of things pointing me towards Penn State. I knew I wanted to be here.

Snyder: If there's just one thing about Penn State that you really love, what is it? It doesn't have to be connected to the football program. It can be anything about the school, the town, whatever comes to mind.

Fashanu: This probably sounds generic, but for me, I would say it's the atmosphere there. That really is true. I just feel comfortable when I'm there. I feel like I'm home. I don't feel like I'm tested at all when I'm there. Whenever I'm there, I feel completely relaxed.

Snyder: What do you think of Phil Trautwein? What have your talks been like? Fans haven't gotten to know him much yet. What's he like?

Fashanu: I like Coach Trautwein a lot. Even though he just got hired, he seems like a really genuine dude. Whenever we talk, you can tell that he wants to be there for me. He wants to see me succeed, and not only as a football player, but as a man. He talks about how much it means for the O-linemen to be role models for his kids and how he wants us to be great role models for our kids in the future. So, I really like that not everything is about football. He's all about building life skills. I really like that about him.

Snyder: How often are you speaking with him? Is there anything that he's doing to help you through this pandemic situation? I assume you talk every couple days.

Fashanu: Yeah, it's exactly like that. He checks up on us every few days. It's mainly just to talk, just to see what we're up to and see how we're doing.

Snyder: What are your strengths and weaknesses as an offensive tackle? Give me one thing that has always come natural to you and maybe one thing that you want to improve on over the next year?

Fashanu: I would say that, on the field, a weakness that I'm definitely trying to get better at is my pad level. Just staying low and getting underneath guys. That's just something I've always been working on. For a strength, I would definitely say that I'm good at using my length. I would also say my pass protection is pretty good. I'm pretty solid with using my hands in pass protection. Off the field, I'd say one other strength of mine is that I'm pretty determined. I'm really able to focus and put my mind to something that I want to improve. I'm not really afraid to ask questions if I'm not sure. If I don't really understand something, I want to figure it out because I want to be on the field as early as possible. In order to do that, I've got to understand everything during film sessions and stuff like that.

Snyder: What's it like being a high school senior during all of this? How hard is it being stuck at home during the final couple of weeks of high school? Finishing online and not seeing your friends has to be tough.

Fashanu: It's really been tough. It sucks, I'm not going to lie. We were all looking forward to the fourth quarter and just spending the last few weeks with each other. Now we can't. It's kind of depressing, but we all talk to each other all the time now. We're just constantly trying to uplift each other and just brighten up moods. So, it's been pretty bad, but we're all doing stuff to help each other out.

Snyder: Have you stayed in touch with the guys in your recruiting class? Who are you close with?

Fashanu: All of the offensive linemen are pretty close. I'd say we're really tight already. We talk a lot every day. We all don't know exactly who we're rooming with right now, but I'm probably sure I'm going to end up rooming with Golden [Achuma]. He's been someone that I've been close with for a while, but really, the class is a pretty close group and the offensive linemen talk every day. We talk all day basically. We're pretty close.

Snyder: How are you training at the moment? I know Penn State has been sending you different workouts to do. Can you share some of those workouts?

Fashanu: It's mainly just a bunch of bodyweight workouts. We also have a bunch of backpack workouts. It really just depends on the day. One day might be a bodyweight day, then another day might be a backpack day. For those backpack days, you stuff it with whatever weight you can find and they have me do like 10 different movements each and for maybe 15 reps or so. Then you do them again with 10 reps, stuff like that. It's pretty simple, but we're just doing everything we can to get something in.

Snyder: Do you have any personal equipment at home? Any dumbbells or a bench press?

Fashanu: I don't have an entire set or anything, but I do have some dumbbells at my house. I also have an agility ladder, a jump rope, things like that. I try to use that stuff as much as I can.

Snyder: What do you want to study at Penn State? Have you thought about that at all?

Fashanu: I'm still debating between a few majors. On paper, it has me down right now for business management, but I'm also looking into supply chain management and cybersecurity. I'm not sure, but I'm interested in all of those. I have time to figure it out still. I want to find something that I enjoy studying and enjoy doing when I get older.

Snyder: Aside from the NFL, what would be your dream job?

Fashanu: I just want to do something that I enjoy. That's tough, though. I haven't thought about it much. I don't think I can give you a specific answer right now, but what I would say is that I just want to do something in my major. That's why I'm majoring in that. Knowing that I can use my degree and take what I learned would be rewarding in a lot of ways.

Snyder: I like to give players an opportunity to say something to Penn State fans. Anything you'd like to tell them?

Fashanu: I would just say that I'm really happy to be a Nittany Lion. I'm ready to come in and work. Just thank you for all the love. Me and my family really appreciate it. I'm just ready to come in and work towards our goal. We want to win a national championship.

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