Trautwein Offers Two-Deep Assessment Along Nittany Lions' Offensive Line

The question for Phil Trautwein, Penn State's new offensive line coach and a two-time national champion offensive lineman from the University of Florida, is how different his style is from his predecessor with the Nittany Lions.

As it turns out, when it comes to teaching techniques on the offensive line, the answer is quite a bit.

"My mindset is, in the run game, you play in your legs. I do a little coil mechanics, which is basically I bring my hands slightly back on my first step and I bring my hands with my second step so we're always playing in our legs," Trautwein said Tuesday morning. I always ask everyone... do squat more or do you bench more? Most likely you're gonna say you squat more. So as an offensive lineman, let's get them to play in their legs. Let's get them to play in their insteps of their feet so they're always in maximum power. So being able to do that, to get them to feel that... in their legs. It takes a little bit of time.

"Then when we're talking about pass pro, it's all about staying... I'm a big two hand punch guy. I want to be violent with my hands. I want to get separation. There's a lot of different philosophies out there on punches and one hand, outside hand. I'm good with that, but until we are great with two hand punches, then we'll do all the other stuff. So that's something that, two-hand punches is a little bit different for them. But overall, they understand, always be in power, always be in your legs and stuff like that. So, it's been a little bit of an adjustment."

The challenge, of course, is implementing those changes and making adjustments in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic that has forced remote learning since spring break.

Though Trautwein and the Nittany Lion offensive linemen under his tutelage have had to make do with the situation as it has been presented to them, the new assistant coach had plenty of positive things to say about the student-athletes he'll eventually return to work with on the field.

Let's take a look at some of his player-by-player evaluations taken from today's interview with the media, as listed per Penn State's spring depth chart release:

(Ed. notes: Trautwein was not asked about listed backup left guard Sal Wormley and his answers have been edited lightly for clarity.)

LT - Rasheed Walker - Jr./So. - 6-6, 320

He's athletic. He has great feet. He's strong. He has a great punch, when he uses it. You could tell that he's nasty. He tries to finish his blocks.

For a young talent, I'm excited to get him when he's young and mold him into what he feels like he's going to be. I know his goals and I'm going to do everything I can to get to his goals. He's a really good player that I'm excited to get my hands on and coach.

LG - Mike Miranda - Sr./Jr. - 6-3, 301

Mike, he's quiet. But I kind of know what to talk to him about and he gets open when you finally get to know him. He's a big cooker. He loves to cook, so that's kind of like my way of talking to him and getting him to open up. That's our conversation. But he's an awesome kid.

He loves football. He wants to be great. His role was going to be the center in spring and he was going to take it and then he was also going to have to learn both guards. So he's a guy that can play all of the inside positions. He's a great kid and I feel like he has an opportunity to play at the next level and keep growing as a player and show as much positive stuff on film. I think playing all three I think will help him. And then he's really strong. He dead lifts like 600 pounds and he has that too. So, overall, a really good player.

C - Michal Menet - 5th/Sr. - 6-4, 302

He's been awesome. Him and Fries are definitely the two leaders in the O-line room, not just because they have the experience and guys look up to him, because they've played for a long time.

For Menet, he's bought in from day one. He's been talking with me about technique. He's been trying to ask me things and what can I do and how can I get better. He's been leading extra groups and extra meetings with the offensive line. He's a guy that, it's my third time going over the offense and installing it and he's starting all over, writing all the notes, and I think guys are looking at that and it's helping guys buy into what I'm preaching. And for him to be that guy, it's huge. If he didn't believe in me, then I know that it would be hard, so the first thing I did was build a relationship with them and made sure that those guys, the older guys, believed in me. And so, that helps them.

When we're talking about technique, he's bought in and he knows that what I've done before and what I'm showing them works. And that's what coaching is all about, is getting them to buy in.

RG - C.J. Thorpe - Sr./Jr. - 6-3, 328

He's another guy that's, the good thing about this offense line is you have experience. You have a lot of guys that played and a lot of guys that played some big time football, so that's really good. He's a guy that also is buying in to the technique.

He's been kind of getting away with his athleticism... Being fundamentally sound can help him because he's powerful in the weight room. He's one of the strongest in the weight room. Conditioning-wise, he's always the guy that does good in that part, like last station in spring workouts, winter workouts, he's the one that keeps going and pushes everyone. That's natural for him, but now, to take the next step, he has to get technically and fundamentally sound, which is huge. And he's buying in for that.

RT - Will Fries - Gr./Sr. 6-6, 309

Will is awesome. He's a guy that will just send me clips of NFL clips. He's always doing extra stuff. He sent me a picture of a punching bag he built in the backyard. That's the mentality that I love. That's the mentality I want in my offensive line. As you know, the offensive line is all about development and it's all about doing the little thing no one else wants to do, and I think Will has that mindset, which I think is going to help him in football and then also later in life.

For Will, this is a big season for him, this is a big year for him. I think he's taking it that way. And he wants to be All-Big Ten and he wants to be drafted. That's his mindset and I think he has the ability to. He has great feet and he just loves the game of football and I think a lot of organizations will love that in him, because that's what you want. You don't want guys that have been getting through with their talent. You want guys that want to be great. And that pushes your offensive line and that pushes your organization.

So I'm excited about Will. He's a leader when you're talking about the tackles, and a lot of guys don't believe in him, so that's big.

LT - Des Holmes - Sr./Jr. - 6-5, 322

Again, he's one of those guys that's believing in the football IQ part of understanding the game of football. The workouts that I saw, he was working really hard. He's driven. He's a guy that I think can play guard and he could play tackle. He could play both left and right guard, and tackle, so he's a guy that can play four positions, which I think is key in developing him and being able to have that depth. He was a sixth guy last year, but I feel like you need 10 guys to go into a game that are ready to play in all positions.

C - Juice Scruggs - Jr./So. 6-3, 297

Juice is doing awesome. He was working. He did everything this winter with me and his technique is getting better. He's starting to play in his legs again. I feel like he's a guy that also can play all five. Going into the spring, we were going to put him at center, but he's also has the athletics and feet to play tackle, and then he has the power in his legs to play guard.

So he's a guy that will play all five and keeping him healthy is my job and I'm gonna do everything I can to make that happen and get him fundamentally sound and technically sound so he's not putting himself in any harm.

RG - Anthony Whigan - Sr./Jr. - 6-4, 320

Right off the bat, I could tell you, he naturally plays in his legs. He has great leg drive, great leg power. He's a guy that I think can have a very good role for us, and he's thinking that way. He's doing extra meetings with Menet, and he kind of has that mindset that he wants to get on the field.

He knows that his journey has been different than a lot of other guys, going to junior college, and sometimes I like that because that gives him drive and that gives him the mindset that he wants to get on that field. He's been doing everything we asked him, and I can see him being one of those guys that, we're playing someone, he's in, and there's no stopping us.

RT - Caedan Wallace - So./Fr. - 6-5, 337:

He's versatile. I think he can play tackle. And then I also think he can play guard. He's massive. He's like 330. He has really good feet. He's learning the game of football. His football IQ is getting better. Just being able to do the meetings I've done with these guys, he's a guy that's definitely bought in and wants to understand every position because I think he understands the value of that and I think he has the ability to play anywhere on the offensive line.

But, he's battling right now for a right tackle spot and also he can be my sixth guy or a guy that I plug in at guard and tackle. Because, I want guys that play everything, and he's one of those guys that I can see play anywhere on the offensive line.

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