Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1001699
P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> sixth in the Big Ten in rushing o:ense last season with an average of 170.2 yards per game. But their average of 4.9 yards per carry ranked third behind only Ohio State (5.8) and Wisconsin (5.0). OUTLOOK This unit is shaping up nicely. The Nittany Lions return four starters, and the new guy is one of the top prospects in the team's 2016 recruit- ing class who is following the career path that Franklin wants his linemen to use going forward: a redshirt year, fol- lowed by a year of active-duty acclima- tion, followed by an ascent to a more prominent role. The Lions didn't have that luxury in the a;ermath of the NCAA sanctions, but they do now, and they are using it to groom players such as Menet, Thorpe, Holmes and Miranda for what could turn out to be All-Big Ten careers. The last three of those players will all be redshirt freshmen this fall, but barring injury, they won't face the pres- sure of having to hold down a starting position before they've fully acclimated to the college game. Of course, the one bene9t of throwing your o:ensive linemen into the fray al- most immediately is that by the time they're upper- classmen, they've seen it all. That's where Penn State 9nds itself in 2018 at four of the 9ve starting po- sitions. Bates (tackle) and Gonzalez (guard) are expected to man the le; side of the line, with McGovern back at center, Menet at right guard and either Fries or Wright at right tackle. While Menet has yet to start a game, the other 9ve players have made a combined 83 starts. They are proven veterans who will give Penn State a lot of experience to lean on as it looks to continue its o:ensive success of the past two seasons. One other positive attribute that bears mentioning here: Except for Wright, all of the scholarship linemen on the Nit- tany Lions' current roster will still have eligibility in 2019. PHIL'S TAKE I believe there is a real possibility Penn State could enter the upcoming season with the No. 2 o:en- sive line in the Big Ten behind Wiscon- sin. This unit will be anchored at center by McGovern, a recent Rimington Tro- phy nominee. He'll be accompanied in the starting lineup by Bates, Gonzalez, Menet and either Fries or Wright. For the 9rst time in Franklin's head coaching tenure, the Nittany Lions are two-deep at every position. Fries and Gellerstedt back up Bates at le; tackle, Miranda and Simpson are behind Gonzalez at le; guard, and Miranda is also McGovern's understudy at center. Both Thorpe and Mi- randa were impressive as red- shirt freshmen in spring practice and are projected as backups at guard, and Penn State be- lieves it has three right tackles in Fries, Wright and Holmes that it can count on this fall. Additional help is on the way with the 2018 recruiting class. While Asiedu has been forced to give up foot- ball due to a heart condition, the Lions have three excellent prospects in Walker, E:ner and Scruggs. ■ LEFT TACKLE NO NAME HT WT YEAR 52 Ryan Bates 6-4 301 Sr./Jr. 71 Will Fries 6-6 312 Jr./So. 51 Alex Gellerstedt 6-6 307 Jr./So. LEFT GUARD 74 Steven Gonzalez 6-4 336 Sr./Jr. 64 Zach Simpson 6-3 302 Sr./Jr. 73 Mike Miranda 6-3 303 So./Fr. CENTER 66 Connor McGovern 6-5 326 Jr./Jr. 73 Mike Miranda 6-3 303 So./Fr. 64 Zach Simpson 6-3 302 Sr./Jr. RIGHT GUARD 62 Michal Menet 6-4 306 Jr./So. 69 C.J. Thorpe 6-3 322 So./Fr. 73 Mike Miranda 6-3 303 So./Fr. RIGHT TACKLE 71 Will Fries 6-6 312 Jr./So. 77 Chasz Wright 6-7 348 Sr./Sr. 75 Des Holmes 6-5 306 So./Fr. 76 Sterling Jenkins 6-8 332 Sr./Jr. OR OR OR OR READY AND WAITING Penn State's offensive linemen watch the spring game. L to R: Wright, Menet, McGov- ern, Fries, Gonza- lez, Simpson, Bates. Photo by Bill Anderson